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talk about repeating as world champs. it's got -- [indiscernible] -- but if there's one guy that can help them get back to the series against, it's going to be buster posey who already has two rings. he's gone from local hero to national celebrity. >> after the broken ankle of 2011, buster had a complete break out into the national spotlight, complete with all the perks that come with it. major awards, the rings, and a big time commercial. >> then you led your team back to the world series in 2012 only to fail. >> excuse me. >> that was a fun deal. at first i wasn't too excited about it because, you know, coming off the win in the world series and then they've got a video of us not winning the world series. >> game 7, 9th inning, bases loaded and you ground into a world series ending double

play. look at it this way, you're a hero in detroit. >> i was there four hours so to get to call him a moron at the end of it was fine. >> along with all the personal achievement, we may see more of his personality emerge. >> and it is in time and the competitive spirit that still fuels him. for instance, despite two world championships, a batting title and an mvp award, buster still believes the best is yet to come for him. >> i think everybody can get better. try to push yourself and maybe do things you're not completely comfortable with. >> the relay to the plate is in time. they got it. >> i think you see that with guys in all sports. no matter what they're doing. they're not going to be satisfy with where they are. they're constantly trying to push the envelope and figure out ways to get better. >> i said this about great players. they never think they have

arrived as a player. that's how buster feels. he knows he can get better. i told him, i said, it's incredible. i told him the boxes are checked off. what a talent he is. >> the sky is the limit for him. he just happens to be a young guy doing big things. it's such a settling affect with him on the field, you know, he is our shining light in a lot of ways and that steady force i think really allows pitchers to have to relax. >> a most rewarding spring for buster posey. he hasn't had to reflect. he most definitely hasn't forgotten it or the lesson it brought. >> for me, being injuried in 2011 i think really has allowed me to look at the game a little bit differently at a young age because i've seen it can be gone quick and enjoy every minute that you have, even on

days you're not here taking vp in arizona and try to have fun with it. >> count's o-2. >> when we all witness the historic three homerun world series performance last fall, not many were aware there was major league team work of a very different sort going on. true giant fans may remember a one time phenom. his career never flourished as he and the giants hoped but he managed to help the organization in a most unexpect wade, long after his playing career ended. >> you see it was his bat company that provided the lumber in that. it is a company he coowned and one that now provides the wood for some of the biggest names.

>> i still get nervous watching the guys playing with our bats on the field. it didn't take long for us to realize we had a special product. we had a niche in the game and we went out and took it and we targeted the premium players, the top of the line players, the all stars and the truth of it is we never spent a dollar in marketing. we still never paid an endorsement dollar to a player. we take in a big chunk of the league. >> my name is albert pujols. >> yeah, that's the aim albert that slammed three world series homeruns in 2011 with you guessed it, a bat. in fact, pujols is an investor as in 26 other players. including ryan who happens to be the one that tipped pablo off with the hugely popular bat. >> i like a lot, man. it's one of the hardest moves,

you know. you feel comfort comfortable with the bat. you feel great, you know. when you feel comfortable up there. >> it's one thing for a player to get paid to use a bat when they're in the game but when their career ends it's over. for us, they saw an opportunity to invest in a start up brand that was hot at the time with really good players and that we could take it to something really special and those guys could add value even when they're done playing. >> of course it's a great ride when they're blasting homeruns and breaking records but he admits it can also be nerve racking when the baseball slumps hit. >> when you see albert knocked to a slow start, do you ever think if the phone rings and it's him, does that go through your mind. >> we were nervous last year but the man can hit. >> offense never hurts but the giants live by the arms of one of the best staffs in all of baseball. armed and ready for a repeat but what does the future hold

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runner goes, line drive and that's it. the giants for the second time in three years are national league west champions. >> if you were to ask a long time to conjure up his imagine of the giants, chances are he might say that. but those were the giants ofiester year. in the here and now they are all about pitching and that is not about to change. >> a big strike out, two down. >> it's putting it mildly.

