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Matt Cain is the incarnation of a giant forever. He spent his entire 13-year career wearing orange and black, a feat in today's sport. He has received countless praise while being at the center of magnificent moments during his tenure as giants.
Matt's consistency in performance and personality always made him look good beyond his years and his stoic and professional behavior always looked like the players of another era.
Players like Willie McCovey.
Matt being a former winner of the Willie Mac Award, I thought he'd be the perfect person to share what another giant Forever Giant represented for him and for his teammates. This helps that Matt now lives in the same city as me, and so around a cup of coffee, he recently told me how the Hall of Fame known as Stretch – passed away last week at age 80 – had impacted him as a player. and a man.
In 2002, Matt was recruited by the Giants after high school and, as a young child, he was ripped out of his parents' home. He found some comfort when he realized that he and McCovey were both from Alabama.
"He was raised," Matt said. "He was from southern and southern Alabama (Mobile). I was born in Dothan and grew up in Birmingham.
"We were exchanging stories and trying to figure out where everything was, but I was still very young (when I was living in Alabama) and my geography was not great. But we would try to collect all the pieces. It came back from time to time.
I was curious to see Matt's first ideas when he met Willie McCovey for the first time. What kind of presence did this great giant have and what impression did he have?
"You are impressed at first because you have learned what he has done during his career," Matt said. "And then it fades, and you realize he's just a genuine person who cares about his teammates and the teammates who followed him. He's busy with these guys.
"He really was the perfect Forever Giant picture. That's what we all really respected. You've seen what he's done for the team as an ambassador over the years, even when he's finished playing. His numbers and all that explains it, explains the player on the field, but it's more a way to know him on another level by being in the clubhouse, having personal time with him, seeing him like a real human. "
[[[[RELATED: Amy G remembers McCovey as a treasure of a person]So young when he was recruited, Matt did not have much time to deepen his knowledge of former professional players before becoming one. His day was playing baseball and not studying history. But when he received a call from the giants, his curiosity about the people who had been with this organization was stung, and he sought out known personalities to fill the gaps in the franchise of this franchise and his temple of the fame.
"It was when we had rocking phones and we were not in tune with what was happening on the Internet," Matt said. "It was mainly word of mouth, discussions with Will Clark and Rags (Dave Righetti), and hearing Felipe (Alou) and all these guys just telling us what these Hall of Fame members had done. and what Willie brought to the team.
"It was word of mouth, which was so much fun, like talking with (Jim) Davenport. It was fun for me, and I have always loved getting to know people through stories because they are always a little skewed. A little better, a little worse, but it's still fun to hear guy stories and talk about it, and I really enjoyed getting to know all the members of the Hall of Fame, but especially Willie McCovey. "
Access to the Giants Hall of Fame has always been impressive. Beginners learn to taste it, while veterans who come to San Francisco through acquisitions or other acquisitions often find themselves stammered by the presence of the Hall of Fame. This is something that distinguishes the Giants organization and Cain has always appreciated it in its early days.
"McCovey always came and he was always ready to ask questions. He was one of the guys, he says. "You would talk with him, and it's not so much" what I did "and what was happening" in the day "that we tend to talk about, and I'll end up doing that too, but tell you about what guys think or what's going on with the team, he always tried to keep up with the game.
"He did a great job of connecting with everyone and did not just make it a secondary experience. That's what everyone liked about Willie.
McCovey was known to attend all of the Giants' home games, unless a discomfort prevented it. This has been noticed and respected. When Willie spoke, Matt listened.
"So that a guy could see what was happening day after day. Heck, he might have been there more than us! Said Matt. "He was always there. He knew what was happening. It did not take a match or two, and suddenly dissected the entire team – "It's what's wrong with the team" or "That's what's great with the team. " He understood what was going on for the whole. 162 games.
"There was something in his voice, in his way of speaking and speaking to everyone. He deserved it, and he understood it, and he had one of those voices that when he spoke, everyone listened and l & # 39; He really absorbed. "
[[[[RELATED: Kruk and Kuip appreciate the "nice giant"]Matt and I talked about the many times McCovey made himself available to the media. McCovey gave the example to the players who followed him.
"It's so impressive at home. "He said no, it was not very often," Matt said. "… It takes a lot of energy to say yes when a lot of people shoot you, and I can not even imagine what he had, being the status that he was, so for him to say yes and a handful of sometimes say no, it's exhausting, and that says a lot about his personality. "
Cain and McCovey will be connected forever, not just as Giants, but in name. Matt was the winner of the 2009 Willie Mac Award and confirmed my assumptions that this honor would be more important to Giants players than anything else they play for this season.
"Personally, it's something that's in the rings that we have or in any star game or any strong point I've ever had," he said. "Knowing your teammates, your coaches and everyone respected you and what you did for them and how you behave as an athlete and professional was something that was important to me and that I'm going to always take away.
"I've been talking about it as a young man. Dave Roberts said, there are many things you can have in this game. One of the most important, when you're done and you're going away, is to have the respect of everyone in the club -house. To be honored in this way with the price reinforces that. It is something that can not be taken away from you. You can not stop, you must continue to wear it, but it means that you are doing the right thing. "
And then we joked that we were somehow rooted for Dave Roberts and ONLY Dave at the Dodgers-Red Sox World Series.
Finally, I wanted to know, beyond a tangible link with McCovey who won the award, what was left to Matt Willie, whose life will be celebrated Thursday at AT & T Park.
"His presence, the way he behaved, the way he took over a room when he spoke, I was always impressed by the people who could enter a room and talk to everyone, hold a court and get people to listen to it because what they said was meaningful and came from a good place. "
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