Farhan Zaidi is now the toast of the town after the Giants won a club-record 107 games in 2021, but it wasn’t always that way.
The move to acquire Zaidi was met with heavy skepticism in late 2018, due in part to his Dodger roots, and the perception that his number’s based philosophy flew in the face of the more old school approach that Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean rode to three championships.
There was also concern that Zaidi would not mesh with a traditionalists like Bruce Bochy, or with the likes of Madison Bumgarner and yes, franchise cornerstone Buster Posey.
Zaidi was aware of the perception, and he admitted on Thursday that the criticism got to him a bit.
“When i first started with the Giants in late 2018, there were some raised eyebrows when I was brought over,” Zaidi said during Posey’s retirement announcement on Thursday. “There was talk about me maybe being a Dodger mole or maybe being a numbers guy who wasn’t in tune with the Giants ethos. In all honesty, I was a little rattled by that. It was a real adjustment personally and professionally.”
Posey had a right to be skeptical of Zaidi. The catcher had put together the makings of a Hall of Fame resume under the likes of Bochy, Sabean and Evans. The Giants were struggling, and there was a perception that Zaidi had come in to blow everything up. Posey is a consummate professional, but it would’ve been reasonable for him not to be thrilled with the hire.
Yet it was Posey who was first to reach out to Zaidi, and not just to congratulate him. Posey wanted to meet face-to-face, and get to know the new leader of the team’s baseball operations. Zaidi says the meeting changed everything.
“One of the first people that reached out to me was Buster. He made a point of reaching out and not just shooting a congratulatory text but saying he wanted to meet and talk. He met me down at the clubhouse a few days after I started as a Giant. Spent two or three hours down in the coaches room, just talking baseball and he was probably sizing me up too, in those moments.
“I have to say, there is nothing anybody else could have done that made me feel more comfortable and made me feel more like a Giant, than you taking that time in my first few days” Zaidi said addressing Posey directly. “Those were the moments when I truly felt like I became a Giant.”
Ultimately, Posey knew that establishing a relationship with Zaidi and working together was the key to turning the Giants around. San Francisco was coming off a brutal two-year stretch where they had lost 174 games. Change was necessary, and Posey was going to make sure he was part of helping foster that with Zaidi.
“I share that story because I think all of us have these stories about Buster. The incredible empathy he has to elevate people and put them in the best position to do their jobs. That’s not just teammates or the pitchers he caught, but all of us: coaches, managers, people in the front office.
“For all your individual accolades, I think that’s what people will remember and appreciate most out of these 12 years, is what you meant to them personally.”