Latest news with #SFGiants
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Barry Bonds heartfelt message to Giants after Bobblehead Day
The post Barry Bonds heartfelt message to Giants after Bobblehead Day appeared first on ClutchPoints. The San Francisco Giants squandered an opportunity to gain ground in the NL West Saturday, as the Los Angeles Dodgers ended a seven-game skid with a 2-1 victory. The Giants fell to third place in the division after the loss, as San Francisco now trails LA by five games. But regardless of the outcome, Saturday was a special day at Oracle Park. The Giants hosted a Barry Bonds bobblehead giveaway and the all-time home run leader was in attendance, even throwing out the first pitch before the game. Bonds received a warm welcome from the San Francisco crowd and showed his appreciation with a message posted on Instagram. 'Thank you @sfgiants for having me for Bobblehead Day – what an incredible honor! It means so much to be celebrated here at home. I'm beyond grateful for the love from the fans and everyone who showed up today. What a day to remember!' Bonds wrote. Giants fans show up for Barry Bonds bobblehead game Although he retired 18 years ago, Bonds still looms large over the MLB landscape. He remains the benchmark used to measure baseball greatness. Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and James Wood have all received Bonds comps this season. And it usually means you're doing (or expected to do) something incredible at the plate. Droves of fans showed up to Oracle Saturday, hoping to be one of the first 20,000 attendees to receive a bobblehead. Lines stretched all around the ballpark well before the game began, per Anthony Garcia on X. Bonds spent 15 of his 22 major league seasons with the Giants. And he credits Hall of Famer and San Francisco great Willie Mays for mentoring him when he joined the team in 1993. In an effort to keep that tradition alive, Bonds met with Rafael Devers when he first arrived in the Bay Area. The Giants landed the All-Star slugger in a trade with the Boston Red Sox in June While Bonds has been snubbed by the Hall of Fame, he's part of the Giants' Wall of Fame and San Francisco retired his number. He's also in the Pittsburgh Pirates' Hall of Fame. He began his career with the Pirates in 1986 and spent seven seasons in Pittsburgh. Bonds is the all-time career leader in bWAR (162.8), home runs (762) and walks (2,558). He also holds the single-season record for home runs (73) and on-base percentage (.609). Bonds won seven MVP Awards in his incredible career. He received the award five times as a member of the Giants, including four straight MVPs from 2001-2004. No one else in baseball history has won the award more than three times. Although that could change this season as Shohei Ohtani makes a run for his fourth-career MVP. Related: Dodgers end 7-game losing streak with Shohei Ohtani-led win over Giants Related: Giants trade proposal lands Diamondbacks ace, but it's not Zac Gallen
CBS News
01-07-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Giants plan to keep manager Bob Melvin through 2026 as team picks up option
The San Francisco Giants front office is expressing confidence in manager Bob Melvin, announcing that they are exercising the team's 2026 club option. Buster Posey, the team's president of baseball operations, called Melvin an "experienced leader" and one of baseball's "most well-respected managers." "His leadership, preparation, and connection with our players have been invaluable, and we believe he's the right person to continue guiding this team forward," Posey said in a statement Tuesday. The #SFGiants have exercised the 2026 option for Manager Bob Melvin — SFGiants (@SFGiants) July 1, 2025 Melvin is in the midst of his second season managing the club and his 22nd overall as a big-league manager, which included 11 years with the Oakland Athletics and two years with the San Diego Padres. He has also managed the Seattle Mariners and Arizona Diamondbacks. "I'm grateful for the opportunity to continue leading this group," said Melvin. "I believe in what we're building here." Melvin added, "We have a lot of unfinished business this year, and I'm looking forward to the work ahead." Entering Tuesday, the Giants are 45-40, eight games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 1.5 games out of the last National League Wild Card spot. While the team had a hot 19-12 start in April, the Giants have recently struggled. San Francisco has lost 11 out of the last 15 games despite acquiring slugger Rafael Devers from the Red Sox in a blockbuster trade last month. In Melvin's first season as Giants manager, the team posted an 80-82 record. Melvin is a three-time manager of the year, winning in 2007 with the Diamondbacks and 2012 and 2018 with the A's. He has 1,642 regular season wins, third most among active managers behind Terry Francona (1,994) and Bruce Bochy (2,212), who led the Giants to three World Series titles.
