SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Day after glorious sun-splashed day last summer, Michael Morse filled his social-media pages with photos of him and his family boating in Florida. He was tanned, living the life of leisure with the content look of a retired ballplayer.
Morse might have been on that boat Thursday, instead of taking a physical at Scottsdale Stadium, if not for a chat with Giants general manager Bobby Evans at Hunter Pence's wedding in November.
Morse told Evans he thought he could still play at 34. Sometime between the "I dos" and the Pences cutting the cake, Morse had a handshake agreement with Evans to come to spring training and try to win a job as a backup outfielder for the team he helped lead to a World Series title in 2014.