A lifelong San Francisco fan had a piece of team history in his hands Thursday night: The home run ball that sent the Giants to the World Series.

Then he gave it back.

Frank Burke, who owns a transmission repair business in Oakdale, said that he wanted the hitter, Travis Ishikawa, to have the ball.

"I believe in karma," he told The Associated Press. "I didn't hit that ball ... if anybody's going to have that ball in their game room or trophy case, it's going to be the guy who hit it."


Burke said he hadn't planned on keeping the ball. He keeps home run balls from his high school days in his own trophy case.

"They're still important to me, they're part of my memories," he said. "So why would I think that he (Ishikawa) wouldn't want the same thing?"

So after having the ball authenticated by a Giants official, and being told that Ishikawa wanted it back, Burke went down to the clubhouse area and handed it over. Ishikawa shook hands, thanked him, and gave him a signed bat in return.

Burke said Giants officials asked him what he would like and he suggested World Series tickets but was told that was unlikely.

After doing a media interview the next morning, however, he got a call from the Giants. Burke now has four tickets to Game 3 of the World Series at San Francisco's AT&T Park on Friday night. It will be the Giants' first home game against the Kansas City Royals.

Burke plans on taking his friend, Greg Leutza, who is battling cancer.

The two were at Thursday's game because Burke wanted to do something special for Leutza and went searching for tickets after the Giants won the National League Division Series.

Ishikawa's drive came their way as they sat above the stadium's right field wall in the ninth inning with two Giants on base.

As the ball sped toward him, Burke thought to himself: "Soft hands, soft hands. Don't let this thing bounce back on the field."

The ball went off his left hand but he was able to grab it with his right.

"The whole place erupted," Burke said. "It was a walk-off home run. We were going to the World Series!" Other fans clustered around.

"I couldn't move from where I was because everyone around me wanted to touch the ball, take pictures with the ball. I must have taken 300 selfies in 15 minutes," he said.

After meeting Ishikawa and turning over the ball, Burke and Leutza walked out of the clubhouse "like two little kids, hootin' and hollerin'," he said.

But Burke said the ball and the bat weren't the things he treasured most.

"Just the memory for me and my buddy, that's priceless," he said. "That meant more to me than anything else will."

RHP Chris Young of the Mariners and 3B Casey McGehee of the Marlins are Sporting News’ 2014 AL and NL Comeback Players of the Year, respectively, as selected by a panel of 196 major league players.

The veteran players put up solid campaigns after spending 2013 out of Major League Baseball.

Young, 35, was a key part of Seattle's rotation a year after struggling in limited minor league action while dealing with surgery to correct thoracic outlet syndrome, a rare nerve ailment that creates pain in the shoulders and neck. The Mariners signed him to a one-year deal only after the Nationals released him near the end of spring training.

The 2007 All-Star rewarded the team by going 12-9 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts. He allowed 7.8 hits per nine innings, the sixth best mark in the AL. His performance helped the Mariners deal with injuries to other starters as they competed for a wild-card spot late into the season.

"Chris was a big part of our success in 2014, really solidifying our rotation," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon told Sporting News. "To think he won as many games as he did, and made 29 starts, coming off the type of surgery and the injuries that he had, I think it's just tremendous. He is a tireless worker and showed his determination with his performance."

Pitching coach Rick Waits added: "Right off the bat, he identified an arm slot that worked for him and (he) felt that he had been missing over the last few years when he battled some injuries. He worked tirelessly and stuck to his routine to keep himself healthy and on the mound throughout the season."

On the NL side, McGehee returned to the majors from a successful season in Japan to be the Marlins' everyday third baseman and cleanup hitter. Like Young, he was playing on a team-friendly one-year deal.

The 32-year-old played in 160 games, the most of his career, and posted a slash line of .287/.355/.357 with four home runs and 29 doubles. He was second in the NL in singles and fourth in hits.

Miami improved by 15 wins over 2013, in large part because they scored 141 more runs.

"I don't think anyone really knew what to expect from Casey going into the season," Marlins radio play-by-play announcer Glenn Geffner told Sporting News."Certainly he'd had a couple of productive seasons with the Brewers in 2009 and especially 2010, but as he'd be the first to tell you, his phone wasn't exactly ringing off the hook with big league opportunities the last couple of winters."

McGehee learned a lot about himself during his 2013 season with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Pacific League, Geffner said.

"He came to understand that he's not at his best when he's going to the plate trying to hit home runs. He started using the gaps and taking the ball back up the middle in Japan, and he was able to carry that philosophy back to the big leagues with him this season. He didn't have to hit 25 home runs to be very productive. His doubles were up. His walks and OBP shot up. He displayed a knack for driving in big runs, and he came through time and time again when people pitched around (Giancarlo) Stanton."

