San Francisco Giants: 4 Players Most Undeserving of a World Series Ring in 2012

A parade down Market Street was the result of another World Series win by the San Francisco Giants.
Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The San Francisco Giants won their second World Series in the past three years, but four players on the team don't deserve those rings. 

However, let's get things straight. Everyone on this list technically deserves their World Series ring because of the work they put in to get to the major league level.

They worked hard to get to this point and deserve the full playoff share and the ability to say they are World Series champions. 

However, relative to what others have done, these players haven't done much to influence direct results for the Giants. 

For example, some of these guys won't be mentioned in the same breath as Matt Cain, Pablo Sandoval or even George Kontos. 

They simply weren't very good. 

If you want to make cross-sport analogies, these players are the baseball version of the Los Angeles Lakers' Mark Madsen. A cheerleader on a championship team. 

Read on to see the players that made this list either because of poor performance or controversy. 

Aubrey Huff

Deserving of one in 2010, Huff hasn't done much in 2012 to deserve another.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

There was no red thong Zoolander-ish celebration at the parade this year. 

The slugger and hero from 2010 was replaced by the solemn player in 2012 that had gone through the lowest of the lows. 

Huff didn't even seem like he was enjoying the parade. He sat in his car and looked on as his teammates celebrated. 

His season didn't start well after a bad 2011, and it all spun downhill when he was in at second base and ran to the wrong bag in a game against the New York Mets. 

The Giants ended up losing the game and Huff fled the scene like he was the murderer. Huff later admitted to having anxiety issues and never resurfaced besides a couple pinch-hit appearances here and there. 

Not only did he play sparingly throughout the season, he was paid like a starting first baseman. Huff's contract was immediately bought out after the season and it appears that he and the Giants will go their separate ways. 

Aubrey Huff was a revelation in 2010 and deserved the MVP for that championship. 

In 2012? Not even close. 

Emmanuel Burriss

Is Burriss still on the team?
Scott Cunningham/Getty Images

There are no words to describe why the Giants have kept him on the team for so long. 

Check out his career stats here.

Or his one career home run here. 

See that homer? Enjoy that highlight. 

That's his only one. 

Somehow, because he plays second base—a revolving door of injuries for the Giants—and possesses ample speed, he has convinced the Giants management to keep him around all these years. 

That's some good hypnosis he's got there.

So now he has two rings, of which he played little to no part in each one. 

At least Eugenio Velez had a hot streak way back in 2009 right? Pretty sure I'm not imagining that. 

Now he's gone for good as he elected to choose free agency over another minor league deal. Maybe he was our lucky charm. We probably won't win another World Series in 2013 and it will be all Burriss' fault. 

Or not. It was a fun ride, Emmanuel. May you win many more World Series in your future. 

Guillermo Mota

Not sure how Mota made it on the playoff roster this year.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Guillermo Mota was suspended 100 games earlier this season for failing a drug test. 

He went on to blame it on the fact he accidentally ingested some of his kids' cough syrup. 

These SF Giants, man. Just hilarious. 

Then, because of past good experience—or not because he was suspended before for a positive drug test—or whatever it was, the Giants decided to bring him back as a long reliever. 

Mota proceeded to stink up the joint. 

He was actually serviceable in 2011, owning a 3.81 ERA in 52 appearances. 

Then in 2012, it all went to hell. Not only did he pitch poorly, he took away innings from other effective pitchers like George Kontos. 

Not Shane Loux and Dan Otero though. I don't know those guys. 

There was a point at the end of the season that it appeared the last postseason bullpen arm would come down to Mota and Kontos. Thank the heavens Kontos made it. Unfortunately, Mota did as well. 

After his first couple of terrible appearances, Bruce Bochy never looked his way again. 

So to recap his 2012 season: pitched poorly, suspended for 100 games for failing a drug test and pitched poorly while almost taking the postseason spot of another promising pitcher. 

Yup, that's pretty undeserving. 

Melky Cabrera

They needed him in the first half, but not the second half through the playoffs.
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

This one is a little more controversial, but hear me out. 

Melky Cabrera came in a trade for Jonathan Sanchez. He proceeded to endear himself to the fans and hit all the way through the All-Star Break. 

There were Melk Men. He was the All-Star MVP. There looked to be no slowing Melky down despite his high batting average. The two-hit games kept right on coming. 

On August 14, 2012, the Giants lineup was Angel Pagan, Marco Scutaro, Melky Cabrera, Buster Posey, Pablo Sandoval, Hunter Pence, Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford. 

In that game, they destroyed the right-hander from the Washington Nationals, Jordan Zimmermann. 

He who owned a 2.94 ERA in 2012. 

There looked to be very little holes in a lineup possessing a perfect blend of speed, power and contact hitters. 

Then the next day, Melky was suspended for failing a drug test. He left without saying a single word. The Giants lost another Tim Lincecum start—in a season of many—and the season looked to be in shambles.

Not only did the Giants lose their best offensive player, but they lost him a day after playing with their first healthy lineup of the season.

But we know how the rest of this story ends. Buster Posey wasn't having it. World Series. Two-for-two for the likely NL MVP. 

When the moment was there, Buster Posey seized it and made it his own. But I digress, this post isn't about swooning over the soon-to-be legendary Giants catcher. 

While Melky had a large part in where the Giants were in the standings at the time of his suspension, the team still had to do the heavy lifting by getting through the free-spending Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Then they had to prove all the naysayers wrong again in the playoffs. 

Melky almost single-handedly tore this team down with his foolish actions. In a season full of fairy-tale themes, Melky was not a part of the narrative when it really mattered. 

And for that, he does not deserve a ring.