Logan Webb isn’t just the face of the Giants. He’s so much more

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Logan Webb wasn’t always a cool cat, personable leader, and ace of the Giants’ rotation, as he is now. There were times early in his big-league career he doubted if any of that would be possible.

“He was at a point in 2021 when he was scuffling and spending time on the injured list, and I’ll never forget a conversation we had when he told me, ‘Maybe I’m just an average pitcher,’” Kevin Gausman, Webb’s teammate and throwing partner on the 2020 and 2021 Giants, said in a phone interview.

“Right away, I was, like, ‘Dude, I’ve played catch with a lot of really good big-leaguers, and your stuff is better than anyone’s. Let’s get that out of our mind. Let’s make small adjustments. Hey, your stuff moves so well, all you need to do is throw it in the box.’ ”

Webb vividly remembers those rough days and valuable words.

“It took me a while not to get frustrated and not to get upset,” Webb said. “It took me three years to be a decent pitcher, to be serviceable.”

Nowadays, Webb is pitching so well that he’s headed to his second consecutive All-Star Game and continues to emerge as a respected team leader on and off the field — a role he embraces and cherishes nearly as much as pitching his team to victories.

In his seventh big-league season, the 28-year-old seems to be in a perfect environment, able to absorb lessons from veterans Justin Verlander and Robbie Ray while mentoring less experienced starters Landen Roupp and Hayden Birdsong, among other pitchers.

The maturation of Webb is multifold. Much has been chronicled about how he altered his repertoire, increased his strikeout rate, and statistically is experiencing his best season yet.

But beyond the numbers, he takes special pride in assuming a leadership role and being there for teammates, like Gausman and other older pitchers were for him. Webb is the leader of a pitching staff that’s keeping the Giants afloat in the playoff race, and his development as a player, person, and teammate — along with being a new daddy with a daughter — all go into his 2025 success story.

Roupp, who’s enjoying a breakout season as a starter, said Webb helped him with his changeup (they have a similar release point) and mental approach, and Birdsong is trying to learn from Webb on how to cut down on his excessive walk rate.

“I can’t say enough about Webby. He’s been a huge impact on my baseball career,” Roupp said. “My start in Chicago [June 27], I had two innings where the bases were loaded, and I got out of jams. He told me good job. I said it was a grinding one, and he said that’s what takes you to the next level and to stay mentally locked in and learn from each outing.”

Similarly, early in Webb’s career, he leaned on Gausman, who had a sensational 2021 season before signing a five-year deal with the Blue Jays when the Giants took a pass on re-signing him. Still, he was a Giant long enough to make an impact on Webb, who said his mentor told him to enjoy the game more.

For the record, besides Willy Adames, no Giant smiles more than Webb, who seems to appreciate everything about the big-league lifestyle, including the camaraderie in the dugout and clubhouse.

“He was so hard on himself,” Gausman said. “It was like, man, we’ve got to get back to having fun. If you know Logan, you know he wants to have fun and keep things light. All of that kind of helped him get out of his own way, and in ’21, he figured out what makes him really good and different from everyone else.

“He’s been good at making some needed adjustments, and he’s turned into a guy who can strike you out if he needs to. I was a fan of his then, and it’s been cool to watch him turn into one of the most consistent starters in the big leagues.”

Webb drew inspiration from Gausman and now is trying to inspire others by showing up every fifth day and pitching deep into games. He topped the National League in innings in both 2023 and 2024 and leads again this season.

“That’s important in this game,” said Verlander, who has pitched nearly 3,500 innings in 20 seasons. “We’ve got a lot of guys in the game who have been coddled, and they don’t view taking the ball and logging the innings as something that is beneficial. Those of us who have been around a while really appreciate guys who do that and appreciate the impact that has on the team. Logan wants to take the ball every five days, leadership starts with that.”

It wasn’t always so smooth for the homegrown right-hander who broke into the majors in 2019 and posted ERAs above 5.00 in his first two seasons. He rose to prominence during the Giants’ 107-win joy ride in 2021, but even that season was challenging at first as Webb had a 5.00-plus ERA in early May.

He turned around his career that summer and posted a 2.40 ERA in his final 20 starts, 18 of which were Giants wins. He made two memorable starts in the five-game playoff series against the Dodgers, and the following season brought the first of his four straight Opening Day nods. 

Suddenly, he had the confidence and success to accompany the elite talent, and now he’s able to draw from his journey when honing his leadership skills.

“My message is to Webby: Before you can lead, you have to be able to lead yourself,” said pitching coach J.P. Martinez, who has been on the Giants’ staff since 2021. “He’s done a much better job this year leading himself in terms of keeping his emotions in check – when he does have a tough inning, he uses it as motivation and rolls it into the next inning instead of letting it derail him.”

Martinez said Verlander’s impact on Webb is noticeable every day with how Webb attacks his between-starts routines — basically, less tinkering and more comprehensive lineup preparation.

“J.V. and Robbie are very accomplished,” Martinez said. “But Webby’s the man here, the face of the franchise, and I’ve seen him embrace that more and more, shouldering that load and being able to lead from that position.”

Webb welcomes it all.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’m just trying to be the most helpful I can be, especially to the younger guys, being available whenever they need it,” he said. “I do like being a leader, and one of the best things you can do is lead by example. Robbie and J.V. are two guys I watch, and I try to be similar to them. It’s fun to be a part of.

“We truly have a belief in our group, and we truly believe we can be World Series contenders. There’s endless possibilities. It’s not how we’re going to do it. It’s, we are going to do it.”