Gary Peterson

Giants fans showed up in droves on a fine September afternoon to say goodbye. Memories were shared, practically all of them happy. There was talk of a reunion, however unlikely, perhaps an old friendship dressed up in a new uniform.

That game was of little consequence. When it was over, there was a final wave and a sad goodbye.

It was goodbye, wasn’t it?

Not in 1992, it wasn’t. More than 45,000 fans hedged their emotional bets, paying their way inside Candlestick Park for the Giants’ final home game that season. No one knew what lay in store for the team. A move to Tampa-St. Petersburg? A reinvention under new local ownership in San Francisco? It was an open question when the team spontaneously returned to the field after a 3-2 loss to Cincinnati.

“We wanted to say goodbye,” Matt Williams said. “If it is goodbye.”

Six months later, the Giants magically reappeared at Candlestick Park. They had new owners and a new left fielder, fellow by the name of Barry Bonds. Bay Area baseball fans had no clue what the next 15 years would hold in store.

“We had an opportunity to get the best player in the game on our team,” Giants managing partner Peter Magowan recalled on Sept. 21, the day he announced the team had decided to part ways with Bonds. “I think it gave our (new) ownership group instant credibility. And almost from the start, it worked out well. I remember that first at-bat he had at Candlestick Park, he hit a massive home run. That first year, he was (the National League) Most Valuable Player and the Giants won 103 games.”

MSNBC.com podcast Manny will never get into Hall A semiweekly opinionated podcast on the hottest topics in sports, hosted by JT the Brick. Get each new Rant automatically by subscribing to the podcast: right-click on the "Pod" button below and copy and paste the link into your podcast software's subscription function. iTunes users can subscribe directly by clicking on the "iTunes" button below. Or, listen to JT's current Rant with the "MP3" button.

No mental scrapbook of Bonds’ stay in San Francisco would be complete without the three abovementioned memories. For starters, the fact Bonds was on the team at all. He had been a prodigal son in the hearts of Giants fans for years — son of popular one-time Giants great Bobby Bonds, a high school legend on the San Francisco Peninsula, drafted by the team in 1982 (he declined its offer and accepted a scholarship to Arizona State).

Bonds didn’t save the Giants for San Francisco, but he was part of a whirlwind of events that left fans dizzy with excitement. The Magowan-led ownership group took charge, signed the prodigal son (and reigning MVP), and pledged to keep the team in San Francisco. Sure enough, in Bonds’ first home at-bat as a Giant, he took three pitches from Florida’s Chris Hammond, and pulverized the fourth, sending it deep into the right field bleachers.

The team, a 90-game loser and potential transient in 1992, did indeed win 103 games in 1993. It fought the Atlanta Braves to the final day of the regular season before losing out on the N.L. West crown. Bonds was voted MVP again, for the third time in four seasons.

Three fallow seasons followed. Bonds batted .312 in the first, had 104 RBI in the second, and achieved baseball’s second-ever 40-40 season in the third. But they were individual accomplishments that led the team nowhere. There was even talk that he should be traded so the team could put his humongous salary to better use.

MORE FROM BASEBALL

Baseball Section Front

Handicapping the Halladay chase Blyleven: Pitching to be had beyond Halladay DeMarco: Red Sox should take measured approach CTB: A prediction — Lackey will sign with Yankees   CTB: Indians unlikely to deal Wood this offseason   CTB: Mets could be interested in Royals’ Guilllen Complete list of free agents Circling the Bases: Blogging on news, rumors, buzz SCORES, SCHEDULES, STANDINGS, STATS Latest baseball videos Baseball Section Front   Add Baseball headlines to your news reader: