When reliever George Kontos heard the San Francisco Giants had awarded him to the Pirates on a waiver claim Saturday, he phoned Ryan Vogelsong. They won two World Series together. Then Kontos received a text message from the Toronto Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ. They played together at Northwestern.
As Kontos emptied his locker at AT&T Park the next day, moving out more than 5 years after he was traded by the New York Yankees to San Francisco for catcher Chris Stewart, closer Mark Melancon delivered a familiar message. He echoed what Vogelsong and Happ had said: You’re going to love Ray Searage.