SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Logan Webb made his final start for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals in Houston, but he always planned to see the entire tournament through.
He accompanied his teammates to Miami for the final two rounds and soaked in the playoff-like atmosphere at loanDepot park, though he couldn’t avoid the sting of Team USA’s loss to Venezuela in the final. It was a disappointing ending, though Webb said he’ll still look back on the experience fondly.
“I think it was great for baseball, just in general,” Webb said before the Giants’ Cactus League finale against the Guardians on Saturday. “The whole experience, the whole environment. I made some friends for life. I had a blast. Obviously, it didn't end how we wanted it to, but I had a ton of fun.
“I wish we would have come out victorious. But I thought the whole experience was electric. The crowds, the energy that you feel from the dugouts, the emotion that you see from players -- from players that don't show a lot of emotion, too -- is really cool.”
With his WBC stint in the books, Webb is ready to turn his attention toward gearing up for his Opening Night start against the Yankees on Wednesday at Oracle Park.
“I’m super excited,” Webb said. “It seems like the vibes here are really good right now. They were like that before I left. … I think everyone's just excited to get going and ready to get to San Francisco. It's going to be a fun team. We love our new coaching staff. We got some new players in here, some new energy, so it should be fun.”
The Giants have made the playoffs only once over Webb’s first seven seasons, which has limited the 29-year-old right-hander’s opportunities to shine in October. He got an early taste of high-stakes competition while pitching in the WBC, but he’s hungry for more.
“You know me,” Webb said. “I've been hungry for a long time. That's all I'm really trying to do. Even with the WBC, my goal was to win. But at the end of the day, I'm a San Francisco Giant. I couldn't be more excited to be here right now and just go on this journey with these guys and hopefully play into late October, early November. That's the goal every year. We’ve just got to come together and learn from our mistakes in the past. Bring a new energy to the field every single day.”
Wednesday will mark Webb’s fifth consecutive Opening Day assignment for the Giants, which is now the second-longest streak in franchise history behind Hall of Famer Juan Marichal (6). Webb is poised to join Marichal (10) and Madison Bumgarner (5) as the only pitchers to make at least five Opening Day starts for the Giants in the San Francisco era.
“I keep messing with [vice president of medical and performance Dave Groeschner],” Webb said. “I keep telling him I just want to beat Bum. But it's really special. No matter what happens in my career, I can say I started five consecutive Opening Days for the San Francisco Giants. It's a pretty storied franchise. You start talking about the guys who have done it consecutively, it’s future Hall of Famers or some of the best pitchers of all time in Juan Marichal. Just to even have my name in that conversation is cool.”
There’s no one the Giants would rather have setting the tone for the club than Webb, who finished fourth in National League Cy Young voting after logging a 3.22 ERA with an MLB-high 207 innings in 2025.
“You want your players to reflect who you are,” first-year manager Tony Vitello said. “I think he's a great leader in general, but it makes me feel like I'm leading because he's leading.”
Webb got to spend two weeks playing alongside Team USA captain Aaron Judge this month, but he’s looking forward to competing against the Yankees’ superstar when they reunite in San Francisco next week.
“I think the last time the Yankees came, Aaron had a comment that was like, ‘We're the Yankees, we’ve got to give them a show,’” Webb said. “We're the Giants, we’ve got to give them a show, too. This is show business, so we’re going to go out there and hopefully compete our butts off and come out victorious.”