San Francisco Giants Veteran Superstar Keeps Making Winning Plays

Last year was a disappointing one for the San Francisco Giants and veteran third baseman Matt Chapman.

Chapman returned to the Bay Area, where he spent several dominant seasons as a member of the Athletics in Oakland before a disappointing run with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The all-world defensive third baseman performed admirably, posting a .790 OPS that bettered both of his seasons in Toronto, but was not quite up to the mid-.800s he typically reached in Oakland.

Still, despite his personal improvement and veteran leadership on a team that desperately needed it, the Giants finished 80-82, missing the playoffs for the third straight season after a surprising 107-win 2021 season.

San Francisco's 2021 team was great, but it felt like everything went right in that regular season to lead MLB in wins, and while it's still early, it's starting to feel a lot like 2021 again for a Giants squad that is doing everything right and boasts a sterling 14-7 record.

Chapman's leadership and all-around game are huge reasons for that push.

On Saturday night on the road against the Los Angeles Angels, Chapman did it all in a 3-2 win. His two-run home run in the first inning provided most of the club's offense, and a crucial defensive play late helped preserve the win.

With Logan O'Hoppe at the plate for the Angels, the catcher hit a chopper on a 3-0 pitch with one out and a runner on to the left side of the infield.

Chapman stumbled a bit as he moved to his left, but recovered gracefully to field the ball and get a throw off from his knees that bounced into the glove of first baseman Lamont Wade Jr. to retire O'Hoppe just in the knick of time.

"Nobody makes that play,” manager Bob Melvin told MLB.com beat reporter Andrés Soto after the game.

But Chapman is the sort of defender who does, a five-time Gold Glove winner who arguably could have even more, and a winning player that fits the vision Buster Posey has for his team.

Nolan Schanuel lined out in the next at-bat as Ryan Walker locked up the save, and San Francisco secured another win to keep pace with the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres in an absurdly loaded National League West division.

The Giants are hitting, pitching and defending at strong levels, and they are getting clutch plays from their top players in the biggest moments.

It's a culture of winning personified by Posey and Melvin and enacted on the field by veterans like Chapman and pitcher Justin Verlander, and it could just power San Francisco back to the postseason.