Despite offering the same contract as his other suitors, the Giants lost out on Shohei Ohtani, extending their drought of landing superstars.
Via either free agency or trade over the past several years, the Giants have tried unsuccessfully to land Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Giancarlo Stanton and now Ohtani. Although they reportedly signed Korean center fielder Jung Hoo Lee this week to a six-year, $113 million deal — the richest for a position player in franchise history — the last two true blockbuster acquisitions were Barry Zito in 2007 ($126 million for seven years) and Barry Bonds 14 years prior.
In an interview with Andy Baggarly of The Athletic, part-owner Buster Posey pointed to the city of San Francisco’s issues with crime and homelessness, and the perception of those issues, as a factor in their failed free-agent pursuits.
“Something I think is noteworthy, something that unfortunately keeps popping up from players and even the players’ wives is there’s a bit of an uneasiness with the city itself, as far as the state of the city, with crime, with drugs,” Posey told The Athletic. “Whether that’s all completely fair or not, perception is reality. It’s a frustrating cycle, I think, and not just with baseball. Baseball is secondary to life and the important things in life. But as far as a free-agent pursuit goes, I have seen that it does affect things.”
The concept of San Francisco hurting the Giants’ chances at free agents isn’t new. Last winter, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi described the city as a “polarizing place” for some players because of factors beyond baseball.
Since Posey’s comments, national reporters like Buster Olney and Ken Rosenthal have said they’ve heard the same concerns from agents and players.
Although Ohtani never expressed outright concerns about the city while meeting with the Giants, Baggarly reported that San Francisco’s pursuit of the two-way phenom was affected by his potential reservations about living in the Bay Area.
San Francisco’s reputation has taken a hit in recent years, particularly since the pandemic. In-person work has diminished, leaving downtown feeling desolate at times. Some pockets of the city, particularly the Tenderloin, see high rates of crime, drug abuse and trafficking, homelessness and squalor. National media outlets, often conservative-leaning ones, have bashed the city’s problems, painting it as a failure of liberal political leadership.
Crime statistics paint a different story. There were 544 reported violent crimes per 100,000 residents in 2022, per the San Francisco Chronicle — 14th among large cities. MLB cities Houston, Chicago, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle were more dangerous than San Francisco on a violent crime basis.
Professional athletes also aren’t living in the roughest patches of the region, either; many commute from leafy suburbs like Lafayette or Atherton.
Yet as Posey noted, perception can be powerful. Visiting clubs typically stay in hotels in Union Square, which could give the wrong impression to some. The Giants have had a lot of success attracting players with Bay Area roots — Sean Manaea, Joc Pederson, Mitch Haniger — who have more of an affinity and familiarity with the region.
The city’s perception is certainly not the only reason the Giants have struck out on free agents. They haven’t landed an impact position player free agent since Barry Bonds in 1993. The ballpark is cold and unfriendly to all hitters, but especially lefties. California has the highest state income tax rate in the country (though that doesn’t seem to bother players in the glamor market of Los Angeles).
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The Giants pitched Ohtani on the opportunity to join an arguably unmatched lineage of legendary players — Mays to Bonds to Posey to…Ohtani — who have donned orange and black. Ohtani ended up staying in Southern California, signing a landmark 10-year, $700 million contract with historic deferrals with the Dodgers.
“I just feel that him coming to the Giants could have been transformative, obviously for the baseball team but it also would’ve given the city a boost that we’ve all been looking for,” Posey said.
The city of Los Angeles has many of the same issues as San Francisco. One way or another, the Dodgers have found ways to overcome them in meetings with free agents. Posey and the rest of the Giants’ brass will need to hone their own best pitch to get the results they — and the fan base — are looking for.
