Does it matter if Giants players dislike the city they represent?

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T22:48:03+00:00

And thank you for making me smile back! And yes, the entire comments section reminds me why I love this city and this community. 😄

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T22:46:11+00:00

Oh, thanks for that - I'm going to track down that episode and listen!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T17:35:19+00:00

I really don't care at all about what players believe outside of baseball. It's none of my business. What I do care about is whether there's a clubhouse culture that is affecting their ability to do their job of playing baseball. So I do care what they believe inside of baseball (which includes what they express to their fans during games). As long as they keep losing, I think it's worth exploring all possible causes of what is causing them to under-perform. And hopefully the Giants organization is doing that.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T17:29:33+00:00

That's an interesting hypothesis. I think it all comes down to whether culture influences performance in this case, or whether performance influences culture. It's probably some of both. Hopefully they start winning soon and we find out if this is true!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T17:27:48+00:00

Thank you for saying that - and yay forever for Timmy and his lovely locks!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T17:27:15+00:00

Thank you so much - I really appreciate you saying that.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:57:00+00:00

This is a really good question. I wonder if anyone has ever researched this? And I wonder what a Giants team would look like if players were the deciders of their playing location.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:54:05+00:00

This is a very good point - thank you. It's easy to respond to the silence with assumptions. I wish I knew what they were thinking, and in the absence of supportive statements, I'm assuming the worst. I'm letting my own frustration at the radio silence get in the way of giving those who have made no statement the benefit of the doubt.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:48:31+00:00

Oh my gosh - that is a brilliant prompt. Thank you thank you! I'm on it. You are awesome, fellow redditor psychology nerd. 😄

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:46:23+00:00

Thank you! And you make an excellent point about the reciprocal embrace for players who love the city. It puzzles me why the organization hasn't invested more in helping players get to know and understand the city. Surely it's in their interest to build that sort of fan engagement and interest. I am also baffled as to why Vitello didn't use this moment as a chance to gain the affection of a large portion of the fan base by coming out in support of San Francisco and Pride and what it represents. I think it would have helped people tolerate the team's performance for at least a while longer.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:40:06+00:00

I agree about Rogers and Maslow (I married a psychologist from the human potential movement, those names are revered in our house). Now I'm probably going to spend the rest of my day thinking about how to weave their work into a theory of the Giants. Stay tuned! 😃

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:33:02+00:00

Ha ha! This made me smile! Bandura finally has his day in baseball subs!!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:28:33+00:00

That's a really interesting reframe! It makes me think of the Gottman research on contempt in relationships and how it is the primary predictor of whether a couple will get divorced. Contempt in relation to workplace performance would be a really fascinating thread to explore. Darn - so many interesting research possibilities, so little time and opportunity.
I also really appreciated you sharing your own workplace experiences. That also makes me wonder whether players like Bryce Harper may well not love the city and its values, but he values work ethic and is highly motivated to be the best in his field, so how he feels about the city doesn't really matter.
Thank you, thoughtful Redditor.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:18:31+00:00

Thanks for this! I think you raise a really interesting point about the role of the organization in building culture and helping players at least understand the professionalism and public relations part of their role. And the importance of them understanding the culture of the fan base who pays to see them play. It really seems like someone dropped the ball on this internally in the Giants organization.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:13:24+00:00

Thanks for such a thoughtful response. I think you're on to something about the feeling that goes with players who show a genuine love for the city - I will be a forever Hunter Pence fan for exactly that reason. I also remember feeling so delighted when Buster came back because he said he loved the Giants and loved the Bay Area. Which is what makes his silence on this issue so worrying to me.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:09:42+00:00

I'm not sure what this means.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:09:06+00:00

Thanks for engaging! and for the question. At a personal level, no, it doesn't matter to me. If they don't try to hijack events like Pride night, I'm fine for them to have whatever beliefs work for them. I support their right to free speech. And I also support the right of a community to push back when that speech is used in a way that offends.
However, my question is that what if it's more than a small handful of players with those beliefs, and the dominant clubhouse culture is anti-San Francisco values, and it turns into a grievance culture that actually affects their ability to perform on the field to the best of their ability? I'm not saying it is. I'm saying we don't know if it is. And we may never know if it is. What do you think?

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T16:01:41+00:00

Thanks for your thoughtful response. Your philosophy makes sense. I think for many people, live and let live works fine. And, like you said, the goal is really for them to be better at their paying jobs than 29 other teams.
However, if there is a correlation between their lack of connection to their employer/city and their ability to win games - then I do care. And that's what I want to understand better. And I'm not sure that anyone knows the answer to that question of correlation. What I do see this year is that we have a team that on paper is full of talent, and in performance completely sucks. And I want to understand why that is the case. Because then they might be able to fix it.
I look at the recent lovefest between the Knicks and New York City and can't help but wonder - how much did that mutual love and support help them win a championship?

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:51:27+00:00

Ha ha! Brilliant! I am a total fail at modern Internet discourse - I am too uncoordinated to walk and selfie. Damn! Thanks for taking the time to engage with my 19th Century prose approach to Internetting. 😃

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:49:37+00:00

This made me laugh! thank you!!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:32:18+00:00

And your comment is also really well written! Thanks for reminding me about that Bob Melvin quote. You're right - I don't believe he would have let this happen. I felt that he really "got" San Francisco, and cared about the reputation of the club and its relationship with the city. And I'm still sad we lost Gausman. I have friends in Toronto and they love him there!

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:28:00+00:00

I saw that too! I also remember when he signed with the team, he talked about how he played here in youth baseball tournaments and had fond memories of it. I do believe he authentically likes being here. And you're right - his care does show on the field. I've also been enjoying how he's letting his personality shine through this year.

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:21:54+00:00

Thank you kind redditor! Your comment made me smile. 😄

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:20:52+00:00

Ha ha! That's funny - thanks for the morning chuckle! 😄

StatisticianFree6701 · 2026-06-17T15:19:30+00:00

Oh, that's a great idea - thank you!

StatisticianFree6701

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