New York Times
20-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Giants' Justin Verlander begins paternity leave, will miss Red Sox series
The San Francisco Giants placed pitcher Justin Verlander on the paternity list Friday as he and his wife, model Kate Upton, await the arrival of their second child. Verlander, 42, will miss the Giants' home series against the Boston Red Sox, which begins Friday night. The soonest he could return is Tuesday, when the Giants host the Miami Marlins. #SFGiants roster moves: – RHP Justin Verlander placed on the Paternity List.– IF Brett Wisely (#0) recalled from Triple-A Sacramento. — SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 20, 2025 MLB's paternity leave list allows players to step away for up to three games, barring any issues requiring a longer leave. If a longer absence is necessary, the player's club can apply to have him join the restricted list or go on family medical leave, depending on the circumstances. The Giants are second in the National League West with a 42-33 record, behind only the Los Angeles Dodgers, who are 46-30. Advertisement For his part, Verlander has given up 59 hits and 31 runs this season and has a 4.45 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has recorded 47 strikeouts but is 0-4 in starts. Verlander and Upton welcomed their first child, Genevieve Upton Verlander, in 2018. The couple married the year prior.
New York Times
18-06-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Rafael Devers finds his groove in solid first impression on Giants debut
SAN FRANCISCO — As cameras clicked and flashbulbs popped and Rafael Devers held up his No.16 Giants jersey for the first time Tuesday afternoon, an impatient voice shouted from the wings. '¡Póntela! ¡Póntela!' Willy Adames was among the contingent of Giants players who attended the press conference on the suite level to introduce Devers. Adames wasn't interested in the whats and whys and hows behind the franchise's most transformative trade in a generation — including the juicy drama and acrimonious conditions in which the Boston Red Sox would seek to jettison a bona fide star just 28 months after signing him to a 10-year, $313.5 million contract. Advertisement All Adames wanted to witness was the moment that Devers buttoned up his new jersey. Whether you get dressed in front of a locker or in a phone booth, there's something transformative about a costume change. Until that happened, all of this remained a concept. Adames was desperate to see it become real. Put it on! Put it on! Devers put on a classic Giants home jersey for the first time, and a few hours later, he donned the 1970s groove-inspired and purple-splotched version. He found his own groove quickly enough, finding the right-center gap with an RBI double in his second at-bat and lining a single in a ninth-inning rally that fizzled out in a 3-2 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on the shores of McCovey Cove. 'Welcome to San Francisco, Mr. Devers' – Mike Krukow — SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 18, 2025 The night lacked a crescendo and the Giants lost their third consecutive game. Given the impact of Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan, who doubled up Casey Schmitt on a lineout in the eighth inning and whose accurate arm sufficiently deterred Jung Hoo Lee from attempting to score on a fly ball in the ninth, the result might have served as a reminder that pitching and defense will always carry the day in this ballpark. But a special energy crackles in the grandstands when a hitter who drips with danger steps to the plate. The ballpark pulsated with anticipation every time Devers stepped to the plate. The fans stood for the entirety of his at-bats and chanted his name. The announced attendance of 36,222 included several thousand who sprung for tickets following Sunday's slack-jawing news that the Giants had acquired a 28-year-old widely viewed as one of the most dangerous hitters in the sport. There might be no bigger fan of the Giants' four-for-one trade than the person who stood on first base in the third inning when Devers connected on a 2-0 fastball and split the outfielders. Third base coach Matt Williams waved Adames home, but that was a mere formality. Adames would've run through a stop sign, a brick wall, an alien forcefield and a burning building to account for Devers' first RBI in a Giants uniform. Even before he crossed the plate, Adames had broken into a wide smile. Advertisement 'Send me, don't send me,' Adames joked. 