August 29, 2015: The San Francisco Giants logo at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Roy K. Miller/Icon Sportswire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The San Francisco Giants have been home to countless memorable players over the years, from Hall of Famers to role players whose careers intersected with some of the most fascinating figures in baseball history.
Even decades after their playing days end, many former Giants players remain connected to the sport through the stories and relationships that defined their careers.
And those stories often provide a window into some of baseball’s most colorful eras and personalities. For players who crossed paths with larger-than-life managers and stars, they can become an enduring part of their legacy.
Former San Francisco Giants Reliever Bob Lacey Dies At 72
One former Giants pitcher whose career included a unique connection to New York Yankees legend Billy Martin has now passed away.
Last week, news broke that former major-league pitcher Bob Lacey had died at age 72.
“Really sad to hear of Bob Lacey’s passing,” Rocco Constantino of baseball outlet BallNine wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “He was easily one of the most interesting and nicest players I’ve interviewed… The baseball world really lost a great one with the passing of Mr. Lacey.”
Lacey ended his seven-year big league career with the Giants in 1984, but he is best remembered for his time with the Oakland Athletics, where he played under Martin, the former Yankees manager and baseball icon who won a World Series as a player and later guided New York to a championship as manager in 1977.
Former San Francisco Giants Pitcher Had Complicated Relationship With New York Yankees Legend Billy Martin
One of the defining stories of Lacey’s career involved his sometimes complicated relationship with Martin during the Athletics’ memorable 1980 campaign.
“The 1980 season produced one of the more striking statistical footnotes in modern baseball,” Eric Alper wrote. “Lacey appeared in a team-high 47 games and finished 31 of them, but earned only six saves. The reason was the Oakland starting rotation, which completed an astonishing 94 games that year, a number that will almost certainly never be matched in the modern era.”
Martin, who was managing the Athletics at the time, was known as a big personality as both a player and skipper.
“This created friction with manager Billy Martin over how Lacey was being used, a conflict that Billy Martin was probably not losing sleep over,” Alper added. “Martin did give Lacey a starting assignment on the next-to-last day of that season, and he responded by shutting out the Milwaukee Brewers on a complete game. Of course it was a complete game.”
Long before reaching the majors, Lacey developed his love for baseball as a Giants fan growing up in Arizona.
“I grew up in Tucson, Arizona and that was one of the few cities in Arizona with teams for Spring Training,” Lacey told Constantino in 2022. “The Indians and the Giants trained there. I liked the Indians, but I was really a Giants fan. Willie Mays was my favorite player.”
Although his major-league career lasted only seven seasons, Lacey’s connection to Martin, his memorable run with the Athletics and his lifelong love for the Giants helped make him a cherished figure among baseball fans who remember that era. His passing marks the loss of another player whose career intersected with some of the game’s most unforgettable personalities.
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