The San Francisco Giants have been an anomaly during this slow offseason, in that they’ve actually participated in some wheeling and dealing while the rest of baseball sits on their hands. After a dreadful 98 loss season, the team has shown no signs of throwing in the towel by acquiring former All-Stars like Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria.
Critics of the Giants’ approach have said the team needs to focus their energy on rebuilding the farm system, not trading for veterans who may have seen their best playing days go by. But many fans and pundits might have already forgotten that the Giants have dome some work to address their minor league problems.
Almost as soon as the postseason ended, the Giants announced that they would revamp nearly every facet of the farm system, including new coaches, managers and hiring a new Vice President of Player Development, David Bell.
After climbing the coaching ladder for the past few years with the Cubs and Cardinals, the former Giants third baseman is back with the team he won a pennant with in 2002. On the latest edition of the KNBR Minor League Podcast, Bell talked about what it feels like to be back with the organization where he has so many fond memories.
“I know it was only one year, but it was just so special” Bell said of his one season stint during the Giants 2002 World Series run. “Never knew for sure if I would make it back and it’s been kind of a dream come true being back as part of the San Francisco Giants and in a role that I’m really excited about.”
As VP of Player Development, Bell will work on revitalizing a Giants farm system that has been consistently ranked among baseball’s worst by Baseball America over the past few seasons. Bell talked about the challenges he and the rest of the Giants player development face as they look to improve the organization’s talent pipeline.
“It was a tough year last year and it really created an opportunity to get better, and I think in baseball it’s so important to learn from any failure because that’s, really, in the end, the only opportunity to get better. So I think that cycle we’re gonna look back at and be grateful that it happened even though it’s really tough to go through.”
For more from David Bell and the state of the Giants farm system, make sure to listen to the latest edition of the KNBR Minor League Podcast.