For most of the marriage between Madison Bumgarner and the San Francisco Giants, it appeared the union had a chance to last forever.
Bumgarner was drafted 10th overall by the Giants in 2007, burst onto the major league scene as a reliable 20-year-old starter during the 2010 title run and put the franchise on his back as he almost single-handedly willed San Francisco to the finish line in a historic 2014 World Series.
But by the end of Bumgarner’s 10th season in the Giants’ rotation, both parties quietly acknowledged that a split was practically inevitable.
The all-too-reasonable five-year, $85 million deal Bumgarner reportedly agreed to with the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday made clear that the two sides were destined to grow apart.