The sun has set on Matt Cain’s 13-year career with the San Francisco Giants. After struggling to find his best form and battling several injuries, Cain was well aware that the Giants were not going to re-sign him and considered that ending his career prematurely was a better route for himself. Matt Cain’s retirement will not affect the Giants much on the field but his presence will leave a huge void.
Throughout his career in San Francisco, Cain has seen it all. Woeful seasons where the fans were desperate to find a reason to look forward to baseball season. A post-Barry Bonds era where the team was looking for its identity while finishing far from first place every year. Even then, Cain was the small glimpse of hope that the fans needed going forward. Before the Buster Poseys and Tim Lincecums, there was Matt Cain.
While most of the spotlight was on Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain continued to dominate and helped create one of the deadliest starting rotations in baseball. Lincecum and Cain led the way for a Giants team that struggled offensively but whose pitching almost took them to the playoffs. They were bringing joy back to AT&T Park and fans slowly began to think playoffs once again.
Of course Cain was part of the core group of guys that helped the Giants create their own dynasty during the 2010s. Even after Lincecum began falling out of the rotation and the Zitos began leaving, Cain continued to be as reliable as before. That was until the injuries became too much for him to handle. Since 2013, Cain never really recovered that form and Giants fans painfully saw their former ace struggle to dominate again.
Injuries have no sense of compassion. They can affect any player at any time and for any length of time. We’ve seen countless athletes fail to reach their peak because of injuries. In Cain’s case, they took away one of the pioneers of this Giants’ generation. It hurt to see Cain struggle as much as he did in recent years because as a fan, we were thankful for all that he had done for the team.
Thank you Matt Cain….for everything…#legend pic.twitter.com/RgiPk3ZA4j
— Tim Flannery (@TimFlannery2) September 30, 2017
Matt Cain. Great Giant. The end. pic.twitter.com/nPMk72joJW
— Sean Jordan (@BaySean) September 27, 2017
Cain was never the flashiest pitcher. Never controversial. Sometimes even overlooked because he shared a locker room with one of the most entertaining pitchers in Tim Lincecum. However, true fans understand that before the Giants built their dynasty, they had Matt Cain as one of the few reasons to smile.
Thanks for everything, Matt and enjoy retirement.