The San Francisco Giants kicked off their FanFest Tour on Saturday, and Matt Chapman made quite the first impression.
Chapman was one of the current Giants players in Napa for the event, taking center stage for a beer-chugging contest against three fans. With a crowd of other fans watching, Chapman downed his drink in roughly 6 seconds.
While the All-Star third baseman was holding up his empty glass in celebration, his competition was only halfway done.
A group of fans challenged Matt Chapman to a beer chugging race at today’s FanFest Tour stop in Napa.
It wasn’t a close race. pic.twitter.com/qpNsWtyxCl
— SFGiants (@SFGiants) January 18, 2025
Chapman joined the Giants in March 2024, signing a three-year, $54 million contract with opt-outs after the first two seasons. It was effectively a shot-term, prove-it deal for Chapman, who was coming off a solid two-year stint with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Just six months later, though, Chapman put pen to paper again. At the behest of Buster Posey – who had yet to becoming the club’s president of baseball operations – the Giants gave Chapman a six-year, $151 million extension that would keep him in San Francisco through the 2030 season.
Chapman wound up batting .247 with 27 home runs, 78 RBI, 15 stolen bases, a .790 OPS, 17 defensive runs saved and a 7.1 WAR in 2024, winning his fifth Gold Glove and finishing 11th in NL MVP voting. Those figures were all higher than any of the ones he put up in Toronto, approaching the production from his peak with the Oakland Athletics.
While Chapman is a Southern California native, he will have spent 12 years in the Bay Area by the time his contract with the Giants runs out. The soon-to-be 32-year-old has seemingly endeared himself to San Francisco fans already, really soaking up the spotlight in his first full offseason as a member of the team.
The Giants’ FanFest Tour will hit San Jose and Sacramento on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1, respectively, before wrapping up with an open house in San Francisco on March 8.
It remains to be seen if any more beer-chugging races are on the itinerary.
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