It’s official: Madison Bumgarner is a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
For those in denial, there was no running away from this reality during Bumgarner’s introductory press conference in Arizona on Tuesday afternoon, when the big lefty donned a D-Backs cap and uniform while fielding questions from the local media.
One uncomfortable truth was hard to deny: It sure didn’t seem like the decision to join the Diamondbacks was all that hard for Bumgarner.
“How does it feel to wear a new uniform after playing 11 years with the San Francisco Giants?” a reporter asked.
“It feels pretty good,” a smiling Bumgarner retorted.
“Thank you guys for believing in me. I am thrilled to be a Diamondback,” Bumgarner told general manager Mike Hazen and manager Torey Lovullo.
When it came to remembering his time in San Francisco, Bumgarner focused on the fans.
“It’s tough. The fans in that city mean so much to me,” Bumgarner said. “I mean, shoot, it’s been 10 years there and we won three world championships and have been through a lot together. They’ve always been as good as they could possibly be to me and I’ll never forget that. I’ll always be thankful for it. That part of it was tough, but coming here, so far, this place has exceeded all my expectations, and like I said, I’m really excited about it.”
Ultimately, Bumgarner said that his interest in joining the D-Backs stemmed from his belief that he could win in Arizona, and secondarily, his familiarity with the region. Whether a better offer from the Giants could’ve superseded that, we may never know.
