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On
Saturday afternoon, August 10, Giants Pitching
Greats Robb Nen and Kirk Rueter visited Sports
Gallery Palo Alto for a very special dual-signing
appearance.
Robb
Nen is
a Three-time All-Star selection and World Series
Champion that definitely had the greatest years
of his career as a Giant. Robb played for the
Giants from 1998 to 2002, expected to fill the
"Closer"
role, acated by Rod Beck. If Beck had set the
bar high for a San Francisco closer (199 saves
in his 7-year tenure with the Giants), Nen would
raise it even higher. His first year yielded
40 saves with a 1.52 ERA and 110 strikeouts
in 88.7 IP. As a Giant, Nen was selected to
three All-Star Games (1998, 1999, 2002) and
finished 4th in voting for the 2000 National
League Cy Young Award and 12th in the NL MVP
voting, both high honors for a closer.
Kirk
Rueter is
one of the more popular Giants of all-time.
A mainstay in the San Francisco Giants rotation
from 1996 to 2005, Kirk became the first pitcher
to win 100 career games as a Giant since Gaylord
Perry in 2004. Rueter had perhaps his best year
ever for the Giants in 2002, winning 14 games
and posting a 3.23 ERA. He was especially clutch
after the All-Star break, going 7-3 as San Francisco
won the National League pennant. "Woody,"
as he is affectionately known (because of his
resemblance to Woody the Cowboy from "Toy
Story"), retired as the winningest
left-handed pitcher in San Francisco Giants
history, with 105 of his 130 career wins in
a Giants uniform. Kirk is the 3rd winningest
pitcher in San Francisco Giants history, with
only HOF'ers Juan Marichal and Gaylord Perry
having more career starts and wins.
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| Hanging
at our Gallery for over two hours, Kirk and Robb
were awesome, filling our store with smiles, laughs
and great Giant stories. And, of course, signing
many cool Giants collectibles on the way. It was
a great afternoon for all of us at Sports Gallery,
getting to meet Kirk and Robb and see the genuine
affection Giants fans have for these two pitching
greats! |