SAN FRANCISCO — Often the anonymous infantrymen of baseball’s pitching staffs, relievers finally got some recognition Saturday at Oracle Park. The “Core Four” of the Giants’ dynastic 2010s bullpen became the latest inductees to the team’s Wall of Fame, as Jeremy Affeldt, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez and Sergio Romo had their plaques unveiled in a pregame ceremony before the Giants hosted the Minnesota Twins. “It is a very fail-forward position to have in baseball, so you are often the one blamed,” said López, now a broadcaster for the club.
“What I take away from this is being able to be with this band of brothers for so long is something that’s just so rare, at any point in time.” With a cast of characters from the Giants’ World Series-winning clubs sitting behind them on the infield, Ryan Vogelsong and Buster Posey delivered remarks before CEO Larry Baer directed attention to the video board, where the 57th, 58th, 59th and 60th plaques on King Street were unrobed. “The word that kept coming to mind was durability,” Posey said, reciting each reliever’s career games and innings.
“You can’t overstate how important that is to a pitching staff to have the luxury of these four guys you can put in the game at any time.” In the most cyclical role in the sport, it was their staying power — and, with it, three World Series championships — that endeared them to the Giants fanbase. Romo’s 515 games with the Giants are the third-most of any .