Giants' Matt Chapman pushes back on San Francisco criticism: 'I'm comfortable here'

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The San Francisco Giants signed infielder Matt Chapman to a one-year contract Sunday as the team looked to bolster its roster before the start of the 2024 regular season.

In the middle of the offseason, the Giants were described as not being a desirable team to play for because of the issues the city has had with crime and drugs over the last year. Former Giants star Buster Posey hinted as much after the team missed out on signing Shohei Ohtani.

"Something I think is noteworthy, something that unfortunately keeps popping up from players and even the players’ wives, is there’s a bit of an uneasiness with the city itself, as far as the state of the city, with crime, with drugs," Posey told The Athletic.

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New San Francisco Giants infielder Matt Chapman answers a question during an introductory news conference announcing his signing Monday, March 4, 2024, in Scottsdale, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

"Whether that’s all completely fair or not, perception is reality. It’s a frustrating cycle, I think, and not just with baseball. Baseball is secondary to life and the important things in life. But as far as a free-agent pursuit goes, I have seen that it does affect things."

But Chapman pushed back on that narrative in his press conference on Monday.

"I chose to come here. I think everybody's different, everybody has different things that matter to them, but I'm from California. I played in the Bay Area. I'm comfortable here," Chapman said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. "And people say what they say, but I think at the end of the day when you look at the franchise, they want to win.