Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper called Thursday’s 3-0 Wild Card win one of the best games he’s ever been a part of. He joined the Murph and Mac show to chat about the latest October triumph.
Kuiper also has unique access to the team, including traveling and staying at the same hotels. He made a notable and funny observation on the team bus prior to the biggest game of the season: Madison Bumgarner was taking a nap on the bus.
“We get on the bus at 4 o’clock and usually there’s hardly anyone — Jeff Kent was the only guy who rode the bus to the park,” Kuiper said. “But here’s a guy — and I thought it was one of the guys who works with (Shawon) Dunston in the clubhouse — and he’s taking a nap. He’s got his hat over his head. It’s Bum!
“He’s on the bus taking a nap on the biggest game of the year. And then, he wakes up, and you know, he starts to talk a little bit. So we walk off the bus, and he says, “I’m going to steal a base tonight.’ (Noah) Syndergaard is very slow to the plate. He says, ‘I’m going to steal a base.’ He’s not talking about throwing a shutout! He’s talking about how he’s going to steal a base. Because I think he just figures he’s going to throw a shutout. So he wants to do something he hasn’t done before!”
The bus bit wasn’t Bumgarner’s only sense of a calming presence. He and Kuiper had another moment closer to first pitch.
“Fast forward to an hour and forty-five minutes before the game,” Kuiper said. “You spend some time on the field and I’m running up into the clubhouse and I’m going to stop and take a pee. And he sees me in the bathroom and he goes, ‘Are you nervous? Is this a nervous pee? Don’t be nervous. That’s the last thing you need to be is nervous.’ And I thought, am I really watching this guy?”
As always, Kuiper is always a must-listen. The entire podcast with Murph and Mac can be heard below.
