Brian Wilson will miss significant time because of an elbow injury—quite possibly the entire year. While he will miss his day job, the San Francisco Giants will miss out on no less than their soul.
The Associated Press reports that Wilson is likely to undergo surgery on his right elbow after an MRI found structural damage, making his return to this season highly doubtful.
If one player could typify an entire team, it would be Wilson for the San Francisco Giants. He is a scrappy athlete who lives by his own code and came out of nowhere to dominate the game, much like the 2010 team that won the World Series.
Wilson is more than just any old closer who can be plunked from the bullpen and replaced with another hard-throwing arm. The turnover rate for these players is ridiculous, enough to make fantasy owners' heads spin, and fans that have to suffer the sight of injuries and malaise cringe. Wilson doesn't just close out games, he gives the team an identity and a man who is feared on the back end of the bullpen.
The great closers in the game can lend a great deal of mystique to a franchise. They are the unhittable, untouchable force.
For Wilson, he is also that off-kilter athlete who has been far more character than man. He rocks The Beard that fans try to emulate and even celebrate in the form of T-Shirts and other paraphernalia. Interviews and sound bites are never throwaway events. Rather, they're must-see, and must-listen side shows that have most giggling well past their end.
The best athletes are polarizing and engaging, and Wilson is both. To go an entire season without that huge piece of the Giants' soul on the team will be rough.
Wilson isn't the first pitcher to lose a year to elbow issues, and he surely will not be the last. He is the very reason we need to savor every last second of brilliance when it presents itself.
The Giants may be without Brian Wilson for an entire year, making this season that much more drab for the rest of us.
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