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RIP to the even year streak

It was quite a run, wasn’t it? The San Francisco Giants have been the class of the MLB for the better half of this decade, winning three of the past six World Series. Obviously, the fun part about their championships was that the victories came in 2010, 2012 and 2014; even years.

So, it goes without saying that San Francisco was expected to win in 2016, right? If you bought into the even-year theory, then you’ve felt a whirlwind of emotions this season.

But before we jump into that, we have to talk about why this streak was so magical, and why there was reason to believe the Giants had a chance this year.

First of all, winning three championships in six years definitely constitutes a dynasty. There is no debating that. But what makes those five years between 2010–2014 so peculiar is that in the years the Giants didn’t win a championship, they didn’t even make the playoffs.

How does that happen? The core was similar every year, anchored by Buster Posey and Pablo Sandoval on offense with Matt Cain holding down the rotation.

The team changed organically. Homegrown products Brandon Crawford, Brandon Belt and Madison Bumgarner replaced the likes of Juan Uribe, Aubrey Huff and Tim Lincecum. Though the roster changed, the winning culture didn’t. The core remained similar. So it’s still head scratching that they only made the playoffs every other year.

But that’s part of what made these championships memorable. The individual performances were breathtaking, too. Pablo Sandoval rocking Justin Verlander for three home runs in game two of the 2012 series was awe-inspiring. Madison Bumgarner never losing a playoff game ever for San Francisco is bonkers. He appeared in three games in the 2014 World Series, tossing 21 innings and allowing one run. That doesn’t seem real.

It took magical performances to put together a magical stretch. Once again, with virtually the same core in 2015, you’d think finally they’d make the postseason in an odd year right?

Wrong.

That’s why there was reason to believe in 2016 they would win it all. But boy, it was tough to keep the faith this year.

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