He added: "While it would be foolish to suggest opponents feared Casey the way they did Stanton, for the first time in his years with the Marlins, Giancarlo knew he didn't have to do everything by himself. He didn't have to chase a bad ball on 3-2 and get himself out. He could take the walk and, more times than not, it seemed like Casey came through. He provided Giancarlo some piece of mind."

Geffner also praised McGehee's defense and clubhouse presence.

Sporting News has awarded Comeback Player of the Year honors since 1965. Previous Mariners to win the award: Willie Horton (1979), Richie Zisk (1981), Gorman Thomas (1985) and Gil Meche (2003). Darren Daulton (1997) is the only other Marlin to earn the honor.

Guess we should just etch in stone the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers and Braves/Cardinals every year in the final 4.

Royals in 6 here

This is bad. I'm torn on how bad, but still, bad. A child does this. A teenager should know better.

Joe Stiglich of CSNBayArea.com has a great story about Ned Yost. Yost, who grew up in the East Bay, was a big Giants fan as a kid. But he’d go to more Oakland A’s games as a teenager, sneaking into the Coliseum with his friends and then hanging around for batting practice.

One time, he spied A’s Cy Young Award winner and MVP Vida Blue. So he went to get his autograph. He had it for a while:

“One time Vida Blue was throwing a side session, and I ran down to get his autograph but I didn’t have anything for him to sign,” Yost recalled Monday. “The only thing I had was a dollar bill, so I asked Vida if he’d sign it, and he signed “Vida Blue” on the dollar bill.”

What a cherished possession it was – for about five innings.

“I was the happiest guy in the stadium until about the sixth inning, and I got hungry,” Yost said. “So I spent my Vida Blue autograph on a Colossal Dog.”

Cathcing up with Steve "bye bye" Balboni.

Sentimentality can change with one historic 8-0 run through the postseason. The Royals no longer are that cute little team that zips around the bases and throws gas in the late innings.

They’re the enemy.

Even Steve Balboni sees that. He’s the Giants’ link to Royals’ past glory, a member of Kansas City’s 1985 World Series championship team that beat the Cardinals in the Show Me showdown, thanks in part to umpire Don Denkinger’s blown call in Game 6.

Balboni, a Giants advance scout, was digging the story of the 2014 Royals, who ended the franchise’s 28-year postseason drought, at least until it became obvious they’d win the American League pennant and be the final obstacle to the Giants’ third title in five years.

“I was happy for the Royals,” Balboni said. “Now I’ve got to root against them.”

Balboni has played a key role in the Giants’ three recent World Series runs, gathering information on other teams and distributing it to club officials and coaches who use it to prepare players throughout the postseason.

Balboni also played a key role in the Royals’ only World Series championship season, collecting 36 homers — still the franchise record — and 88 RBIs in a career-high 160 games. The first baseman, known as “Bye, Bye Balboni,” was the biggest power threat in a lineup that included George Brett, Willie Wilson, Frank White and Hal McRae.

The Royals won 91 games and the ALWest and beat the Blue Jays in a seven-game ALCS. Denkinger’s botched World Series call, in the ninth inning of Game6 with the Cardinals leading 1-0 and on the verge of winning it all, turned momentum the Royals’ way.

Denkinger ruled Kansas City’s Jorge Orta safe at first when he clearly was out — back when umpires’ calls were final, before they could be challenged — first baseman Jack Clark’s toss to pitcher Todd Worrell beating Orta to the bag.

Balboni was the next batter. Clark failed to catch his catchable foul popup, and Balboni took advantage of the second chance with a single to left; he was replaced by pinch-runner Onix Concepcion. Then came a force out, a passed ball and an intentional walk. Bases loaded for pinch-hitter Dane Iorg, whose single scored two runs for a 2-1 Kansas City victory.

The Royals pitched Bret Saberhagen in Game7 and rolled to an 11-0 win.

The last time they were in the postseason until now.

“We thought we were going to be back in the playoffs,” Balboni said. “We didn’t think it would be just one time. We had injuries. We lost guys. We thought we’d regroup. It didn’t seem to happen.”

Some players didn’t know how rotten Denkinger’s call was until seeing photos in the next day’s papers.

“It became bigger after,” Balboni said. “When it happened, it looked like (Worrell) came off the bag. If he called him out, we would’ve been arguing.”

The Giants’ other advance scout, Keith Champion — who grew up in the St.Louis area and kids Balboni that the Royals stole the ’85 Series — has been with the Giants the past two postseasons, having replaced Joe Lefebvre (now a hitting coach), who advance-scouted with Balboni in 2010.

“What he was able to pick up in the scouting profession and ultimately be such a big part of the advance team is amazing because he didn’t start his post-playing career as a scout,” general manager Brian Sabean said of Balboni, who initially worked as a minor-league hitting instructor.

“But he has a tremendous ability for attention to detail, really can dissect a game as well as anybody and his recall of the game is unbelievable. There’s a lot going into the note-taking, developing the reports, the final product and being able to speak to anybody on the staff including (manager Bruce Bochy) on anything that needs to be tapped into.”

