Another Thank You Letter to Ryan Vogelsong

Giants fans have a unique relationship with Ryan Vogelsong. Not a single year in the last five years has every fan been on board with Vogelsong at the same time. Well, maybe one time. In 2012, with the team's back against the wall, Vogelsong pitched his heart out against the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series to force a deciding Game 7.

Outside of that single game, fans have always been assuming that the season they watched #Vogelstrong pitch would be his final season as a Giant. Every offseason, fans expected the Giants to move on from the former homegrown pitcher who had given it everything he had and probably didn't have anything left. And every season, the Giants kept bringing him back.

After 2014, and a second World Series Championship, fans expected Ryan to ride off into the sunset with his wife Nicole and his family. However, Ryan wanted to pitch in 2015, and the Giants fans got on the radio and made it known that we should move on. I never understood this logic. Even this offseason, Vogelsong would give us a veteran to spot start, be used as a long man and even a possible late inning guy at times. That job, at the moment, will go to someone from the Giants farm system. Chris Heston, who threw a no-hitter last season against the NLCS champion New York Mets, is the favorite to win the job, so the competition would be legitimate and it's possible Vogelsong wouldn't make the team.

That is why he has looked this offseason for a new home, despite telling fans and the front office that he wanted to return. This week, Vogelsong found a home, signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates on a one-year deal. It's an opportunity for one of the greatest pitchers in San Francisco Giants playoff history to try to make one more postseason.

No Giant ever wore a bigger heart on his sleeve than Ryan Vogelsong. And whenever Rags retires, I suspect I know who will replace him.

— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) December 19, 2015

As a Giants fan, I am sad that Vogelsong will not be able to finish his career in San Francisco. As a Ryan Vogelsong fan, I am thrilled that he has found an opportunity to start for one of the best teams in baseball.

Last off-season, when there were reports that Vogelsong had signed with the Houston Astros, I wrote Ryan an open letter on my blog to share with him how much he truly meant to the fanbase, regardless of what some fans had said each offseason:

Dear Ryan Vogelsong,

Thank you for giving your heart and soul to the San Francisco Giants for the last four years. What an incredible journey it took to come back to the franchise where it all started. What an even more incredible last four years. Two world championships, a Willie Mac award and an All-Star appearance. Through all the ups and downs, you continued to put in the hours and give everything of yourself for this team.

The best thing about your time in San Francisco is that when the team needed you most, you performed. Your post-season record will go down in history as one of the best ever in the history of the franchise. Fans will always remember you for that. And, that will make you forever a fan favorite.

I am so happy for you to find a team where you will have the opportunity to pitch every fifth day. I know that opportunity might not have been possible with the Giants in 2015. Here's hoping you are able to continue to pitch for as long as you want. One day, you will have a plaque outside AT&T Park for all of your success in orange and black. Fitting you found another team in orange to play for. Good luck in Houston. You will forever be a champion and forever a Giant.

 The fan base

When news broke about Ryan heading to Houston last offseason long time Giants broadcaster and former pitcher Mike Krukow said: "The one thing you want as a player is to be remembered, and San Francisco will never forget Ryan Vogelsong."

Now, a year later, and five seasons in the books in San Francisco, the same feelings still apply. Fans may have had a hard time seeing what the Giants continued to see in Ryan over the last five seasons, but what I saw was a guy willing to give everything he had for his team, his teammates and this fan base. Fans should be so lucky to have a pitcher like Ryan Vogelsong on their team for half a decade, willing to take the ball every fifth day no matter what, and pitch with everything he's got for as long as he can.

Giants still using the same formula

The San Francisco Giants have been busy this off-season. They have extended their franchise shortstop Brandon Crawford to a new long term contract and signed two top of the rotation pitchers in Jeff Samardzija and Johnny Cueto. They have also said goodbye to many players who had key roles in championship seasons in San Francisco.

Crawford's deal is the Giants way, giving extensions to homegrown players that are part of the nucleus of the franchise. The Giants did the same with several key pieces over the years, including Buster Posey, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and many others.

However, the other common thread among the previous seasons for the Giants is to re-sign players when they become free agents. Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Angel Pagan, Jeremy Affeldt, and others came from other teams, fit right in with the clubhouse and all contributed greatly to a championship. Then, when it was time for free agency, they were re-signed. Many of these players struggled at times to put up the numbers they had previously, but this was a part of the reason that this franchise was winning so many post-season games. The locker room felt like a family because the front office kept the family together. So when Cody Ross, Javier Lopez, Marco Scutaro or Hunter Pence were brought in during the season and only spent a few months with the franchise, it was already clear that the team would keep them around.

Going into the 2015 off-season, fans expected the Giants to bring back Mike Leake, a mid-season trade, who struggled to stay healthy, but was the type of pitcher they were looking for in the rotation behind Bumgarner.

Affeldt and Tim Hudson had announced their retirement before the season ended, so Giants fans were able to say goodbye to both pitchers, but several free agents were question marks to return to the club. This was unusual, because very few free agents ever left the team. Yet, in 2015, the Giants have already lost Ryan Vogelsong, Yusmeiro Petit, Hector Sanchez, Juan Perez, Joaquin Arias, Nori Aoki and are unlikely to bring back Lincecum. Alejandro De Aza and Marlon Byrd are both still free agents, but there isn't any indication that either will be brought back to play left field in 2016. Some fans may see this as a change from what they are used to, but we saw a glimpse of this new version last off-season.

Before the Giants brought back Jake Peavy, Sergio Romo, and Vogelsong, the Giants went after Jon Lester. Bobby Evans, the team's general manager, was trying to find a pitcher to pair with Bumgarner. He had also hoped publicly that Cain could return to form and give them the type of season they were accustomed to for Matt's first eight years with the club. With injuries to Peavy and Cain crippling the Giants starting pitching depth last year, the mission was clear this off-season: to add pitching depth to the rotation. At first, that meant going after Zack Greinke, the runner up to the Cy Young award in 2015, and an elite pitcher. When the Giants became runners up for the second straight off-season to a top pitcher, the Giants stayed the course and went after Samardzija. After signing him to a five year deal, they turned their attention to Cueto and were able to sign him as well.

But with all this money to big time free agents, are the Giants getting away from what has made them so great? The simple answer is no. The 2010, 2012, and 2014 World Series Championships were won on pitching and defense. The Giants have given $295 million to three players this off-season that are their gold glove shortstop and two starting pitchers with ace potential.

The team may have gone about it differently than in past off-seasons, with the front page signings, but Crawford, Samardzija and Cueto fit everything the Giants do and have done the last six seasons. What Bobby Evans has done is no different than the money the team has given to so many other players in past seasons. They know the formula it takes to win and they have the horses now to compete again for a fourth championship this decade.