Hunter Pence strikes it rich in San Francisco

Posted on September 30, 2013

Hunter Pence #8 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after driving in the winning run with a base hit in the bottom of the 9th inning to beat the San Diego Padres 7-6 at AT&T Park on Sunday, September 29, 2013 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Brad Mangin)

 

Yesterday afternoon marked the end of a very disappointing season for the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants. They finished the season 76-86 in a third place tie with the San Diego Padres. They have been out of the race for several months, but none of that seemed to matter to a packed house of orange and black-clad fans who cheered on their ball club like it was the 7th game of the World Series.

When Hunter Pence came to the plate in the bottom of the 9th inning the crowd came to their feet. The game was tied 6-6 and the bases were loaded with nobody out. The Padres were playing with just two outfielders. The count went full. Pence then jumped on a high fastball from Padres closer Huston Street and launched a game-winning single to center field sending the fans into a frenzy like the Giants had just won the World Series. As the team celebrated on the field they did not seem like a club that finished 16 games behind the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. They looked like a team playing with some momentum into next season.

One of the big reasons for all the enthusiasm at the ballpark was the big free agent contract Pence signed before the game for $90 million over five years. As the newest super rich guy on the Giants roster Pence had many extra reasons to celebrate. After all, this was the same guy who led the team in dugout cheers before many of the post season games last year wanting to play “one more day.” Pence expressed his love for his teammates. He wanted to see what Ryan Theriot would wear the next day. This was a guy who never let up on or off the field. Without him they would not have won it all last season.

When the Giants acquired Pence in July of 2012 in a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies for Nate Schierholtz I did not think this move would help much. I wrote this in my blog: “The Giants appear to be in big trouble and limping to the finish line- which is two months away! They are still tied for first place with the Dodgers, but I don’t see them hanging in for the NL West flag til the end of the season.”

I also wrote this: “As a photographer I am very pleased with this deal as Pence has always been fun to photograph. As a fan I am happy too. They needed to do something, and Schierholtz just wasn’t happening anymore as a player for the Giants.”

Pence did not exactly set the world on fire down the stretch and into the post season last year. His lunging at pitches and topped balls down the third base line drove fans crazy. Many wondered what he would look like playing a full season in San Francisco in 2013. Well, everyone got what they asked for this year when Pence played in EVERY. SINGLE. GAME. Pence became the first player in San Francisco history to play in all 162 games and tore it up down the stretch, winning the National league Player of the Month Award for the month of September. Pence finished the year with 27 homers and 99RBI to go along with a .283 batting average. He also stole 22 bases in 25 attempts as he became more and more of a fan-favorite as the season wore on. His big finish also earned him about $20 million extra on his new deal.

Few people have had a better week than Pence just had. On Thursday Pence released a hysterical infomercial for Hunter’s Hitters: Hunter Pence’s Unorthodox Baseball Camp. Pence’s ability to poke fun at himself and his unorthodox style made Bay Area fans love him even more than before. Before Friday night’s game he won the prestigious Willie Mac Award, showing how much his teammates appreciate his hustle and leadership qualities. During Friday night’s game Pence homered, then he went deep again on Saturday. Yesterday’s contract signing and end-of-game heroics were icing on the cake. Have a week Hunter Pence! I look forward to photographing him for years to come at our great ballpark in The City. Now I will turn my attention to the Oakland A’s as they attempt to do what the Giants did last year. I can’t wait to shoot Game 1 of the ALDS against the Detroit Tigers on Friday night!