PHOENIX, Ariz.–Giants’ right-hander Matt Cain will start Saturday’s game at AT&T Park against the San Diego Padres, and on Wednesday morning, Cain confirmed that the outing will be his last.
After 13 seasons with the Giants’ organization, the right-hander has decided to retire.
Cain spoke with reporters on Wednesday morning at Chase Field, and here’s what he had to say.
Cain on his retirement: “I just wanted to let you guys know that I think that Saturday and this weekend will be my last time putting on a Major League and a Giants’ uniform and I can’t see myself going anywhere else to be able to play with another team. This organization has meant so much to me, it’s meant so much to my family and it’s something that’s dear to my heart. I’m just grateful that it’s been a part of my life and I’ve enjoyed it. I’ve enjoyed it so much.”
On if this is the right time to step away: “I believe so and that took me awhile to kind of come to that conclusion. It gives me a little more freedom to be able to go out Saturday and enjoy the moment and enjoy even today and Friday and Sunday. The last few days it’s been something that’s been on my mind and I was trying to find the correct way. I don’t know if there’s a right way or a wrong way of doing it, but after really thinking about it and taking my time with it, I felt like this was the best thing for myself and even for the team and for the fans. I feel like this works out the right way.”
On if he thinks he could still pitch: “It depends on the day. You’ve got days where you feel good and I think that’s with talking with other players that have retired, they have those moments where they do feel like they can play. I mean, I’ve talked with Jeremy Affeldt a ton, I know that he knows that his arm still has the capability of getting outs. But it’s more than that. It comes down to what you feel like you can be able to put into the game and be able to get back out of it. And the same thing with our family and our mind and our body and there’s just so many factors that come into it. We all sit there and think that we can still throw like we used to and we probably can at certain amounts of times but I don’t know that you can for an entire season the way that you would like to.”
On the decision sinking in: “I think it’s definitely something that’s more real when it comes down toward the end of the season. I think it means a lot to me be able to have a Giants’ uniform on for the last time for me and I appreciate everything this organization has done for me.
On what he’ll remember most: “The greatest moments? It’s hard to really sum it all up. Honestly, it’s seeing the growth of an organization go through when I first came into the organization, even when I first signed, I saw an organization that was in the postseason, I saw what it looked like, I started to learn more about the organization and you know, kind of coming through the organization, it was changing, it was turning over. To be able to go through all of that entire process with an organization is special. To be able to be a part of a group that has had some really rough seasons and to be able to say that we had some amazing seasons and we won it all. Those are all special. I think being able to put all of those together is something that is very meaningful and not very many people get to see the bottom of the barrel and the top of the barrel and that’s really special to me.”
On how hard it is to say ‘retire’: “It is hard to get out and yeah, it very much is. Unless something really unbelievable happens, it will be a retirement.”
On how the Giants’ accomplishments make this decision easier: “I do feel that maybe if we hadn’t done some things as a team that it could be harder, but I think we’ve been through the full gamut of everything and I think that’s something that is satisfying. I know that I’m able to hang my hat at the end of the day and say that I put everything I could into this and that I’ve experienced it all and enjoyed every bit of it.”
On when he made the decision: “I guess I don’t exactly know. I’d say it really started to hit home maybe over the last week, it was something that started to hit home and something that I was really, really conscious of on an every hour base. That was not an easy process but it was something that I think that was good for me to know to really think long and hard about it and I didn’t want to make a split decision and I didn’t want to make a huge emotional decision. I actually wanted to be able to process it all and go through it all.”
On when he told the Giants: “Yesterday we were talking with Bobby more and talking to Boch and Rags and a few of the players like Buster and Bum and you know, the guys who have been around a long time.”
On what his teammates told him: “Just enjoyed it. They’ve had a lot of fun with it I think. Just the whole process with the guys, it’s been great. It’s cool to be able to hear some stories that maybe I’ve had with different guys. Stratton actually ended up telling me one today saying that when he first go signed or whatever, he said I was his favorite player when they asked, but that might have been just cause he was trying to say it just cause he was uncomfortable maybe saying anyone else’s name or what not or mispronouncing Lincecum’s name so it was just more funny things like that. It’s just special to be with these guys.”
On if he became emotional: “I got close, it might be more that I know that I’ve got one more start and I’ve got to keep it all together for a little bit longer.”
On spending his whole career with the Giants: “I feel like that’s what makes this a little bit easier for me. To know that I started out in 2002 putting a Giants’ uniform on and getting picked up by the Giants and knowing that that’s the exact same way that I’m going out, it’s with a Giants’ uniform on. I’ve been able to be lucky enough to be in the same organization and it means so much to me and I can’t picture myself putting a different uniform on.”
