The Rise of Joey Bart

Aug 16, 2022 | 2022 Season, Latest Post

by
Greek Giant

Joey Bart, Back from the Dead

While we are all ready to send Joey Bart packing to an independent league in South Korea for a bucket of baseballs back in May it turns out the Giants AAA staff and front office were a bit smarter than us. Joey Bart has emerged, ladies and gentlemen! In last night’s 6-1 Giants win the young catcher had three more hits, two runs batted in, and has gone 13-26! He is now batting .333 since the All Star Break.

Farhan Zaidi’s vote of confidence has certainly meant a great deal to Bart’s confidence. I was always a strong believer that young players need proper stewardship to succeed in the big leagues before they establish themselves. Who knows how Bart’s career will end up in the long term but right now he has been one of the most productive Giants in the past month, both at the plate and on the field. Kudos to Farhan Zaidi for trading Curt Casali and taking that big step. In hindsight it was a gamble that needed to be made. Either Bart swims or sinks, either way it was time for the Giants to know what kind of talent they had in the first round draft pick who can pack a wallop from the right side of the plate.

Longoria Goes “Boom”

Evan Longoria, remember him? He was another hero in last night’s game. Hits two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning got the Giants rolling against Madison Bumgarner. That homer came off a curve or cutter down and away that was 79 mph. The location was pretty good if you are a pitcher but a 79 MPH off-speed pitch will not cut it and that may be the difference with today’s Bumgarner versus the 2014 version. Or, if it was a changeup the difference in velocity between the heater might be a bit too much. At any rate Longoria got a good swing on it.

It’s tough to see MadBum struggling, even if it is against the Giants. The home fans at last night’s game gave him a nice ovation as he exited the game. As Duane Kuiper put it: “Our fans do not forget.”

Well-Rounded Offense

Austin Slater made it 3-0 in the bottom of the fifth with a single to left to drive in Joey Bart who reached second base on a booming double off the wall down the right field line.

Bart drove in two runs on a line drive one hopper off the wall in left that was hit so hard he could only get a single off it. He drove in two runs with the knock. So, if you are keeping score at home that’s a bunt single, an opposite field double and smoked single to left off the wall for Joey Bart.

J. D. Davis had two hits and Alex Cobb went six innings allowing only one run as he lowered his ERA to 3.99 while getting his fourth win of the season. He also had five strikeouts and allowed five hits. His only blemish was a solo homer by Christian Walker. Cobb did not even turn around to watch the ball. He knew it was a home run off the bat and quietly asked for a new ball, toed the rubber for the next rubber and shook it off. That’s called professionalism, ladies and gentlemen,

Cobb has been on a quietly impressive run since the All Star Break.

This is Joey Bart’s bunt single, a beautiful piece of execution. When it’s your night, it’s your night:

The Numbers

  • Since the start of 2020 the Giants are 18-2 at home against Arizona
  • The Giants have won four in a row
  • The Giants are now one game over .500 at 58-57 and 5.5 games back of the final Wild Card
  • Joey Bart is now batting .233 after a start that saw his batting average get much lower than his weight in the low .100s
  • Madison Bumgargner is now 6-12 with a 4.37 ERA (Was Zaidi right to let him walk?)

Tonight’s Game

The Giants and DBacks play game two of their four-game series tonight at 6:45 PM. It will be Merrill Kelly vs Jakob Junis. This should be an interesting test of the Giants bullpen and the Giants bats. Kelly is having a good season and pitches well against our boys.