10 interesting facts about our new closer that you may not know yet, plus a fun...

10 interesting facts about our new closer that you may not know yet, plus a fun bonus:

•Melancon's name is often mispronounced. He says "99% of people who don't know me mispronounce my name." Most people say \mel-ann-CONE\, but the proper pronunciation is \meh-LAN-sin\. I'm sure we will all know it very well by early next season!

•We owe a big debt of gratitude to Vogey for speaking so kindly of his time with the Giants. MM said he never heard a negative word from Vogey, only really great, positive things, which helped him make his decision to sign with us. Thank you Vogey!

•He was born on 3/28/85 in Wheat Ridge, Colorado and grew up a Rockies fan. He played college ball for the University of Arizona.

•The Dodgers drafted him out of Golden High School in the 2003 draft, but he did not sign and opted to play in college. (Great decision, Mark!)

•Out of college, he was drafted by the Yankees in 2006, and made his MLB debut in 2009.

•He had Tommy John surgery in 2006, and missed the entire 2007 season.

•He is mainly a ground ball pitcher, which means he has a tendency to induce ground balls from opposing batters. Ground ball pitchers rely on pitches that are low in the strike zone with substantial downward movement, such as splitters and sinker balls. He will work well with our stellar infielders. Their significant talent was another deciding factor in his signing with us.

•He gives up very few homers! Last season he faced 270 batters and gave up only 3 long balls (to Goldschmidt, Daniel Murphy, and T.J. Rivera).

•His wife’s name is Mary Catherine. They have 3 kids; daughters Brooklyn (5) and Ella (1), and son Jack (2½).

•Here are the details of his contract: He will earn $4M in 2017, $10M in 2018, and then $14M in both 2019 and 2020. He will receive a $20M signing bonus, $12M of which will be paid up front and the other $8M deferred until after the contract is up. His deal contains a full no-trade clause. Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of the contract is that Melancon can opt out of the deal after the first two seasons.

•Bonus factoid: his nickname is Shark! So we'll have Shark, The Shark, and if Blanco is re-signed, we'll also have the White Shark! Sounds like a pretty fierce team to me! 🦈

Can't wait for the 2017 season! We need to #GetOdd! Let's Go Giants!