The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

ANTOAN Richardson and the San Francisco Giants clinched the National League West title on the final day of the regular season and will now shift their attention to a postseason run which begins with the Divisional Series.

The Giants concluded the regular season with an 11-4 win over the San Diego Padres Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park, to finish 107-55 on the year and earn the team’s first division title since 2012.

They will also return to the postseason for the first time since 2016 when they advanced to the NL Divisional Series.

The 107 wins established a new franchise record and also clinched the home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The previous record was 106 wins in the 1904 season.

In the NL Divisional Series, the Giants will host the winner of the single elimination Wild Card game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St Louis Cardinals.

The best-of-five NLDS will open with game one, Friday October 8 at Oracle Park. The 2021 season represented a complete turnaround for the franchise which missed the postseason a year ago in the 2020 regular season finale.

They finished 29-31 in the COVID-19 shortened season, but returned this year to become the first time in the MLB to clinch a postseason berth for the 2021 postseason.

Richardson’s lengthy history with the franchise began 16 years ago when he 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, when he was tasked with overseeing on-field development throughout the organisation. Giants manager Gabe Kapler brought Richardson on as a full time member of staff as a first base coach for the 2020 season.

Kapler’s staff included Richardson, the first Bahamian MLB coach, and Alyssa Nakken, the first woman MLB coach.