Whenever a big leaguer rehabs in the minors, he always makes sure to do one thing before he heads back to the major leagues: he buys the team dinner. Partially, it’s to show that he remembers where he came from, and partially it’s to show respect for the minor leaguer whose job he’s taking for however long he’s there. It hasn’t been around forever – rehab assignments only started happening in the 1980s – but it’s something that players have now been doing for decades.
In recent years, the Giants have had a lot of players rehabbing in Sacramento.