Should legendary SF Giants pitcher get a statue outside of Oracle Park?

There are numerous ways that you can honor a player’s legacy. You can retire their number and place them in the Ring of Honor. Or, you can have a statue built to commemorate their legacy and be enshrined forever. One thing I’ve pondered is will the SF Giants have another statue built to honor the legendary pitcher Madison Bumgarner?

Statues are not an uncommon sight at Oracle Park. Legends that have donned the orange and black have their statues around the ballpark. Statues of Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, and Orlando Cepeda currently exist.

SF Giants legend Madison Bumgarner has a case for a statue

While he may not be in the Hall of Fame, the Giants have announced in 2025 a statue of Barry Bonds will come in the near future. Bonds was one of the best baseball players in general, but also one of the best to wear the Giants uniform. He is perfectly worthy of a statue, given what he’s done for the franchise and the records he holds.

So why Bumgarner? There’s a lot of reasons to consider as to why he would warrant a statue and be among the royalty that is the Giants legends. Let’s dive into it.

Bonds made an everlasting impact, but the team did not win a World Series with him in the fold. We all know of the legend that was Tim Lincecum, but Bumgarner was just as instrumental if not more impactful than he was. Bumgarner made his debut in 2009 and helped bring THREE championships to the Bay Area. Bumgarner played crucial roles in all of those championships wins, especially in 2014. To this day, his signature career moment was when he pitched five shutout relief innings in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series. He put on a clinic and watching him pitch was a complete work of art. 

Bumgarner will always be married to that championship era of Giants baseball and also cemented himself as one of the most dominant postseason pitchers in league history. For his career he was 8-3 with a 2.11 ERA, but his single postseason run in 2014 sees him with the lowest ERA ever in league history (0.25 ERA). To cap it all off he won the 2014 World Series MVP. 

Bumgarner was more than just his postseason accolades. Bumgarner was one of the best pitchers at his peak, showcasing his dominance across the league. From 2011-2016, Bumgarner ranked 9th in ERA (3.00) and fWAR (23.4). His WHIP was the fourth lowest, his K-BB% ranked in the top 15, he had the second most wins and the fourth most strikeouts. He became a staple of what was built in San Francisco. 

The Giants franchise has been around for a long time, but Bumgarner does sit near the mountaintops in certain pitching categories. He is 15th in ERA, 4th in WHIP, 13th in wins, and fourth in strikeouts. He certainly was not the best of the best during the regular season. However, with the competitive fire that he has and how clutch he was when it mattered the most, that’s what made him standout. 

It’s hard to picture that era of championships and not think of Bumgarner. It is hard to see them winning those titles without the tall lefty. Bumgarner was that instrumental and meaningful to their success. 

Bonds is a player that is receiving a statue and deservedly so. But if we are going off accolades but also impact on the franchise itself, Bumgarner certainly deserves his shine outside of Oracle Park. 

Bumgarner has yet to formally retire from baseball, but hasn’t pitched since 2023 after being DFA’d by the Diamondbacks. Time will tell if the organization makes that call, but it’s a call that’s worth making.