SF Giants expected to have plenty of old friends in camp at spring training

The SF Giants are back in camp and spring training games are starting soon. That means that the Giants are likely going to have a lot of familiar faces in camp over the coming weeks as the team gets ready for the season in Scottsdale.

According to a recent article from NBC Sports Bay Area, the Giants are expected to have the likes of Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, Will Clark, Joe Panik, Gregor Blanco, Brandon Belt, Jeff Kent, and Sergio Romo in camp just to name a few.

SF Giants expected to have a lot of fan-favorite instructors in camp

It's refreshing to see president of baseball operations Buster Posey invite so many former players back, especially players from different eras in the franchise's history, to help out the current team.

This practice did not completely go away during the Farhan Zaidi and Gabe Kapler years, but there were definitely fewer former players in camp as that regime tried to implement its "new school" approach.

It is not a surprise to see Posey invite a lot of players who were teammates of his during his time as a player. Those championship teams had so many solid guys who are perfect to have in spring training to lend advice.

Last year, Yusmeiro Petit came into camp and helped Camilo Doval find the strike zone again which led to the flamethrower having a resurgent season. Joe Panik took Tyler Fitzgerald under his wing and helped him learn the intricacies of playing second base. While Fitzgerald struggled at the plate, his defense at second was quite solid.

Inviting former players to camp is more than just a cheap way to keep former players involved and throw them a bone. There really is no better way to learn the game than to talk to guys who played at a high level for a long time. It's also fun for fans to see their favorites of yesteryear co-mingling with the current squad.

It also must be helpful for new manager Tony Vitello to have so many former players coming back. He wants to get buy-in from his roster as soon as possible and having so many respected former big leaguers could help that process especially with a number of players missing part of spring training to compete in the World Baseball Classic.

Spring training is an exciting time for so many reasons, but the fact that Giants fans will get to see some old friends is always a cool part of baseball in Scottsdale.