We were shaken out of our daze as one of the legendary heroes of our TV screens suddenly appeared right in front of us. With a twinge of nervous excitement, we took out our notebooks, squared our shoulders, and asked him if we could have a minute.
“My most memorable moment as a baseball player was winning the world series with the Cardinals,” says Ryan Theroit, former Cardinals player. When we asked him about his transition to the Giants, he replied that it was going well. “Being experienced helped, and I played the Giants a lot so I already knew some of them.”
“The most touching moment I’ve ever had with a fan was when I went to Chicago and worked with kids that had disabilities,” he told us. “I had a lot of touching moments then.” Theroit loves the energy of the Giant’s fans. “I like it when the stadium is full every night,” he says, “We feed off of it as players. Baseball is a mentally draining game,” Theroit tells us. “As summer ends, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Most players can agree that one of the major factors in the team’s success has been the atmosphere at the sold-out AT&T crowds create.
“It’s like every little play matters,” said infielder Marco Scutaro.
Starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong offered a similar insight: “The crowd’s energy just makes your adrenaline go into a different gear and makes you want to get the job done for them.”