The San Francisco Giants were World Series winners in 2010, 2012 and 2014. At the All-Star break, just past the 2016 season midpoint, the Giants were on their way to another even-numbered year championship. They led their division by ten games over the second-place Dodgers, with a record of 57 wins and 33 losses.
Then they traded away third baseman Matt Duffy. After trading Duffy, the Giants compiled a record of 30 and 42, clinching a wild-card playoff spot on the last day of the season. Coincidence? I think not.
The Matt Duffy curse continues in 2017. The Giants are battling the Philadelphia Phillies for the worst team in Major League Baseball. Their record since the 2016 All-Star game through the end of July is 70 wins, 109 losses. Giants pitcher from another century, Hall-of-Famer Christy Mathewson, once said, “You can learn little from victory. You can learn everything from defeat.” The Giants are amassing a huge storehouse of knowledge.
