Things were simpler for the Giants a year ago.
I'm not even referring to the global pandemic-shaped elephant in the room, or the coronavirus' impact on baseball and society writ large. No, I'm thinking of the fact that Madison Bumgarner still wore orange and black in 2019, and his beef(s) with celebrating hitters were still on the minds of Giants' fans.
The San Diego Padres, apparently, also pine for that simpler time. A fun fact about Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Max Muncy on the Petco Park scoreboard called back to the Bumgarner era on Monday night, reminding us that the man sometimes known as Mason Saunders and Muncy traded verbal barbs last season.
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You might not remember the particulars, considering everything that happened in the 421 days between Muncy telling Bumgarner to fetch Muncy's homer "out of the ocean" and the Padres alluding to it Monday.
Muncy said he said as much to Bumgarner when the former Giants pitcher ... took issue with the speed at which Muncy rounded the bases.
A hydrological debate over whether or not McCovey Cove, and thus San Francisco Bay, could be considered an ocean followed suit, as did Muncy and the Dodgers capitalizing on the dinger. Muncy wore a shirt with his retort when the Dodgers and Giants played again less than two weeks later, and the Dodgers were set to give out bobbleheads immortalizing Muncy's trash talk this season. That'll have to wait until 2021 at the earliest, as no fans are allowed in MLB ballparks this season.
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San Francisco Giants
Of course, considering the last few months, 2019 will feel like ancient history by the time fans can safely attend baseball games. A long-past Muncy-Bumgarner feud probably won't be top of mind for anyone at that point.
The Padres might need to provide a few more scoreboard reminders of it in the meantime.