On Saturday, the Giants are adding three fan favorites, and three World Series champions, to their Wall of Fame. Ryan Vogelsong, Brian Wilson, and Matt Cain will all be honored and enshrined alongside the greatest Giants players of all time.
Vogelsong in particular has a special place in the hearts of Giants fans. A fifth round pick by San Francisco in 1998, it took Vogelsong over a decade to make his mark in the major leagues. Vogelsong finally found stability in 2011, when he returned to the Giants after a stint in Japan, and had the best season of his major league career. Vogelsong followed up the All-Star season with another solid outing in 2012, when he helped the Giants to their second World Series championship in four years.
Vogelsong joined Gary Radnich on KNBR a day before his enshrinement, and talked about what the honor means to him.
“This is my Cooperstown,” Vogelsong said. “You know I wasn’t good enough to make Cooperstown, but this is my Cooperstown, and it’s something that means a lot to me, especially that it’s the Giants. You look at the wall and some of the other people that are on there, they’re the greatest players in the history of baseball, and to think that I’m going to be on the same wall as them is something I would’ve never thought could happen to me. It’s an amazing moment not only for me but my entire family.
“The coolest thing for me to think about is someday when I’m a grandfather and hopefully a great-grandfather, that my grandchildren will be able to walk by that and go ‘Man, that was my grandad.’ That’s cool. That thing is going to be there forever.”
Vogelsong also talked about Cain and Wilson, who he called two of his favorite teammates ever.
“They’re two of my favorite teammates of all time. I have quite a few from the years in San Francisco but, (Brian Wilson) and (Matt Cain) are two of my favorites of all time. Matt and I were very close because in that rotation at that point in time, that was the closest guy to me as far as stuff and how we pitched, so we spent a lot of time talking about how we were going to attack guys and feed off each other. Studying together and we were locker mates so Matt and I were around each other a good bit.
“Brian was a guy that when I came there in 2011 and was just trying to fit in and find my niche and stay in the big leagues, that was a guy that at that point in time was probably one of the most popular guys in the game. He always took time to talk to me and try and help me and I asked him questions about how he was getting guys out. It was never a question of he didn’t want to talk to me, it was how much he wanted to help me all the time, and just a motivator. He always had the right thing to say to me to motivate me for a certain day.
“I’m so happy I’m going in with both of those guys. Like I said, they’re two of my favorites.”
The enshrinement ceremony is at 2 PM on Saturday in front of AT&T Park and is open to the public.
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Vogelsong on the Wall of Fame, start from 6:00.