SF Giants players and coaches as Star Wars characters

SF Giants as Star Wars characters
Donovan Solano: R2-D2

This one seems fairly obvious. Both Donovan Solano and R2-D2 are a little shorter, but both are incredibly reliable and can get you out of a fix when you need them to.

When you need to open a door as you are running away from Stormtroopers on Bespin, you know that R2 is your guy. And when you’ve got a runner on second base with two outs, Donnie Barrels is the man that you want up at the dish.

Their origin stories are also quite similar if you think about it. I know that people like to trash on the prequels, but if you remember back to The Phantom Menace, R2 was one of the few astromech droids that tried to go out and fix Queen Amidala’s ship as they sought to break through the Trade Federation’s blockade of Naboo.

R2 was the only one able to fix it even though it was clear that they saw the droids as fairly expendable and he obviously was a fixture for the rest of the series.

Similarly, Solano was not expected to do much when Farhan Zaidi signed him back in 2019. We thought maybe he’d be a solid bench player for the team. He actually wound up being their best hitter over the course of the past two seasons and got off to an excellent start for the team even after they fought to keep his salary down this year.

Solano and R2 are kindred spirits, and let’s just hope Solano gets back on the field as soon as possible so he can emulate R2 even more.

SF Giants as Star Wars characters
Gabe Kapler: Din Djarin (AKA The Mandalorian)

One of them refuses to take off their mask for public health reasons. The other refuses to take off his mask (mostly) because of the Way of the Mandalore. If you think about it, they aren’t all that different. Except for the bounty hunter part.

The comparison still holds because most SF Giants fans still probably do not know what the bottom half of Gabe Kapler’s face looks like. What’s he hiding under there?

But in all seriousness, Kapler has been really responsible these past two seasons with mask-wearing. After watching other sporting events throughout the year when coaches go basically the entire game with their mask on their chin, it’s been nice to see Kapler model proper public health protocol.

Kapler and The Mandalorian have some other similarities. The Mandalorian abides by a creed that made him return Grogu (Baby Yoda) back to the Jedi. Kapler abides by a creed (analytics) that makes him pinch-hit and play the matchups in just about every single game. His creed also involves having relievers pitch in back-to-back games a lot.

I cannot fault Kapler for this creed too much though because the Giants have had some really good success so far in 2021. Let’s hope that Kapler continues The Way to victory much more for the rest of the season.

SF Giants as Star Wars characters
Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford: Chewbacca and Han Solo

We all know that our beloved Brandons are a great comedic duo. In case you needed a reminder, here is a video from a few years ago in which they read dad jokes to each other.

Priceless.

Now, when I think of cool in general, I think of Han Solo. And when I think of cool on the baseball field, I think of Brandon Crawford. His effortless grace at shortstop and poise at the plate, not to mention his luscious locks and stylish footwear, make him one of the coolest Giants in recent memory.

And when I think of creatures that are big lovable fuzzballs, I instantly think of Chewbacca and Brandon Belt. They both have a great sense of humor. Neither of them even has to say a word to make you laugh, all it takes is a look or some sort of guttural noise.

Han and Chewie may be the most iconic duo in a galaxy far far away, but here on Earth you’d be hard-pressed to find a better combo than Belt and Crawford

SF Giants as Star Wars characters
Evan Longoria: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Evan Longoria is a wily old veteran whose best days may be behind him, but he can still kick some butt and impart wisdom on new Giants. He really does play the Obi-Wan Kenobi role on the team, taking young players under his wing and teaching them the ways of baseball.

Not only that, but he even has an Obi-Wan-like beard to go along with it! We also know that Obi-Wan is a very serene character, not prone to outbursts of anger. Longoria is very much the same way, going about his business in a professional fashion and getting things done.

One could also make the argument that Buster Posey fits this mold as well, but the next slide will show the Star Wars character who truly captures that essence of Buster Posey.

SF Giants as Star Wars characters
Buster Posey: Luke Skywalker

Buster Posey has always been Luke Skywalker. Back in 2010, he was the young kid who came out of nowhere to help the Giants win the World Series just like Luke was a kid from nowhere who helped the Rebels blow up the Death Star.

In 2011, Buster had a brutal injury that put him on the shelf in the same way that Luke got his hand cut off in Empire. They both came back from their injuries and, in Buster’s case, helped the Giants win two more championships, while Luke was able to redeem his father which led to the destruction of the Emperor and the end of the Empire.

Of course, Buster is now more like the version of Luke that we see at the end of season 2 of The Mandalorian. We see that Luke comes to get Grogu in his attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order in the same way that Buster is now trying to help the Giants rebuild and find their old glory.

I really hope in 20 years Buster doesn’t end up like the Luke we see in The Last Jedi though. If he starts saying stuff like, “It’s time for the Giants to end,” and starts drinking milk straight from a cow on some island somewhere, then we’re all in trouble.

So there you have it, your favorite SF Giants players and coaches as Star Wars characters. Let us hope they can truly embody their respective characters for the rest of this season and beyond, and may the force be with you, always.