Giants’ Bob Melvin institutes national anthem requirement

Bob Melvin replaced Gabe Kapler as the manager of the San Francisco Giants this past offseason. Melvin is set to bring his manager prowess to San Francisco in hopes of leading the Giants back to the postseason. He’s also making some eye-opening non-baseball decisions. Melvin is reportedly requiring everyone in the Giants dugout to stand on the field when the national anthem is played before games, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today.

Melvin addressed the decision, via Nightengale as well.

“Look, we’re a new team here, we got some good players here,” Melvin said. “It’s more about letting the other side know that we’re ready to play. I want guys out here ready to go. There’s a personality to that. It has nothing to do with whatever happened in the past or whatever, it’s just something I embrace.”

Melvin doesn’t want this to become a political issue. Rather, he thinks that requiring his team to stand for the anthem will send a message to opposing ball clubs that the Giants are “ready to play”.

There have been mixed reactions on social media to Melvin’s requirement. Some fans have expressed anger towards the decision, while others think it is the correct move.

Giants: Melvin’s decision could spark further national anthem conversations

Standing for the national anthem has become a highly-discussed topic in previous years. And that certainly is not limited to the MLB world.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick drew a mixture of extreme praise and backlash when he decided to kneel for the national anthem due to police brutality. This led to some athletes choosing to kneel or remain in their clubhouses during the anthem. Others, however, continued to stand.

Many people believe that standing for the anthem is not only patriotic, but honors troops and military veterans. The unfortunate mass shootings around the country previously led former Giants manager Gabe Kapler to skip out on the national anthem, however.

“I don’t plan on coming out for the anthem going forward until I feel better about the direction of our country,” Kapler said in 2022, via William C. Rhoden of Andscape.

Former MLB manager Tony La Russa took issue with Kapler’s method of protesting at the time, but did not have a problem with Kapler’s stance on the issue.

“I think he’s exactly right to be concerned … with what’s happening in our country,” La Russa said in 2022, via Angelina Martin of NBC Sports Bay Area. “He’s right there. Where I disagree is the flag and the anthem are not appropriate places to try to voice your objections.”

Again, Bob Melvin said he did not make his national anthem decision based on a political reason. Given the conversation surrounding it over the years, though, the requirement is destined to spark conversations around the anthem once again. It will be interesting to see if any other people around the MLB world respond to Melvin’s national anthem requirement.

However, the new Giants manager is seemingly trying to find a way to unify his ball club. San Francisco recently signed third baseman Matt Chapman after previously signing slugger Jorge Soler. The team is also being linked to reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell in MLB free agency.

The Giants could end up sneaking into the playoffs in 2023 during Bob Melvin’s first season as manager.