Has it really been 10 years since Madison Bumgarner became immortal?

Reporting from ORACLE PARK

Ten years ago, the right field gates at Kauffman Stadium swung wide open for Madison Bumgarner and his long trot toward the mound to finish off the Kansas City Royals in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series for the San Francisco Giants.

For many Giants fans, the memory of Bumgarner’s entrance is a constant in their baseball-loving brains — the thought doesn’t leave their minds, nor will it ever. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound, country-slurring southpaw was already making his mark as an iconic postseason performer, though this particular walk-in from the bullpen was the precursor for something even greater.

He was striving for immortality.

Surely tired after a combined 270 regular season and postseason innings, Bumgarner finished the Royals in a miraculous, gutsy five-inning relief effort in Game 7, just days after throwing a complete-game shutout at Oracle Park in Game 5. 

A career in photos: Madison Bumgarner

If the Lord himself lent out left arms, Bumgarner must have been the lucky recipient on October 29, 2014 — the date he, as Giants broadcaster Jon Miller proclaimed in his clinching call, “firmly etched his name in the all-time World Series record books as one of the greatest World Series pitchers the game has ever seen.”

Ten years later, the record books show zero signs of budging — they’re stuck solid. Nobody is likely to match Bumgarner’s heroics in our lifetime. And if they do: Build a statue, name a street, and make space in Cooperstown. But it’s doubtful. 

The Giants brought back Bumgarner — and a lineup of his teammates from the 2014 World Series championship team — for a reunion and on-field ceremony ahead of Saturday’s game against the Detroit Tigers. The sold-out crowd of more than 40,000 at Oracle Park vented their appreciation for San Francisco’s last championship team, the finale of a memorable dynasty run that produced three trophies in five years — the triplets, as some fans dubbed them. 

As nostalgia swirled through the crowd, a common theme flew with it:

How has it really been ten years?

It’s been ten years since Brandon Crawford’s grand slam — the first by a shortstop in postseason history — completely silenced and stunned a Pittsburgh crowd in the Wild Card Game against the Pirates.

It’s been ten years since Brandon Belt’s solo shot in the 18th inning topped off a marathon Game 2 victory in the National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals. And don’t forget arguably the six most important relief innings thrown by reliever Yusmeiro Petit in that game, too.

It’s been ten years since Travis Ishikawa channeled a unique Bobby Thompson impression to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals with a pennant-winning blast that triggered one of the unlikeliest home run trots — by an even unlikelier perpetrator — in Giants history.

It’s been ten years since Joe Panik made a Superman-like dive to his right, flipping the ball from his outstretched glove to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who fired to first to complete one of the most unforgettable double plays in World Series history.

And of course, somehow it’s been ten years since Bumgarner unleashed high fastball after high fastball to Royals catcher Salvador Perez until Perez finally surrendered by swinging underneath one. The party began the millisecond Pablo Sandoval caught the pop-up in foul territory, And the argument could be made that it never ended. 

The span of ten years is quite deceiving — it’s actually longer than one may think. Many of the players now have some variation of gray in their hair or beards while others have increased belt sizes. A few are working in broadcasting now while others have taken up golf as a full-time hobby. Real estate, too. If we know one thing about ex-ballplayers, especially the fringe big leaguers, it’s that they love selling houses in the suburbs. 

But when they’re surrounded in the same space, it’s like they never left.

The Giants are among the best in baseball at bringing back their alumni and providing enhanced nostalgia. Hunter Pence led the crowd in the famous “YES! YES! YES!” chant that proved to carry the same infectious energy it did a decade ago. As always, Jeremy Affledt was roasted for his reputation of talking too much by on-field MC’s Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow. 

Lou Seal conducted a wholesome embrace of Bumgarner in classic sneak-attack style as the Giants left-hander doffed his cap and took in a thunderous ovation from a crowd dying to catch a glimpse of the man — some may say single-handedly — responsible for bringing home the 2014 championship. A few minutes later, Buster Posey crouched to assume his position behind the plate to catch Bumgarner’s ceremonial first pitch, a hard cutter on the inside corner. 

It’s really, really difficult to think it’s been ten years.

Steven Rissotto

Steven Rissotto has covered the San Francisco Giants for SFBay since 2021. He is the host of RizzoCast, a baseball interview show featuring players, coaches, media and fans. He attends San Francisco State University and will major in Journalism and minor in education.