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Hello and happy Friday.
The San Francisco Giants season opener did not go according to plan, as they fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers 8-1. But it was Opening Day, and it was glorious, even if the result was less than desirable.
So instead of focusing on the game, I want to focus on the tidbit that the broadcast mentioned, and that every beat reporter has brought up a few times in recent years.
The Giants can’t find a left fielder to stick. The have now had a different starting left fielder on Opening Day for 14 consecutive seasons, a date that spans back to Barry Bonds.
Congratulations to Alex Dickerson, whose first opening day start also carries on a Giants tradition: It's now 14 different left fielders in the Giants' last 14 openers, a run that dates back to Barry Bonds in 2007.
— Andrew Baggarly (@extrabaggs) July 24, 2020
Here’s what those 14 years have looked like, along with the Opening Day performance:
2007: Barry Bonds (1-3, 1 walk)
2008: Dave Roberts (1-3)
2009: Fred Lewis (1-4, 1 walk, 1 strikeout)
2010: Mark DeRosa (1-3, 1 home run, 1 walk, 1 strikeout)
2011: Pat Burrell (1-4, 1 home run, 1 strikeout)
2012: Aubrey Huff (1-4)
2013: Andres Torres (0-3)
2014: Michael Morse (1-3, 1 walk, 1 strikeout)
2015: Nori Aoki (2-5)
2016: Angel Pagan (1-4, 1 double, 1 walk, 1 strikeout)
2017: Jarrett Parker (0-2, 1 strikeout)
2018: Hunter Pence (2-4, 1 double, 1 strikeout)
2019: Connor Joe (0-1, 1 walk)
2020: Alex Dickerson (2-4)
Who will be the starting left fielder in 2021? Stay tuned to find out.
Did Barry Bonds hit a home run today?
Hey, he did.
July 24, 2003: Against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bonds hit a walk-off solo home run in the 9th inning off of Mike Myers, giving the Giants a 3-2 win. It was his 33rd homer of the year.
Giants links
- Podcast: Roger Munter talks with KNBR’s Mark W. Sanchez (There R Giants)
- Alex Pavlovic on the Giants kneeling on Opening Day (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Andrew Baggarly on how the Giants roster is built for chaos (The Athletic, subscription required)
- Maria Guardado on how analytics helped Caleb Baragar get to the majors (MLB)
- Mark W. Sanchez on Gabe Kapler letting Hunter Pence make a speech (KNBR)
- Alex Pavlovic with some takeaways from the loss (NBC Sports Bay Area)
- Dieter Kurtenbach on if the Giants can make the expanded postseason (Mercury News)
Have a great Friday, one and all.