The San Francisco Giants Biggest Problem May Not Be on the Field
The San Francisco Giants certainly were terrible on the field in 2017, but part of that may be because of what’s going on in the clubhouse.
As the front office begins to make decisions for 2018, they need to start looking beyond the numbers.
While most of baseball is absorbed with analytics, there is still a human aspect to this game.
It was pretty clear from the beginning of the 2017 season that there were problems in the Giants clubhouse.
There may not have been any fighting among the players, but there was definitely something missing.
In the past the San Francisco Giants have been known for having a great clubhouse atmosphere. Hunter Pence has been a leading voice in that clubhouse for years, but even he couldn’t rally the troops in 2017.
This team just never had that winning attitude of teams in the past.
It didn’t help that one of their leaders, Madison Bumgarner, decided to go dirt bike riding at the beginning of the season and missed over two months.
While some Giants fans where OK with the decision, I still think it was selfish and stupid of Bumgarner.
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And then there were grumblings of some of the bench players being mad at Bruce Bochy. As great as Bochy has been, it seems even some are growing impatient with him as a manager.
Also, I think Hunter Strickland is a plague on this team. His selfish battle with Bryce Harper rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. That scuffle essentially ended the season for a good clubhouse guy in Michael Morse.
I honestly think there is a huge problem in this clubhouse right now and the main priority this offseason should be to change the culture in the clubhouse.
Next: San Francisco Giants 2017 Review: Bullpen
Hopefully this team can get back to having that winning attitude. It’s time to get rid of those who aren’t on board, and bring in those who have a desire to win.