Mark Alberti-USA TODAY Sports
There are the small things, which subtract little annoyances that would add up.
“It’s nice that we don’t have to text somebody to go get a coffee in the morning,” Curt Casali said.
There are the bigger things that enable teammates who are around each other pretty much nonstop to actually get to know one another. The Giants rotation went out to dinner at Sotto, an Italian restaurant in Cincinnati, with pitching coach Andrew Bailey and assistant pitching coach J.P. Martinez on Sunday night. It was the first indoor spot where the group could get together this year. They had eaten outdoors in Miami, both eateries chosen by former Marlin and former Red Anthony DeSclafani.
“I’m 2-for-2, according to them,” Tuesday’s starting pitcher said over Zoom. “Got to keep my streak going here the rest of the year. They loved it last night.”
And then there are the things that transcend measurement, that matter in such a way that all else is dwarfed.
Matt Wisler had not seen his parents since October. The Giants reliever and his wife dealt with offseason cases of COVID-19, which he moved past, but his wife continues to experience losses of smell and taste.
“She’s starting to get it back finally, but it’s been a long time coming,” he said.
His mother has been dealing with her own health issues, and so the family had not been reunited in about seven months.
The Bryan, Ohio, native playing at Great American Ball Park, just under 200 miles away, shortly after the Giants passed the 85 percent vaccine threshold means that streak is ending for Wisler. He’s had the series, which begins Monday, circled for a while.
“That’s been the biggest blessing. Just being able to see them again and give them a hug,” Wisler said on a phone call this weekend, before the reunion could happen. “Instead of a text, you get to go see them in the stands and give them a hug after a game. Knowing they’re in the stands, knowing I can see them again … it’s always nice to go close to home.”
It’s especially nice when you can enjoy being close to home. Last week the Giants surpassed the fully vaccinated benchmark that relaxes plenty of the protocols, the most noticeable being they no longer have to wear masks in the dugout. But for the players and coaches, a particularly dear one is vaccinated family members are able to stay with the Tier One individuals in hotel rooms.
When the Giants visited San Diego in the season’s second series, Alex Dickerson could not host his wife in the club’s hotel. Wisler does not have the same problem.
“We don’t have to worry about meeting at a park somewhere,” said the first-year Giant, who struggled in the first weeks but has gone 5 1/3 May innings without allowing a run. “We can actually go into our rooms, go get breakfast or lunch or something after the games. Just kind of hang out and spend quality time together.”
If he wanted, he could take an Uber or Lyft to see his parents, which previously was not allowed. When the Giants officially hit the 85 percent mark in Pittsburgh, Wisler walked around the town — no longer needing to alert a compliance officer that he was leaving the team hotel — but found restaurants packed on a Saturday morning and did not want to risk anything.
“Going outside at a restaurant outside is one thing. Going to a bar with a bunch of 25-year-old people is probably not the smartest thing to do,” the 28-year-old said.
The rotation date appeared to be at a closed-off section, according to Johnny Cueto’s Instagram. DeSclafani had pitched, at varying times, with Cueto, Alex Wood and Kevin Gausman in Cincinnati, but he had no connection to Logan Webb or Bailey or Martinez. The Giants’ rotation has been baseball’s best, and the crew knowing one another helps on an intangible level.
Casali knowing them helps on a more tangible level. He likes being able to get into the heads of his staff, discovering what makes each pitcher tick, which he has had to do with plenty of restrictions (even if he, too, had partnered with several with the Reds).
He was not at the starters-only meal, but there will be more.
“That’s just something that people used to do,” the eight-year veteran said. “The staff would go out and talk baseball, have a couple glasses of wine and just enjoy being teammates, being in the big leagues and everything that it has to offer.”
One of the greatest joys the majors has to offer is the thrill of sharing the moment and moments with loved ones. Last year with the Twins, Wisler made a couple trips to Detroit, about a two-hour drive from his hometown, and Chicago, about three hours away, and his parents could not see his breakout season up close.
“It’s not the same pitching in a place that’s so close to home and you can’t have your family come to games,” he said. “Last year was weird for everybody.”
The Giants’ steps toward normalcy have been steps toward his seeing his parents again.