Zaidi also makes clear his involvement in the Giants’ lineup decisions

Zaidi further clarifies that he was involved in the Giants’ lineup decisions originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Farhan Zaidi wants to set the record straight.

The Giants’ former president of baseball operations spoke publicly on Wednesday’s episode of “Foul Territory” for the first time since being fired on Sept. 30 about numerous topics during his tenure with the organization, including his involvement in the team’s day-to-day roster decisions after Giants- Legend Will Clark had previously claimed that Zaidi was in charge.

“I think my reputation precedes me when it comes to things like this,” Zaidi told AJ Pierzynski, Erik Kratz and Scott Braun. “You look around the game, in the front offices and the managers, there is a lot of interaction, there is a lot of exchange. I never made the lineup. I know Will Clark thinks I made the lineup. I love Will, but that just wasn’t the case.”

Although Zaidi didn’t design the lineups, he discussed decisions with Melvin and the coaching staff in what he said was a collaborative process.

“Sometimes you wonder, ‘Hey, our starting catcher is going to catch two out of three. “When is the right time to use the substitute?” said Zaidi. “Or do you want to get the staff’s opinion on how they view the opposing team’s starting player? Do we think this guy is better against lefties or righties? What does that mean?’ What do we mean in terms of the guys we brought into the lineup?

“But I looked at it all as a conversation. I never said, ‘This guy has to play.’ I think if you take a step back you could say, “Hey, we’re bringing this young player up, we want to give him some playing time.” But we definitely do general things like that on a day-to-day basis. There was never a sheet where the boys were ranked 1st through 9th.

Although Zaidi and Melvin’s working relationship with the Giants only lasted one season, the two previously worked together for four seasons at the then-Oakland Athletics from 2011 to 2014, where Zaidi served as assistant general manager and Melvin served as the team’s manager.

With Zaidi now considering a potential role with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the two former colleagues could soon become NL West Division rivals.

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