Last year, nobody expected Matt Duffy to make the Opening Day roster.
He did. And then backed it up by finishing second in NL Rookie of the Year voting.
He was a Gold Glove finalist and became the first rookie in Giants history to win the Willie Mac Award.
For the season, Duffy hit .295 with 12 home runs and 77 RBI.
But over the Giants' final 17 games, he hit .232 with two home runs and six RBI.
[REWIND: Giants ready to see what Duffy does for an encore]
On Thursday morning, Duffy acknowledged that the grind of the season somewhat got to him.
"The main thing was making sure I was as healthy as possible, because I felt like I broke down a little bit the last month of the season last year," Duffy said on KNBR 680. "Wore down and definitely felt the effects of playing every day. That was the biggest thing -- making sure that I would be able to withstand that, health-wise and strength-wise, and I think I've accomplished that this offseason."
Duffy closed the season with 118 consecutive appearances, and will enter the 2016 season with the longest games played streak in the National League.
He also will arrive in Scottsdale for spring training as the undisputed starter at third base.
"It's a good feeling," Duffy explained. "I know that I have a little bit more leeway to get myself ready for the season, versus going right out of the gate first week of spring training. But at the same time I know job security is something you only have for as long as you do your job well.
"So I'm not gonna necessarily be comfortable and I'm still gonna be pushing to do everything I can to help the team win."
