"It was a painful final day of the season for Miguel Tejada. When the Giants eliminated the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park on Oct. 3 and won the National League West title, he didn't know if his last chance to win a World Series ring had passed him by.

"The day that we lost here was a pretty tough day for me because I thought that would be my last opportunity," Tejada said. "I think the last seven years, I'd been out of the race before the All-Star break."

But Thursday, Tejada was back at AT&T Park rekindling his postseason dream, officially joining the World Series champions as their new starting shortstop.

When the Giants called, Tejada didn't hesitate to prod his agent Pat Rooney put the deal together as soon as possible.

"This is a team that has a chance to be really good for a long time," he said. "They already did it last year, and I think it's a team that can repeat. That's why I decided to come here."

For the $6.5 million the Giants gave Tejada for the 2011 season, they may have gotten a 36-year-old player who has slowed down a bit. But his desire to play for a winner hasn't abated, and he maintained playing before packed houses at AT&T may energize him and turn back the clock a bit.

"Every time we played in San Francisco I would get excited because the ballpark is always full, the fans are into the game and every game was like a playoff," he said. "It's exciting to be playing knowing you have to do something special every day for the fans who came to the park."

Giants general manager Brian Sabean said Tejada was easily No. 1 on the organization's priority list once Juan Uribe accepted a three-year, $21 million offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"As soon as Uribe went away, to a man, everybody that weighed in said this was the best player for our situation," Sabean said. "We're very, very fortunate to pencil him in as the shortstop. It's a relief to all of us.""