What Matt Cain Has Meant to the San Francisco Giants
From your perspective, what kind of teammate was Matt Cain?
Former Teammate Ryan Theriot: Matt was an amazing teammate! Consistent every day. Showed up, put in his work, and helped the team win.
Jack Coppinger of Oakland, CA: Matty always seemed like an ideal teammate to me: a positive guy who wasn’t afraid to show some emotion when the time was right, but didn’t go overboard or become alienating (like Brian Wilson). Essentially, Matt seemed like a lot of fun, but you didn’t necessarily see it.
He didn’t have the rock star magnetism of Timmy Lincecum or the larger than life character of Madison Bumgarner, but Matt Cain was the kind of dugout presence that a team needs.
Michael Delfino of San Ramon: There’s little doubt that Matt Cain was an outstanding teammate and person. In all of his years with the Giants, I have never heard a teammate (or a media member for that matter) utter a bad word about Cain. He seemed to be a hard working guy who led by example and hard work. Never a complainer he was there to take on whatever role the Giants asked of him. Any young pitcher would have been crazy not to gravitate to him and model his game after Cain’s.
Charles Fracchia of San Francisco, CA: I think that Matt Cain was probably the type of teammate that most players should aspire to be. They saw him work hard, and then go out and do his job, and try to do their job well. He never complained publicly about the tough losses, which you have to admire. He had far too many of them. He was quiet publicly, and led by example. There are two types of leaders – quiet leaders and noisy leaders, and I think that it is good to have both of them in order to have a successful team, especially over the course of a long season.
Brooks Knudsen of @SFGiantsFans: Cain always acted as a mentor to young pitchers that were brought up through the system. Although he was the longest tenured Giant for many seasons, it never felt like he acted too special or more important than the rest of his teammates.
Nadia Nehme of San Francisco, CA: Matt Cain was the teammate that led by example and would energize his teammates just with his presence on the mound.
Steven Rissotto of Pacifica, CA: Matt Cain seemed like the type of teammate who would teach the young kids what he learned from Matt Morris back in the day. We see his relationship with Kyle Crick and other young guys.
Kevin Rule of Stockton, CA: I feel Matt Cain was a leader when it came to being a teammate. After all he was nicknamed “The Horse.” He’s the type of guy that would want the ball when the game, series, or season is on the line and it’s not because he’s selfish but because he’d want to go out there and help his teammates the best way he knows how.