The SF Giants built a dynasty in the 2010’s, but it is possible it never would have happened had it not been for the fielding of forgotten Braves infielder Brooks Conrad. His errors played a huge role in the team’s 2010 championship run.
In Game 3 of the 2010 NLDS, Conrad made three errors at second base which helped the Giants take a 2-1 advantage going into Game 4 which they won to advance to the NLCS against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Forgotten Braves infielder played a big part in start of SF Giants dynasty
The first error came in the top of the first inning on what should have been a routine double play ball hit straight to Conrad. He bobbled it and did not have enough time to get the runner at first which allowed Freddy Sanchez to reach safely. The Giants did not score that inning so it ended up not being that costly.
In the second inning, Conrad dropped a easy pop up in shallow right field with a runner on third and no outs which allowed Mike Fontenot to score for the first run of the game.
The most infamous error came in the ninth inning with two outs and a runner on second base. Buster Posey hit a ground ball right at Conrad and it went right through his legs, allowing Sanchez to score and giving the Giants a 3-2 lead. Brian Wilson came in to shut the door in the bottom of the ninth and give the Giants a 2-1 advantage over Atlanta.
Conrad was benched after Game 3 and said that he felt absolutely terrible afterwards. He made four errors total in the series and could have swung the series on his own because if Atlanta had won Game 3 instead of the Giants that would have completely changed the complexion of the series.
Luckily for San Francisco, he made his mistakes and the team went on to capture its first World Series title since moving to San Francisco. Sometimes defense really does win championships.
As for Conrad, he kicked around with a few more teams and wrapped up his big league career with the San Diego Padres in 2014. On a personal note, I saw him play in Triple-A for the Durham Bulls in 2012 when he was with the Tampa Bay organization.
It is a shame that Conrad had such a rough game even though it benefitted the Giants. Sometimes you need a little luck to go your way to win a championship and luck was on San Francisco’s side in that series against the Braves which was the first step on the way to a dynasty.
