Right when the Giants had hit their groove, baseball came to a crashing halt. San Francisco went 6-4 in its 10 spring training games before the coronavirus pandemic changed everything.
Prior to the cancelation of spring training and MLB's Opening Day being postponed, Giants general manager Scott Harris couldn't have been more happy with his squad. There were plenty of questions coming into spring with Gabe Kapler replacing the retired Bruce Bochy, but all signs pointed to a promising start.
"Going into spring training, we weren't really sure what we were gonna get because we had a bunch of new coaches, a bunch of new front office members, some new players and we were wondering how everyone was going to come together," Harris said Thursday on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show. "From the first week of spring training, it was clear that everyone was determined to find a way to get better each and every day.
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"I was so impressed by Gabe and the staff's ability to create a fun, efficient and competitive camp, and we were really impressed by the way the players responded."
From the players, to the front office and even the broadcasters, Kapler has received rave reviews for his first spring as Giants manager. This was a much different camp than one ran by Bochy, and everyone seems to be embracing it.
Harris could feel the momentum leading up to Opening Day. He felt better and better about this team with each passing day. And while he wishes the Giants could have carried that into the regular season without pressing pause, he believes they can easily regain their mojo.
"At least it gives us a template for when we get to ramp up again, hopefully soon, to try to re-create that spirit from camp and continue to build momentum towards spring training," Harris said.
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The one area of the Giants that stood out to Harris might surprise some fans. But it shouldn't if you listened to Kapler and the front office throughout camp.
"We were really impressed by the way our rotation responded," Harris said. "We expect our rotation to be one of the strongest elements to our team, and players like Drew Smyly and Kevin Gausman were exceptionally sharp during spring training.
"And they were also very open-minded to adding new pitches, attacking hitters in new ways and we were really encouraged by the path that they were on."
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Everyone on this team will have to be open-minded, including the veterans. This is a new era of Giants baseball, and Harris sounds ready to unveil it -- hopefully sooner than later.