The Tribune

A surprising season came to an end for Antoan Richardson and the San Francisco Giants as they were eliminated from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season.

The Giants suffered a heartbreaking 5-4 loss to the San Diego Padres yesterday in the series finale at Oracle Park in San Francisco, California.

After several missed opportunities to clinch, San Francisco entered yesterday’s game with a playoff spot on the line, needing a victory of their own and for the St Louis Cardinals to defeat the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals defeated the Brewers but the Giants were unable to secure the season extending win over the No. 4 seeded Padres.

The Giants finished the season 29-31, third place in the National League West. They needed just one win in their final three games of the season but lost three consecutive games to the Padres, two of which came by just a single run.

After a 5-4 win in game one of the series on Thursday night, the Giants took a two-run lead into the final inning on Friday, but gave up a three-run, walk off home run en route to a 6-5 loss in the 11th inning.

On Saturday, they lost 6-2 in game three of the series, setting the stage for a dramatic finish in the finale.

The Giants finished tied with the Brewers for the final playoff spot, but the Brewers held the tiebreaker. “We just didn’t play good enough baseball,” Giants manager Gape Kapler said to the media following the game“... It stings, right?”

As a player, Richardson was drafted by the Giants in the 35th round of the 2005 MLB Draft.

Following his retirement on the field, he rejoined the Giants in his role as an outfield coordinator in February 2019.

He was tasked with overseeing on-field development throughout the organisation.

Kapler brought Richardson on as a full time member of the staff as a first base coach for the 2020 season.

Richardson’s impact on the team’s baserunning philosophy began almost immediately during Spring Training and prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Giants posted a whiteboard in their clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium which recognised the “baserunning BOSS” from each game.

Kapler credited Richardson for the team’s emphasis on leads and turns this spring in an effort to gain the edge on the basepaths.

He also joined several players and staff that knelt during the national anthem before the Giants’ 6-2 exhibition victory against the Oakland Athletics.

The group included right fielder Jaylin Davis, who is African American and appeared in just 17 games for the Giants.

Davis said he leaned on Richardson for support as one of the few minorities in a leadership position within the game.