Realizing the opponents’ strengths, weaknesses and trends allows the Giants to align their defense accordingly, spot a hole in a batter’s swing and possibly anticipate when a pitcher throws a fastball or breaking ball.

Though Balboni and Champion were on the road all season, scrutinizing teams just before the Giants played them, it’s different in the postseason. They’ve accompanied the Giants throughout October, communicating with scouts in the field, including Brian Johnson, Pat Burrell, Mike Kendall, Paul Turco Jr. and Darren Wittcke, who were at the ALCS.

So was Stan Saleski, who served with the Giants since 1998, not long after Sabean became GM. Saleski died on Oct.11. He was 59.

Saleski played at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Fla. His teammates included Sabean, Balboni and Lefebvre.

“Just a down-to-earth good guy ... it’s horrible,” said Balboni, adding Saleski took him under his wing when they met at Eckerd. Balboni knew Sabean and Lefebvre in high school in New Hampshire, playing at Manchester Memorial while Sabean and Lefebvre were at rival Concord.

Before and after Game1 in Kansas City on Tuesday, the Giants’ scouting reports will continue to be produced, studied and, presumably, applied. In some cases, how the Giants react to the Royals’ potent running game and late-inning heat could be traced to the work of the Giants’ scouts.

Including an old Royal who helped Kansas City win it all in the team’s last postseason go-around.

Yet another baseball geography FAIL. On the heels of Sergio Romo being asked what country he is from ( Brawley, CA by the way ), here is a new gem, this time from Hunter Pence.

The San Francisco Giants are in Kansas City to take on the Royals in Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday, and Hunter Pence might not have been sure what state he was in.

Royals fans have been known to give Pence some trouble with their signs, including the one above, which says, "Hunter Pence thinks he's in Kansas." According to Tim Brown from Yahoo Sports, Pence was surprised they were in Missouri.

Know those Hunter Pence signs? Pence saw one here this season that read, "Hunter Pence thinks he's in Kansas." And he thought, "We're not?"


DOH!!!!!!!!!!!

....like I have anything else to do, and anywhere else to go......

Very, very cool. I'll bet they nearly crapped their pants. We should do more to honor our war veterans. I was in the army for 7.5 yrs but I never saw combat, thank God for that. 

Thank you very much for your service Geneh.  I would have never cut it in the military myself, as I don't take directions and orders well.

Random, odd, GIF of the day....

Royals fans SHOULD temper their excitement with info like this in mind. They won't, but they really should.

The Kansas City Star ran an editorial today in which it talks about how great and exciting the Royals in the World Series is. How it has brought the community together and given them a sense of purpose.

Oh, and how this fleeting bit of joy that will be over in a couple of weeks is totally worth a quarter of a billion dollars in taxpayer handouts to one of the richest men in the country:

The power of major league sports to bring this entire community together has been obvious in the past few weeks. It’s a big reason taxpayers were told they needed to approve public funding for a renovated Truman Sports Complex in 2006. And it has worked as advertised.
Apologies in advance for my playing Debbie Downer, but let us recall this report from 810 WHB in Kansas City from two years ago. It’s about how part of the public money given to the Royals was in the form of a maintenance and upkeep fund. This is how that was being used:

The Kansas City Royals have requested nearly $17 million of taxpayer money the past five years from the Kauffman Stadium repair and upkeep fund but spent only 9% of the money received on actual repairs and maintenance to the stadium, according to documents obtained by Sports Radio 810 WHB . . . The Royals have received at least $12.7 million from taxpayers that was approved by the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority as part of the RMMO provision of the team’s lease with the county and spent it on full and part time employee salaries, security, cable tv, first aid, utilities, telephones and even payroll taxes. By using the money for payroll taxes, the team literally collected taxpayer money to pay their own taxes.The Stadium Authority that is supposed to oversee all of this has been cited by state officials for not having open meetings and stuff too. So in addition to using your tax money to pay their own tax bill, the powers behind this handout to David Glass — who is estimated to be worth around $2 billion — don’t really want you to worry your pretty little head about how the money is spent.

Enjoy the World Series, Kansas Citians. Get excited and go crazy. But don’t go so crazy that you convince yourself that a little sporting event like this is worth a quarter of a billion taken out of your pockets and wasted.

I would think hardly anybody would see this as bad as I do.  But, on the flip side, as big as a baseball fan as I am, I would never vote to allow a tax increase so a rich sports owner can have a shiny new stadium.

So, I guess once you have started down that road by voting for it to be so, then I guess everyone is o.k with everything that follows.

Good for them,.....I guess.....

SF starting lineup:


Gregor Blanco (CF) 
Joe Panik (2B)

Buster Posey (C)

Pablo Sandoval (3B) 
Hunter Pence (RF)

Brandon Belt (1B)

Michael Morse (DH)

Travis Ishikawa (LF)

Brandon Crawford (SS)