If you go back and watch the benches-clearing incident in Game 6 of the NLCS, you'll see Bumgarner -- of course -- leading the Giants who came running in from the bullpen. You'll see Guillermo Mota and Ramon Ramirez, and more than 50 other players and coaches gathering in your classic baseball shovefest. What you won't see is Affeldt.
After Sanchez walked the leadoff batter in the third, Affeldt and Ramirez were told to warm up. Affeldt knew he might be going in to face Howard, but he only had made two or three light throws when Sanchez drilled Utley. Affeldt's first reaction was to join as the benches cleared, but bullpen coach Mark Gardner saved the day.
"I start to run out there and Gardy grabbed me and said, 'Hey, you can't go down there, you're in the game,'" Affeldt said recently. "We just took advantage of the situation, knowing that the fight, by the time it got spooled up and spooled down, it was probably going to be five or six minutes."
Affeldt got about 20 warm-up pitches in as 46,000 fans booed Sanchez. He entered and struck out Howard before getting two more outs to stand the runners.
"Going in cold right there probably wouldn't have ended up the same way," Affeldt said. "I'm glad Gardy stopped me on that."
The Giants won the game 3-2 and avoided a Game 7. Eight days later, they were champions.