Bob Melvin Calls 2024 Season With Giants More Difficult Than 2023 With Padres

Maren Angus-Coombs | Sep 11, 2024

Stan Szeto-Imagn Images

Bob Melvin thought he was dreaming when he buttoned up his San Francisco Giants jersey for the first time at his introductory press conference in October.

He grew up a Giants fan in the Bay Area suburb of Menlo Park, often riding his bike past Willie Mays’ house, hoping for a glimpse of his idol. His passion for the Giants only intensified during his three seasons with the team and throughout his 20-year managerial career with four franchises.

When the San Diego Padres let Melvin leave after a challenging season and the Giants hired him to replace Gabe Kapler, his lifelong ambitions came full-circle.

However, this season has played out like more of a nightmare than a dream. The Giants entered Tuesday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers 71-73. They are eight games out of first place in the National League West and the same amount back in the Wild Card race.

Postseason baseball likely won't return to San Francisco this October.

“This is everything I’ve dreamed of coming in here,” Melvin said on Saturday. “And so for it not to go well — and my expectation was that it would go well — makes it probably the hardest year I’ve had.”

Instead of playing for momentum heading into the postseason, a more worthwhile goal for the final three weeks would be to finish above .500, evaluate the young players, and establish a standard for more disciplined play after a summer marked by inconsistency.

The heartbreak deepened for the Giants when they mourned Willie Mays' death in June, just two days before honoring his legacy at a game held at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Ala.

A few weeks later, they also lost another Hall of Famer and franchise legend, Orlando Cepeda.

The season hasn’t gone as Melvin had hoped or dreamed, and he admitted that the team’s struggles and losing record have dampened some of his enthusiasm.

This season marks Melvin's second consecutive season managing a major disappointment.

Despite a star-studded roster, the Padres missed the playoffs last year under Melvin. But the sentimentality of returing to the team he grew up watching magnified the expectations Melvin felt in San Francisco. He also acknowledged the challenge of adjusting to both his team and an analytics-focused front office in his first year with the Giants.