you can make a chase that at some point in the season any one of the five rotation guys could be stuck with the tag ace of stat including ryan who just a couple of years ago was basically a hanger on. a guy scrapping for a job. now having signed a two year $8.3 million contract extension following his incredible postseason run that included a 3-0 record and a 1.09era. well, he's not about to give up the attitude that come with fighting for everything he gets on a pitcher's mound. >> i have to stay hungry and approach it as i'm still fighting to get where i want to be. the one thing that makes you realize how many young guys we have in this organization that are good players. we only have so many spots on the big leg team and they're coming after our jobs. it makes you remember what it was like when you were 92 and i was trying to catch guy assuming head of me. got to stay hungry and keep getting the job done or they'll find somebody else that will do

it. >> it took more than a decade for him to learn his craft. it seems madison is taking a different track to stardom. that would be the fast track. in just his third full year, the leftie already wracked up a 16 win season, pitched in 6 nerve crunching appearances in the postseason and come opening day, he's just 23 years old he knows nothing of the bad old days and love the facts that this rotation is stick together. nothing else in his big league stay. >> strike out no. 3. >> i know it's something special and i'm blessed to be a part of it. it's a testament to the hard work and we play together. that's the reason we were able to pull it off. >> the other lefty in the rotation doesn't throw heat but he has certainly taken more heat than anyone else on this

staff following his rough beginning in san francisco but as quirk i can as it is and as fickle as fans can be all is forgiven and barry zito draws nothing but praise following his 2-0 performance with a 1.69era in the 2012 postseason. >> the opening day starter and rightfully so is matt king. his 2012 season wouldn't seem feasible if it were played out on a video game. not only winning 16 in the regular season but starting and winning the all star game. he also started all serious clinchers for the giants in the postseason and the cherry on top, absolute perfection. >> on the ground, from deep, got him. and that's the game. >> what can matt cain get better at. >> i don't know. there's always different things. you find ways to keep the lead when you have them.

keep your team into it. maybe when you give up runs early. there's always different things here and there. some of them, you know, you might not really be able to put a pinger on right now but when things come up, you just try to solve them as they come. >> not to forget tim lincecum. he's a story in to himself. he's coming off his worst season as a pro. he has not had a good spring training and after this season he's a free agent. what's to become of the one time face of the franchise. fred has the story? >> when he first showed us his new look he made it sound like it was no big deal. >> got tired of the long hair. >> but i reminded him, we all make changes in our life. >> oh my. >> how was it. >> oh man. >> that's when tim agreed his make over also included a different approach to pitching. >> definitely i feel as you get older, it's being open to change and adapting because you have to make changes to become

better and, you know, at first your in denial because what you think it's what got you there. >> the two time winner is coming off the worst season of his 6 year major league career. >> and this baby is gone. >> he lost velocity and control in his fast basketball. >> safe to say as your fastball goes, go the rest of your pitches. >> trying to get into better shape and last the 200 plus innings and further into the postseason. >> pitchers reinvent themselves. they're the creative geniuses on the baseball field. he's more comfortable in his own skin knowing he's not going to pitch with as much velocity. >> do you think that sometimes you think too much. >> yeah. i'm pretty introverted. just analyze those things. i would be wrong if i didn't say i didn't get negative stuff

in my head last year. >> a major collision at home and lincecum got crushed. >> he salvaged the season by becoming a dominant reliever in the postseason where he allowed just one earned run over 13 innings. >> lincecum slams the door in the top of the 6th. >> definitely i took a lot of things from that perspective of the team is the biggest thing because of the time and the place and where they're calling on me, you know? so with that, it's just putting all personal vendettas or goals aside. have to make my outs right now for the team. >> he gets the swinging strike out. >> just trying to be selfless like that. definitely puts things in perspective for this year, getting my mind back to a point where i know what i'm doing. >> he's one of the most competitive people i've been around and he does have a lot of passion. i wouldn't be surprised at anything he does this year. that's nothing to do with him being in a contract year. >> the giants hope that looks

aren't deceiving because tim still struggled this spring but he hopes his new look and new attitude gets him back to his old self- >> they weren't there from the beginning, but the world championship season wouldn't have ended in victory without them we've got their story when destiny to dynasty continues $4 doesn't really buy you much these days, huh?

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it's a high drive to left. double back. look it up. out of here. >> last october they had the giants dug out looking and sounding like a pregame locker room in the nfl but in his first full season with the giants, he knows it's got to be about production in right field. not in the dug out. joe has his story. >> they made this their pregame

ritual. >> he was probably the most colorful figure of the entire postseason run. from his pants hitched up to his knees to his running style and unusual practice swing. he is a tough guy to miss anyway. then came this as the giants faced elimination in cincinnati. >> the giants live to play another day and were successful in five more elimination games before making it to the world series. >> he was called on for updated versions of his motivational sermon but don't expect to see a reprieve in 20s. it just happened. sometimes there's moments where things like that do happen. last year is last year. it's over with. it can never be taken away but this year is a completely new year. >> line drive now. >> that maybe true but memorable moments just had a way of following him last year.

