Saturday BP: Hunter Pence forever

Hello and happy weekend!

It’s been exactly one week since Hunter Pence retired. I’m not positive that it’s accurate to say he “went out on top,” since he had a very rough final season, but he went out at a time, and in a manner, that leaves me with only happy feelings about him.

His last season was as a Giant. His last at-bat was as a Giant. His first day of retirement was spent being a fan, in McCovey Cove, cheering on the Giants. It was a very nice ending.

To celebrate one of our favorite Giants, may I present the t-shirts that BreakingT designed when Pence left the Giants in 2018. They’re beautiful, and you can buy them here.

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Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?

He did.

October 3, 2002: In Game 2 of the NLDS, against the Atlanta Braves, Bonds hit a solo home run in the 9th inning off of John Smoltz. It cut the deficit to 7-3, which was the final score, and evened the best-of-five series at 1-1.

Old, random MCC article for you to read

Open GameThread, World Series Game 5 (Oct. 26, 2014 — Grant Brisbee)

Giants links

• Roger Munter takes a look at the Instructional League roster (There R Giants)
• Grant Brisbee on how the Giants would have made the postseason if they had Mark Melancon (The Athletic)
• Alex Pavlovic wonders if the Giants will keep the archways open even when fans can return to the park (NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Mark W. Sanchez on why the Giants never had a closer (KNBR)
• Andrew Baggarly on the importance of the Giants big coaching staff (The Athletic, subscription required)
• Dieter Kurtenbach likes the new postseason format but thinks it can be better (Mercury News)
• Mark W. Sanchez on why the Giants might be quick with promotions next year (KNBR)

I hope you all have a tremendous Saturday.