New Oracle Park display remembers former SF Giants star Bobby Bolin
Bobby Bolin, a former SF Giants right-handed pitcher and one of the organization’s Wall of Fame inductees, passed away last month in South Carolina on June 2 after battling multiple health issues. He was 84.
Bolin pitched in parts of 13 years in the big leagues with the Giants, Brewers and Red Sox from 1961-73. He spent his first eight seasons pitching in San Francisco, serving as a flexible who could fill in effectively as both a starter and a reliever.
The Giants did not release a statement or make an announcement on social media about Bolin’s passing, despite his status as an original member of the Wall of Fame. However, they did set up display cases on the club level at Oracle Park to memorialize recent members of the organization who have passed. Bolin is included with a shrine of his own, featuring flowers and a mini-biography about his accomplishments.
Bolin ranks favorably in numerous franchise pitching categories since the club moved to San Francisco in 1958. He currently sits 12th in wins (73), 10th in innings (1282 ⅓), 26th in fWAR (9.5), 9th in shutouts (10) and seventh in strikeouts (977).
The son of a farm family in South Carolina, Bolin grew up idolizing the Los Angeles Dodgers and their “Boys of Summer” bunch that featured the likes of Duke Snider and Roy Campanella. He pitched four consecutive no-hitters while attending Hickory Grove High School, earning the attention of MLB scouts. Bolin still stands alone as the only draftee and professional player in the school’s history.
In 1956, the 17-year-old Bolin hesitantly signed his first contract with the New York Giants after some brief reservations about playing for his childhood team’s longtime rivals. Scout Tim Murchison helped convince him, explaining the wealth of pitching depth for the Dodgers –– Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres in particular –– wouldn’t help pave a clear path to the big leagues like the Giants would.
“‘Let me tell you what, do you want to play in the big leagues if you sign? I said, ‘Well, sure,’” Bolin once said. “He said, ‘Okay, let me go over some of the guys the Dodgers have.’ … “He started going through the whole Dodger pitching staff, and he said, ‘They’re going to be there another 15 years or so, and so it’s going to be tough to break in, but now the Giants, that’s why I’m out here looking for pitchers.’”
The display case at the ballpark reads, “Perhaps the best story to illustrate what his family meant to him was recalled by writer Corey Stolzenbach, ‘Bolin also commended the kind of person Murchison was, saying the Giants scout had a fondness for his mother's peach pie and drinking iced tea on their front porch while discussing everything except baseball. Murchison building a friendship led to Bolin's signing with the Giants.’”
Bolin cracked the Opening Day roster in 1961 and struck out future Hall of Famer Frank Robinson in his MLB debut on April 18 against the Cincinnati Reds. It was a sign of success to come and he soon established himself as one of the most versatile pitchers in the National League –– one night, he might be tossing the final two innings of a game and another, he’d be warming up to start.
Overall as a Giant, he finished with 345 appearances –– 144 of them were as a starter.
“I was never classified as a starter or as a reliever, so I mostly sat on a tarp between the bullpen and the dugout because I didn’t know which one I’d be doing,” Bolin said in the 1999 book “The Giants Encyclopedia.”
He is best known for defeating Cardinals Hall of Famer Bob Gibson on Sept. 6, 1968 in St. Louis. Juan Marichal was originally slated to start the game for the Giants, but the matchup between two all-time great right-handers of the 1960s was spoiled when San Francisco manager Herman Franks pivoted to Bolin instead, causing an uproar with the fans at Busch Stadium II –– Bolin once said they booed him for five straight minutes when his name was announced instead of the Dominican Dandy Marichal.
Gibson was in the midst of a legendary season that would end up featuring a video game-like 1.12 ERA and 13 shutouts –– both still stand as records in the live-ball era. On this day, it was Bolin who outdueled Gibson, tossing 7 ⅔ innings of two-run baseball in a 3-2 victory.
“What I learned from that game, and I talked about this around the country at seminars and motivational talks, is don’t let the boos bother you,” Bolin wrote in the 2007 book “Game of My Life” by Matt Johanson. “Don’t let criticism or rejection bother you. Just keep going and keep doing the right thing. People always remember what you do, and if you keep doing the right thing long enough, they’ll remember the right things and good things you’ve done.”
“Then they might not come to your side, but at least they’ll respect you.”
The Giants traded Bolin to the Milwaukee Brewers after the 1969 season in exchange for outfielders Dick Simpson and Steve Whitaker. Both players flamed out immediately. Simpson never escaped the Triple-A team in Phoenix and Whitaker went 3-for-27 in 16 games for the club in 1970.
The final four years of Bolin’s career were spent as a reliever for the Boston Red Sox and he retired following the 1973 season at the age of 34. According to his family's obituary, Bolin eventually founded his own marketing company, Bolin Enterprises, while being a resident of Easley, South Carolina, since the early 1980s.
Along with his status as a South Carolina Athletic Hall of Famer, Bolin was one of 43 original members of the SF Giants Wall of Fame outside Oracle Park.
Bolin leaves behind his wife, Irene, of 64 years, two children, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
“This Forever Giant made it look easy to become a Giants legend and Wall of Famer,” the club level display case reads. “He spent 9 years with the Giants, had a great career and trusted someone who loved his mom's peach pie. We will miss you, Bobby.”
