A lot of things had to go right for the 2021 SF Giants to win 107 games. One thing that went very right was their bullpen. A key member of that bullpen, Dominic Leone, recently appeared on a podcast and talked about that magical 2021 season.
Leone appeared on the Tablesetters Baseball podcast and discussed a wide array of topics, from his time in the big leagues to mental health to what he has been up to in retirement. The full interview can be watched here.
Former SF Giants reliever talks about 2021 team
Here is what Leone had to say about that 2021 team:
“Then when you want to talk about wins and losses, the best example I have is the 2021 Giants. They were not expected to do a whole lot, and that team was as close as any I’ve ever been on. And we had a blast every single day. And then what helps, you know, is winning and we won a ton that year.”
Leone was an integral part of the team’s bullpen that season. He signed a minor league contract with the team prior to 2021 and had a strong spring training but was not added to the big league roster until June.
After he got called up he pitched great and ended the season with a 1.51 ERA in 57 appearances and 53 and 2/3 innings pitched. He was also on the mound for the regular season finale to close things out and earn the Giants the National League West crown, dethroning the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first, and only, time since 2013.
The Giants retained Leone for 2022 but he did not pitch as well, posting a 4.01 ERA in 55 appearances before being released in September after some midseason struggles.
He bounced around with other teams for a few more seasons before he finally decided to retire following the 2024 season. He ended his career with a 3.94 ERA across 11 big league seasons.
Leone had a solid and very respectable career. His words about the closeness of the 2021 team are unsurprising because there is nothing that brings a team closer together than winning. Watching that team was unreal and that race with the Dodgers for the division was remarkable as it seemed like both teams would win practically every day. It was a race that harkened back to the old days when the Giants and Dodgers would compete for the pennant coming down the stretch with every game meaning so much.
That 2021 bullpen seems to be a blueprint for what San Francisco hopes to assemble in 2026. The additions they have made thus far have mostly been pitchers on minor league deals or one-year contracts which is the same way the Giants built that 2021 bullpen.
It may take time to sort out which arms belong and which don’t, but the end result could be an effective bullpen at a budgeted price. We’ll see if it leads to another miracle season, but Leone’s words definitely remind one how fun it was to watch that improbable 2021 team.