Spring Training officially started just about a week ago when pitchers and catchers reported to Scottsdale Stadium. But the unofficial starting gun went off on Thursday when Murph and Markus descended upon Old Town for their annual February pilgrimage to Giants camp.
The Giants don’t have any opponents other than themselves yet. But the excitement of live at bats during intrasquads is well underway. High profile matchups have yielded exciting results in the first few days of competition. From Heliot Ramos taking Justin Verlander deep, to Willy Adames victimizing Logan Webb, baseball starved fans have had plenty to feast on in February.
Justin Verlander, always a fierce competitor, ramped things up later, according to NBC Sports Bay Area’s Alex Pavlovic.
Patrick Bailey had an up and down year in 2024, his first full season as the Giants’ true starting catcher. His defensive value was undeniable, earning a gold glove behind the dish. But after a respectable first half at the plate, Bailey fell off a cliff in August and struggled in September. His ability to maintain through the grind of a catcher’s 162 game season has been a hot topic this off-season. Bailey joined Murph & Markus on Thursday morning and reflected on 2024, while also highlighting the benefit of learning under a pair of catchers with plenty of Major League pedigree. His manager Bob Melvin, and brand new President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey.
Matt Chapman was another marquee guest on the morning show in Scottsdale. He covered a wide range of topics, but perhaps most notably highlighted his publicized contract extension with the Giants. The deal went down in September, and famously involved Buster Posey getting the deal over the finish line before he was officially named President of Baseball Operations.
“Yeah I probably knew before most people,” Chapman said when prompted about the timing of Posey gearing up to accept the POBO job.
Chapman also discussed his famous game ending play in New York this past May. One of the highlights of the year for the Giants, the spectacular web gem didn’t quite get the national love when the season wrapped up. Chapman joked with Murph and Markus that he thought he might have been snubbed.
Check out the full Matt Chapman interview here: https://omny.fm/shows/murph-markus-podcast/2-20-matt-chapman-joined-murph-markus-live-from-sc
And the full Patrick Bailey interview here: https://omny.fm/shows/murph-markus-podcast/2-20-patrick-bailey-joined-murph-markus-live-from