It’s been around for years and we’ve all experienced it – The Brian Wilson Effect. It began in 2006 when Wilson made his MLB debut with the Giants and it continues to this very day.

Without exception there wasn’t a Dodger fan around who didn’t loath Brian Wilson and his stupid ‘Fear the Beard’ schtick when he was with the Giants.

Why?

Because Wilson was a Dodger killer and so good that he just had that effect on Dodger fans. Call it what you want, but it was indeed The Brian Wilson Effect.

Wilson, who was drafted by the Giants in the 24th round of the 2003 First Year Player Draft, was absolutely the last guy Dodger fans wanted to see enter a Dodgers/Giants game because it usually meant two things:

• The Dodgers were trailing, because Wilson was used almost exclusively as a closer in save situations.
• He usually got the save.

And then something unbelievable happened – Brian Wilson became a Dodger. And though most Dodger fans initially had mixed feeling about the late-season signing (but not all of them) and the whole beard thing, they quickly embraced the eccentric hard-throwing and hard-working right-hander – beard and all. It was The Brian Wilson Effect.

There isn’t a Dodger player who works harder than Brian Wilson – No one.
(Ron Cervenka – ThinkBlueLA.com)

And then something else unbelievable happened – Brian Wilson was very good as the Dodgers new set-up man for closer Kenley Jansen; so good, in fact, that he quickly replaced both Brandon League and Ronald Belisario in that role, which even led to League being excluded from the Dodgers postseason roster entirely. And though Wilson appeared in only 18 games and pitched a total of only 13.2 innings, he ended the 2013 regular season with a 2-1 record and a mind-boggling 0.66 ERA. He then appeared in six postseason games going 1-0 without allowing a run in 6.0 innings pitched. It was The Brian Wilson Effect.

There is an undeniable sense of confidence whenever Wilson enters a game. It is The Brian Wilson Effect at its absolute finest. (Ron Cervenka – ThinkBlueLA.com)

In a little over a month, Wilson went from being one of the most hated Giants in Dodger history to possibly becoming one of the most beloved Dodgers in Dodger history. It was The Brian Wilson Effect.

The audition was over and Wilson had aced it. The problem was, Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti had only signed Wilson for the remainder of the 2013 season and Wilson became a free agent with the final out of the World Series, thus leaving Dodger fans in a state of anxiety entering the off-season. It was The Brian Wilson Effect.

For the next 36 days rumors ran rampant that Wilson would only sign with a team that would offer him a multi-year contract and only as a closer – this in spite of reports that Wilson claimed that he wanted to return to the Dodgers and was more than willing to remain as the set-up man for Kenley Jansen. Rumor had it that the Mets, Rockies, Tigers and Mariners were in heavy on Wilson, which only added to the anxiety of Dodger fans who were begging Colletti to “pay the man.” It was The Brian Wilson Effect.

On December 5, Twitter lit up like a Christmas Tree and Dodger fans everywhere took a collective breath with reports that Wilson and the Dodgers had come to terms on a one-year/$10 million contract with a player option for 2015 and incentives that would guarantee Wilson $18.5 million over the next two seasons. The deal was sealed when Wilson passed his physical early Saturday morning.

In a telephonic media conference call on Saturday afternoon, Colletti put all of the ‘closer only’ rumors to rest.

“I was never convinced that he would never come back here if he didn’t close,” said Colletti. “Not one time did he ever say that. I thought as long as everything else made sense, he would do it.”

When asked about paying Wilson closer-type money and essentially signing him to a guaranteed two-year deal, Colletti said pretty much what we have known all along.

“He wasn’t coming here for a one-year deal.”

Now… if we can only get Ned to do something about The Clayton Kershaw Effect and the J.P. Howell Effect.