Many like to give credit to Peter Magowan for keeping the Giants in SF. With the death of mega-developer Walter Shorenstein, let’s remember whose true legacy this was:
For some San Franciscans, Mr. Shorenstein’s most notable civic contribution was helping to stop the Giants baseball team’s planned move to Florida in 1993. He was sought out by then-Mayor Frank Jordan, and the two men joined other business people committed to saving the team. Many have said that before Mr. Shorenstein came into the fold, it looked like a lost cause. At the time, Larry Baer, then a CBS executive who had grown up in the city, was working with Safeway CEO Peter Magowan to drum up investors. Baer is now the Giants’ president.
“Walter played a pivotal role because he was at the center of a lot of planning and strategy, and we held most of our meetings at his office at 555 California St.,” Baer said in an interview Thursday. “Having a person of his stature made a statement about the importance of keeping the team in San Francisco and sent a message to everyone – including Major League Baseball – that we were serious.”
Mr. Shorenstein put up $6.6 million of his own money to help buy the franchise, but subsequently sold his share after disagreeing with the direction the club was taking under managing general partner Magowan. It also is widely believed that Mr. Shorenstein felt he had not received sufficient public recognition for the role he played in keeping the Giants in town.
Let’s also remember that Shorenstein wasn’t exactly a nice guy either:
While Mr. Shorenstein generally has been praised in the public arena, he also has felt the lash of adverse publicity. He came under heavy criticism for his role in a nine-year battle that ended with the 1979 destruction of the International Hotel on Kearny Street, which had housed many elderly Filipino residents.
As a Filipino, I’d love to piss on Shorenstein’s grave, but there’s a bit of karma in knowing that the garage that Shorenstein wanted on the I Hotel site never got built, and that he was forced to sit on the land for years.
newballpark.org 
Being that my wife and inlaws are Filipino, I’d like to piss on his grave to R.M. ;o).
Really though, true credit for keeping the Giants in SF goes to MLB itself, as they swept aside a higher $$$ offer from Tampa Bay businessman Vincent Piazza to go with the SF group (Magowan, Piss Grave Guy, etc.). You see the same thing happening right now with the Rangers sale, as reportedly there’s a group making a higher offer on the team than Nolan Ryan’s group. Ahh, the power of MLB. And to think some believe the Giants are in the drivers seat as it concerns the Bay Area situation (LOL). In the end, it’s all about what MLB wants, and no one else.
No crying in baseball gentleman.
Jeez, a lot of pissing on graves around here! Don’t want to hang around that cemetery for fear of getting nailed in the crossfire of whizz!!
Filipino Heritage Night, July 10th. Fireworks. I’ll be in the bleachers with my half FIlipina fiance. I know it’s a longshot, but here’s hoping they beat the Halos that night to retake 1st.