“Will the Thrill”

Damian Moss joined the Giants in 2003 during a season when San Francisco was trying to stay ahead of the pack without the deep rotation it enjoyed the year before. The team had lost several veterans, and the local media spent much of the spring asking whether the pitching staff had enough depth to support a lineup built around Barry Bonds.

Moss arrived from Atlanta as part of the Russ Ortiz trade, and the reaction was mixed. Reporters liked his toughness but wondered whether his walk rate would catch up to him in the NL West. For a while, he quieted those concerns. Over 22 starts with San Francisco, Moss put up a 3.68 ERA, held opponents to a .248 average, and often gave the club five or six competitive innings when they badly needed stability behind Jason Schmidt and Kirk Rueter.

As the season went on, coverage shifted. Some nights Moss looked like a dependable mid-rotation lefty, and other nights he battled his command, which drew predictable grumbling from the beat writers. Even so, his work helped the Giants maintain control of the division through most of the summer. His stint wasn’t long, but in a year when the team was piecing things together, Moss played a real part in keeping the season on track.

A two-time Cy Young winner who dominated baseball with a body that defied scouting logic and a delivery that rewrote the rules of pitching mechanics, Tim Lincecum was one of the most electrifying pitchers of his era. At just 5’11” and 170 pounds, “The Freak” proved that elite velocity and swing-and-miss stuff could come from anywhere.

From 2008–2011, Lincecum was the most unhittable starter in the game: four straight All-Star seasons, back-to-back Cy Youngs, and strikeout titles built on a whiplash delivery and devastating changeup. He became the face of a new-age Giants dynasty, delivering iconic postseason performances including his 14-strikeout playoff debut and a complete-game shutout in the 2010 World Series.

Historically, Lincecum was a revolution. His success helped inspire a generation of smaller-framed pitchers and pushed teams to rethink old-school ideas about size, biomechanics, and player development. His delivery became a case study in kinetic-chain efficiency.

In a personal note, Lincecum is Filipino on his mom’s side and is a central part of my Filipino-American PC.

2024 Topps Finest #FRA-WM

Wade Meckler Rookie Auto

Willie Mays! Arguably the games best ever!