'I'm like, 'I'm scoring, I don't care. I'm going home.'' The Giants' only problem was that they didn't create enough RBI opportunities for Devers and the hitters who received them couldn't come through. They were 1 for 13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners. But Adames looked back on a night in which he saw plenty of pitches in the strike zone and didn't dismiss the idea that the new guy standing in the on-deck circle might already be exerting his influence. 'I didn't think about that until now, but I know in the long run, it's going to be comfortable having someone like him behind me,' Adames said. 'He told me he was a little nervous. I said, 'Relax. You're going to be amazing here. Just chill. I know there's a lot going on, a press conference, cameras, everybody looking at you. But just play your game.' Once the game started, he looked a lot more comfortable.' That's what Giants manager Bob Melvin noticed, too. 'You have to realize he's been in Boston his whole career and all of a sudden he's here,' Melvin said. 'It's a completely different environment, completely different team, he doesn't know anybody on the team, he shows up and he's already a fan favorite. Gets a couple at-bats, couple hits, drives in a run for us. There's a lot going on emotionally and we just assume that everything's great. (But) it's hard to do what he did today. That's what impressed me the most — how comfortable he looked in a completely different place for the first time in his career.' Devers acknowledged feeling nerves in his first at-bat. He didn't expect to receive such a loud ovation from Giants fans. He didn't choose to come to San Francisco, of course, and franchise history is replete with examples of hitters who let the wind patterns or the summer chill or the 25-foot brick wall get in their heads. But Devers gave the impression of a hitter who would distill his thoughts to the opponent on the mound. Advertisement 'It's the same baseball,' Devers said through Spanish interpreter Erwin Higueros. 'I just feel if I make good contact, it's going to go. I really don't pay attention to different dimensions of the ballpark.' Devers started at designated hitter and is likely to remain there for the remainder of the homestand, including this weekend's hilariously timed series against the Red Sox. Of course, it would be even more hilarious if Devers were to start at first base against Boston after he declined his former team's request to play the position. This much is clear: there's a sense of urgency on the part of both Devers and the Giants to become a playable option at first base soon. 'I don't know a timetable but I know I'll try to be there as fast as I can and be there when the team needs me,' Devers said. 'Starting tomorrow I'm going to take as much grounders as possible at first base and whenever the manager and coaches feel I'm ready, I'm going to be there.' A new position? Give it some time. For Devers, getting used to a new team was enough for one night. 'I was a little overwhelmed,' Devers said. 'But seeing what I saw today with the fans, I think it's going to be really exciting.' (D. Ross Cameron / Imagn Images)
San Francisco Chronicle
18-06-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
In his second at-bat with Giants, Rafael Devers smacks an RBI double
In his second at-bat as a San Francisco Giant, Rafael Devers got on the board. With the game knotted at 1-1 and Willy Adames aboard in the third inning, Devers smoked Cleveland Guardians starter Slade Cacconi's 2-0 fastball into the right-center gap, Triple's Alley. It scored Adames easily from first and Devers pulled into second base for his first hit and RBI as a Giant. It gave the Giants a one-run lead starter Robbie Ray would give up the following inning. Devers was introduced to Giants land earlier on Tuesday and slotted in as designated hitter, batting third. He took ground balls at first base prior to the game and is expected to play there some – a position he refused to play in Boston – in addition to DH. He struck out swinging in his first at-bat. The Giants scored their first run on a Dom Smith RBI single in the first inning. 'Welcome to San Francisco, Mr. Devers' - Mike Krukow — SFGiants (@SFGiants) June 18, 2025 Jerar Encarnacion injury: Encarnacion landed on the 10-day injured list prior to Tuesday's game with a left oblique strain. Outfielder Daniel Johnson, who had been optioned to Triple-A Sacramento on Monday with Devers' arrival, was recalled to San Francisco as the corresponding roster move.
