A San Francisco Giants fan’s guide to rooting for the Yankees in the World Series

You began the season as a Giants fan. A few months later, you were the world’s biggest Padres fan, laughing at Manny Machado’s wacky antics and enjoying their conveyor belt of annoyingly talented relievers. Just a week after that, you bled orange and blue, and your appreciation for Sean Manaea was renewed.

All of these teams disappointed you. You kept waiting for them to score a lot of runs, and they kept failing. Maybe the problem is you. Something to consider.

Now, though, you’re the world’s biggest Yankees fan. You’re all about Aaron Judge, and you can forgive the small fires he set a couple offseasons ago. You can imagine Gerrit Cole and Brandon Crawford grilling steaks together at a family barbecue. You’re just wild about Juan Soto, and you’ll be really excited when the Giants finish second for him in free agency.

You’re in this GIF, at least spiritually speaking. Tag yourself.

The Yankees have always been your American League team. Or, at least, that’s what you’ll force yourself to pretend over the next 10 days as they try to prevent the Dodgers from winning the World Series. So let’s go over what the Yankees and Giants have in common to prepare you for this uncomfortable situation. Let’s see where these teams’ long, long histories overlap and if we can get you more excited about the Yankees, your new favorite team.

The All-Time Yankees/Giants split squad

Six Hall of Famers who played for both franchises, and Carlos Beltrán will make it seven soon. There are even two players who made an All-Star team for both sides, but I’ll give you a few paragraphs to guess the answer to that trivia question.

The good news is that enough players suited up for both teams to make a full team. So get out your Strat-O-Matic cards, load up your Out of the Park rosters and let’s see how many wins you can squeeze out of this 26-man roster.

C — Matt Nokes
1B — Johnny Mize
2B — Tony Lazzeri
SS — Dick Schofield
3B — Jim Ray Hart
LF — Bobby Bonds
CF — Kenny Lofton
RF — Carlos Beltrán
DH — Jack Clark

C — Bob Melvin
INF — Donovan Solano
OF — Andrew McCutchen
OF — Felipe Alou

SP — Randy Johnson
SP — Gaylord Perry
SP — Waite Hoyt
SP — Carl Mays
SP — Rick Reuschel

CP — Goose Gossage
RP — Dave Righetti
RP — Armando Benítez
RP — Mark Melancon
RP — Al Holland
RP — Félix Rodriguez
RP — Lindy McDaniel
OF/RP — Lefty O’Doul

Manager — Leo Durocher

Neither Chili Davis nor Darryl Strawberry could even make the bench. Tough crowd. Although, if that’s how stacked the outfield is, I’m sure a team would probably stick with Davis at catcher for just a little longer. They’d also consider Lefty O’Doul as a two-way player, so I’m adding him because I can.

We also didn’t have room in the rotation for “Sudden” Sam McDowell, Louis “Bobo” Newsom, “Bullet” Joe Bush, John “The Count” Montefusco, Sal “The Barber” Maglie and Carlos “We Need Better Baseball Nicknames These Days” Rodón. Although, much like the Chili Davis gambit up there, I’m sure you could build a heckuva bullpen out of the starters who are on the outside looking in.

I built the bullpen with mostly modern relievers, and I did it to upset you.

Special recognition goes to two players who mean way more to one franchise’s history than the other: Travis Ishikawa and Don Larsen.

If we’re going to search for the ultimate 50-50 Yankee/Giant hybrid, we’ll need to find a regular who was worth an equal amount of WAR for both franchises. It wouldn’t be Jack Clark or Goose Gossage, who had very different careers for both teams, and there’s no point searching for someone who played just a tiny bit of limited-WAR baseball for each, like Chris Stewart.

There’s only one possibility, an outfielder who was worth roughly five wins for both teams over his career (4.8 with the Giants, 5.7 with the Yankees). Melky Cabrera, you are the truest embodiment of a Yankee-Giant.

Which might be a bad omen. Forget about this part, actually.

Trivia answer: Bobby Bonds and Johnny Mize

Forget the players, here are the true heroes shared by both franchises

WAR seems cool. But what about rings? Specifically shiny, gold ones with diamonds in them that symbolize great success and vanquished foes?

