It wasn’t easy to be a Giants fan in the mid-1970s. Things changed immediately for the better when John Montefusco, a devil-may-care, self-promoting, fun-loving pitcher showed up.
His major league debut in 1974 was a beaut. It was the bottom of the first inning in Los Angeles, the bases full of Dodgers, no outs. The man who would inevitably be christened “The Count” was out of the jam quick as you please on a ground out and two whiffs. He pitched nine innings (in relief!) struck out seven, hit a home run in his first major league at-bat and earned the first of 90 big league wins.