it's 5-0. >> his broken bat that made contact with the ball three times was a crucial hit and the giants win over the cardinals in the 7th and deciding game of the national league championship series. no hit better demonstrates it. put the ball in play and you'll never know what can happen. >> baseball in general, it's always a learning experience. if you show me anyone that ever perfected the game i'll be surprised. >> he wants to see the season long numbers more reflective of what he has done previously. pence batted 219 in his 59 game with the giants. 96 points below his career average. for pence though it's a lot more basic than numbers. >> my goal for this year is to take each day and give my all for that day. the truth is is the effort and the preparation that goes in it. i went out with the intention

to give everything i have for the team and to be there for those guys. that's where i'm at. >> while the numbers aren't everything, the giants are looking forward to a full season of production. the same could be said for another of last year's mid season acquisitions. fred has more on the guy his teammates call blockbuster. >> marco had an mvp series joins the ranks. >> nobody had more fun last year than marco. the 37-year-old infielder went 14 for 28 in the national league championship series. you bat 500 and you earn mvp hon no, sir. he's also the first player ever to record 6 multihit games. >> i just like to go in and help my team. >> what would the giants see. >> that's a take down right

there. >> just a quite professional baseball player. he's as professional as they come. >> he was traded from colorado to san francisco july 27th. he hit in 52 of 61 regular season game with the giants batting 362 with 44 runs batted in. again in just 61 games. no wonder his teammates named marco blockbuster as in blockbuster trade. >> it's a tribute to the work ethic and the way he is able to come up and staking over the starter roll. >> he impresses me every day. just watching him have atahualpa bat is a special thing. >> san francisco is marco's 6th team in 11 major league seasons but if you want to understand his baseball journey you have to go back to 2001. this documentary, a player to be named later. >> the pitchers grab it up the

middle. >> they got him. incredible play. >> minor league baseball player. >> that was just 12 years ago marco. >> marco, hit with the ball. >> it was a hard year for me but i already have 6 years in minor league it's an inside the park homerun. >> play good whole year. >> you're not going up. >> i was very disappointed but it gives my old career like that. the minor lesion. i have to play good every year but what happened to me last year it was -- [indiscernible] >> what a play marco recently signed a 3 year, $20 million contract with the giants. he finally shed that utility player imagine. >> line drive and that's a base hit. after delivering the game winning rbi in the world series game 4. >> delivers in the giant's lead

4-3 in the 13th. >> marco can now look back at the people that didn't believe in him and say. >> how do you like me now. >> some call it the toughest job in all of baseball. the closer. since

the closer for the giants likes to have fun. >> the giant versus a lot of personalities on their team and sergio has proven to be quite a character with character. he came out of the giant bull pen down the stretch last year on fire. but the question remains, can he do it over the course of a 162 game schedule and more?

joe has the story of the giant's closer. >> it's one of the most laughing imagines of the 2012 world series. look out over the plate for the trademark slider. >> got him looking. >> only to have him bust a fastball past him with a final out of the game. it's a moment he relived during the off season. >> i don't think that one will ever be not on replay at my house or my parents house. it's one of those moments that i'm very blessed and privileged to be that guy. >> in a round about way he became that guy. prior to last year, he totaled three saves in his four previous major league seasons. first brian wilson went down and then he struggled. the giants had to resort to the so-called bull pen by committee until romo evolved as the closer. this subpoena begin with a bit

of a caveat. >> this is his first year. you have a tendency to get him up a lot. or maybe try to pitch three or four days in a row. i don't think, you know, we'll do that. >> the giants have such a deep bull pen. they refer to it by their own description. >> inning over. >> it's situational pitching. that's what made it successful. everybody in the bull pen has a different angle and look and that's something that makes us click. >> while romo finished last season as the closer, no fewer than 3 of the giants other current releasers combine for an additional 35 saves. it means the roles maybe fluid. but it's about a lot more than individual stats. >> i just aspire to be the best i can be. i put everything out there when i play. i'm very direct. everything to me is just a blessing. >> most of us are under two greens so we like winning and we enjoy it. we're going to go out there and figure out to way to get the

rings on our fingers. >> plenty of questions need to get answer first degree the giants are to win the western division again let alone get back to the world series. we'll see if dynasty is their destiny. thanks for watching everybody mom, i invited justin over for lunch. good. no, not good. he's a vegetarian and he's going to be here in 20 minutes! don't stress. we can figure this out. [ male announcer ] get the speed to make a great first impression. call today to get u-verse high speed internet