Brian Sabean was the scouting director when the Yankees drafted or signed Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Jorge Posada and Andy Pettitte. He was the general manager with the Giants when they drafted Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford and Buster Posey. If there were ever a reason to high-five a Yankees fan, it’s because of Sabean, who’s still with the Yankees as a special assistant. (Although, maybe not for long?)

Dave Righetti was the pitching coach for those Giants championship teams, and he also pitched a no-hitter for the Yankees against the Red Sox on July 4, 1983. He’s in the club. A way better Yankee-Giant example than Melky Cabrera. Although Righetti got rocked in his only World Series start against the Dodgers. Which might be a bad omen. Forget about that part, actually.

Dick Tidrow was the scouting director for the Giants when they drafted the aforementioned collection of World Series heroes, but he won a couple of World Series with the Yankees, too. His three scoreless innings against the Dodgers in 1978 helped even up the series, 2-2, and the Yankees wouldn’t lose again. Seems like a good omen. Definitely don’t forget about that part.

Just to hammer the point home, here’s a picture of one of the greatest Yankees of all time, after hitting a home run that made people in San Francisco very happy.

Joe DiMaggio crosses the plate after hitting a home run for the San Francisco Seals. (Getty Images)

The Giants gave away a bobblehead of a Yankees great because he meant so much to San Francisco. Why, the Yankees are basically your best pals. If you forget about the part where they made Charlie Brown and Willie McCovey very sad. Which you probably shouldn’t. But it won’t hurt much to pretend for a couple weeks.

Don’t forget the best almost-Giants (and one very important almost-Yankee)

If you hold your breath until you pass out and hit your head on the coffee table before each World Series game, you might start thinking that Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton are actually on the Giants. The Athletic is not responsible for any injuries or damage that may occur after doing this, but still. It’s at least something to think about. Has anyone mentioned that Aaron Judge originally wore 35 in honor of Rich Aurilia? Seems weird that nobody has mentioned that until now.

And, say, don’t forget that when the Giants were looking to acquire Stanton, the centerpiece of the trade was going to be Heliot Ramos, who is a much better bet to help the Giants over the next five years than Stanton would have been.

SourceS : Full trade offer from SF to Miami for Giancarlo Stanton.

Tyler Beede
Heliot Ramos (1st noted by @JoeFrisaro )
Chris Shaw
Christian Arroyo @jonmorosi had 250 mil 1st@clarkspencer had some combo of this deal also.

— Craig Mish (@CraigMish) December 5, 2017

It all worked out for the best that the trade didn’t come to fruition. Especially if Stanton can hit six or seven more home runs before the postseason ends.

No uncompleted transaction will ever beat the Yankees bowing out of the Barry Bonds sweepstakes, though. From the New York Times in 1992:

Barry Bonds did not think $36 million was enough for him to play baseball in the Bronx for the next five years. The superstar free agent wanted $43 million over six years. The Yankees refused to budge on the extra year and the extra millions, so last night they withdrew their offer and said their interest in this year’s top free-agent prospect had vanished.

That sixth year would have been 1998. Bonds would have been on the Yankees, in the final year of his contract. He might have been a distraction that messed everything up … or he just might have improved on the .714 OPS from Chad Curtis, who was definitely a distraction. None of it mattered, though, and the 1998 Yankees are remembered as one of the greatest baseball teams in the history of the sport. The Giants and Bonds turned San Francisco into a baseball town, and it’s not far-fetched to think that there’s no Oracle Park without him. There certainly wouldn’t be as many cool memories.

The Yankees got a dynasty without Bonds. The Giants got an identity and a sense of permanence. Everyone was a winner! High-fives all around. Boy, that sure worked out for everyone.

To distill it down even further, the Yankees have a long, long history of annoying the Dodgers, and they’ve often done it in a way that’s benefitted the Giants. The Yankees get 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2000, and the Giants get Bonds. Brian Sabean helps the Giants win the World Series, and he might help the Yankees win another World Series against the Dodgers. Dick Tidrow, a legend in both camps, will forever be a favorite Dodgers irritant.

The Dodgers are in the World Series, and you probably hate everything about it. You could throw a temper tantrum, or you could remember all of the connections between the Giants (your old favorite team) and the Yankees (your new favorite team). Try not to think about how depressing it is that this is what Giants fandom has been reduced to over the next couple weeks, and have fun. Your favorite team made the World Series, after all.

(Top photo of Aaron Judge at Oracle Park: Lachlan Cunningham / MLB Photos via Getty Images)