The Giants had lost 14 of their last 19 games. Their latest, a 7-3 defeat to Atlanta that got away from them, confirmed their seventh straight series loss. Twelve games over .500 on Aug. 4, the Giants had slipped to 66-63.
Thairo Estrada, like the rest of the clubhouse, was frustrated. The typically reserved infielder from Venezuela wanted to speak up.
But first, he needed to gather his thoughts.
Instead of right after Saturday’s game, Estrada came to Oracle Park on Sunday prepared, with bullet points, to address his team. Right in front of his locker, with assistant hitting coach Pedro Guerrero enlisted as his interpreter, he led a private team meeting.
Twenty-five sets of ears listened.
“(Estrada’s) a guy I look up to on this team,” rookie Tristan Beck said. “When he speaks, it carries a lot of weight.”
Estrada’s message, essentially, was that the Giants are capable of playing like they were earlier in the season. They just need to play as a team, to take the extra base, to compete with every pitch, to impact the game any way possible.
Basically: play like Estrada.
“We obviously haven’t been playing our best baseball, like we can,” Guerrero told KNBR. “I think it meant a lot, because this is a guy who’s very quiet, very to himself. Leads by example, through actions. He said ‘I want to speak,’ and I think that caught everybody by surprise. He already has the respect of the team by how he plays, and the fact that he put it into words, I think it meant a lot.”
Estrada is the Giant whose jersey always seems to collect the most dirt. His hard-nosed, aggressive style makes him more valuable to the team than his WAR would suggest (although that’s still among the highest on the club).
But he’s also far from the most likely person to take the proverbial podium.
Although reserved, Estrada isn’t shy (“No soy tímido,” he clarified). He’s soft-spoken, but relentlessly optimistic; while talking to the media after big games, he’ll often thank God and credit his teammates and coaches for his success.
He sensed the Giants needed him. Rather than stepping into the batting cage for extra reps, he stepped out of his comfort zone a bit. He implored them to forget about the rough August and rediscover some of the confidence they had earlier in the season.
“Everybody knows that I play the game really hard, it doesn’t matter what score the game is,” Estrada said. “I think I respect everybody in this clubhouse, and I think they respect me. It’s not easy to call a team meeting, especially with a lot of my teammates who have a lot of experience. But I thought it was a good time to go ahead and share a positive message that will probably help us the rest of the way.”
Estrada asked Guerrero to translate every single word exactly as he said it. He didn’t want to risk losing any meaning.
The message didn’t get lost in translation. It translated right onto the field, in a rousing win highlighted by Casey Schmitt’s homer, Beck impressing in his first MLB start and Patrick Bailey’s bases-clearing double.
Estrada, on cue, filled in the gaps.
“I think it’s a different game if Thairo’s not out there playing his heart out at second,” Beck said.
Estrada was in the thick of the craziest double play of the expansion era, when he had the wherewithal to nab the speedy Orlando Arcia at home despite being the third Giant to touch the ball. You can never blink against a team like the Braves, he said postgame.
Later in the victory, Estrada laid down a crucial RBI bunt single to push San Francisco’s lead to 8-5.
“Just get back to playing team baseball, passing the baton, and trust each other,” Bailey said of Estrada’s speech. “It was awesome. I think we needed it and I think he stepped up with how he played today.”
Even though he went 1-for-5, Estrada impacted the game with his brand of baseball, practicing what he preached.
“Everybody knows we’ve had a very difficult and challenging month of August,” Estrada said. “So I just told the team that we’re able to go ahead and do positive things. It was just a positive message I wanted to give the team. We have a month left and I think there’s still a chance for us to get in. Don’t forget what we did in the beginning, forget what we did in the month of August.”
No one speech can save a season. But an improbable leader stepping up could make a world of difference in a National League wild card race separated by inches.
“I think it was something that was necessary,” Estrada said. “Everybody felt that it was necessary to have the meeting. Just go out there and play really hard, respect the game. Play every inning, every pitch, ready.”
