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24 PLAY BALL BAY AREA NEWS GROUP THE GAME includingYadier,whoisafixture with the St. Louis Cardinals, are the only trio of brothers in major leag ue his tor y t o e ach own a World Series ring. It wouldn't have gotten started without a pair of borrowed cleats and a scout who was willing to look past a flaw. "I would have signed for noth - ing," Bengie Molina said. "I would have signed for nothing." While Bengie and Jose Molina prep ared t o p la y i n th at 2002 World Series, a skinny 11-year-old kid was hand-painting signs in the Anaheim parking lot and couldn't beli ev e th at he wo uld g et to se e h is Angels in the Fall Classic. MATTDUFFYLIVEDAND breathed baseball, and he worked hard at it. He played at Long Beach State, where he hit .244 as a freshman, .266 as a sophomore and .244 in a miserable junior year that began with an intestinal ailment, causing him to shed 20 pounds that he couldn't afford to lose. Of his 129 collegiate hits, 116 were singles. Over three collegiate seasons and 501 at-bats, he didn't hit a single home run. The Angels didn't even bother to send him a draft questionnaire. Scouts knew about him because he had taken what was supposed to be a temporary assignment with Orleans in the Cape Cod League and ran with it, hitting everything in sight after clicking with batting coach Benny Craig. Giants scout Brad Cameron knew Duffy long before that. He had reports on him going back to Lakewood High School, and he knew the kid had the arm, strength and range to play shortstop. "All four of our scouts who saw him in the Cape knew what he could do," Cameron said. "I had him even a little higher than where we took him, in the 18th round (in 2012). We all agreed he could play shortstop, he had good actions and he squared up fast - balls. He never missed a fastball, and that was the truth." Cameron laughed when he con- sidered Duffy's amazing season in 2015, when he had the most RBIs (77) by a Giants rookie since Dave Kingman in 1972 and the most extra-base hits by a Giants rookie since Chili Davis in 1982. If not for the Cubs' Kris Bryant, Duffy would've been the NL Rookie of the Year. "If you think about it, we kind of whiffed, too," Cameron said. "I mean, based on what he's doing now. … I didn't evaluate him as a plus hitter and average power guy. We had him as a utility player." At the time, what most struck Cameron about Duffy was his extreme eagerness to sign — as eager as any draftee he could remember. Duffy signed two days after the draft, only because that's how long it took Cameron to drive over a contract. Their relationship didn't end there. Duffy and Cameron will meet up at least once every offseason for lunch or dinner. And Duffy was a surprise guest when Cameron celebrated his 50th birthday with a party in San Francisco in September. "I really appreciated his faith in me and fighting for me," Duffy said. "Because at that point in the draft, it's about, 'How adamant is a scout about their guy?' I know with the year I had my junior year, he didn't have to stick to his guns, but he did." Said Cameron: "I'm so proud of him and happy for his family. To be able to walk into a house and give them the opportunity to ful - fill someone's dreams, one they've had since they were 5 years old, is an awesome feeling, and I love it." THOSE ARE THE MOMENTS that make up for so many others: the long drives and rainouts, the two-star hotel rooms with scratchy blankets, making dinner from the offerings at a gas station. Back in 2001, Elder had the am - ple Southern territory that includ- ed Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. An- other scout had been reassigned, and GM Brian Sabean asked him to take on Tennessee, too. Elder hadn't the first idea about draft prospects in the state, so he asked another scout with the Reds to toss him a couple of names. He got one, a high school pitcher at Houston High, outside Memphis, who was committed to attend South Carolina but was worth a look. His name was Conor Lalor. And Collierville happened to be playing in a tournament in Mountain Brook, Alabama, a two- hour drive away. "Oh, thank you, thank you," said Elder, who hustled to his car. "So I get there and talk to the coach, and Lalor has the flu — didn't make the trip." Elder asked for other names. The coach told him he had a shortstop and a catcher. Elder asked if he had any other pitchers. "And he says to me, 'Well, the guy going tonight is a 17-year-old, but he's a senior, and he's got a partial ride to Memphis State,'" Elder said. "That was Cain, and I was the only one there. I was the only scout in the stands. "And, shoot, after three innings I called up (Giants vice president Dick) Tidrow and said, 'I just saw the quickest arm I've seen on a high school kid yet.'" Cain threw 88 mph that day. But every time he took the mound in his senior year, his velocity ticked up. When the draft arrived, he was a known commodity, and evaluators expected him to go in the first couple of rounds. The Giants had more reports on him than anyone else. He lasted until their selection at 25th overall. Fourteen years later, Elder and Cain are lasting together still. "Usually you don't stumble onto guys like that, someone who turns out to be a bulldog of your staff," Elder said. "It's great that both of us have been together the whole time. It's been a great relationship." ABAGGARLY@MERCURYNEWS.COM Famedscout George Genovese signed 44 players that reached the major leagues, including Bobby Bonds, Gary Matthews, Garry Maddox, George Foster, Jack Clark, Chili Davis, Dave Kingman, Royce Clayton and Matt Williams. Genovese died in November at the age of 93.