Justin Verlander started it. Willy Adames ended it. And 40,865 dug it.
The Giants’ home opener Friday afternoon at Oracle Park was memorable for all kinds of reasons, especially with the Giants pulling out a wild 10-9 win over Seattle in a marathon game that lasted 4 hours and 3 minutes and left them with a 6-1 record.
“This team has something special,” said the decorated Verlander, who wasn’t nearly at his best and got pulled after just 2 ⅓ innings. “We were overlooked. It’s early, but I think you can see that this team is pretty good.”
Verlander and Adames were the Giants’ two biggest offseason acquisitions, and the new shortstop helped take the heat off Verlander in the bottom of the 11th inning with his two-run, walk-off single that made him an instant fan favorite.
“We’re in a great place with the vibe and energy and chemistry,” Adames said, “and that builds special things.”
Indeed, BusterBall seems real. With Buster Posey running the show this season, the direction at Second and King is far different than in recent years under Farhan Zaidi’s computer-driven game plans and heavy emphasis on the power game, whether it be 400-foot home runs or 100-mph fastballs.
Under Posey, the Giants are focused on the kind of baseball that fans remember during the championship era, with pitching and defense the key elements. The kind of baseball that was played before the analytics movement put more value on numbers than chemistry, body language, clubhouse presence, and other intangibles that were so important for so many decades.
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On that note, the Giants proved Friday they can win a game even when their defense isn’t clean and their situational hitting isn’t efficient. After playing crisp baseball during their successful season-opening trip through Cincinnati and Houston, the Giants easily could have lost their home opener. Second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald made an error that led to three unearned runs, and several extremely hard-hit balls whizzed by Adames. But instead of succumbing to the miscues, they received solid relief pitching and just enough hitting to sneak out the win.
“It seemed like there was drama every single inning,” manager Bob Melvin said. “I guess once you sit back and look at that game, maybe it was supposed to end like that.”
When Posey was introduced as the new president of baseball operations in October, he declared he and the Giants are in the “memory-making business,” and many of the memories from Friday won’t disappear anytime soon.
It’s the 25th anniversary of the stadium that initially was called Pacific Bell Park, and the Giants honored the 2000 team that won the National League West with the majors’ best record. Dusty Baker, Barry Bonds, J.T. Snow, Kirk Reuter, and several others took the field for a ceremony that fans embraced, even though Jeff Kent, the National League MVP that year, didn’t make it because he was at his son’s game; Kaeden Kent is a shortstop with Texas A&M, which is playing at top-ranked Tennessee this weekend.
It was the Giants’ first home game since the passing of the great Willie Mays. The Say Hey Kid was featured in a tribute honoring those in the Giants family who died in the past year. Also Orlando Cepeda. In a classy move, the Giants included A’s legend Rickey Henderson in the tribute. Up in Mays’ old suite, his friends — whom he affectionately referred to as Team Willie — gathered to honor the greatest ballplayer ever.
It was Posey’s homecoming. The iconic catcher who helped the Giants to championships in 2010, 2012, and 2014 has returned to lead the baseball operations department and put his stamp on the next era of Giants baseball, a move that has been well-received by players and fans alike.
The impact is noticeable. Universally picked to finish fourth in the NL West, the Giants are making an early splash by incorporating some old-school principles. Snow, who was among many former Giants players invited by Posey to serve as guest coaches in spring training, said he has noticed positive changes under Posey, including with the manager.
“I was out there one morning and got a chance to talk with Bob for 20, 30 minutes, and he was excited,” Snow said. “I think he came aboard last year and didn’t have a lot of say. This year, he’s hoping to make these guys get back to the way the game is supposed to be played. Not about launch angles and exit velocities. What we did, how we played, he wants to bring that back. It was super cool. I think he’s got a little more freedom. Everybody’s on the same page.”
Including the mayor. Daniel Lurie was summoned to throw the ceremonial first pitch, and to his credit, he climbed atop the mound and tossed a strike. He said he “snuck in” to the park Sunday for a practice round, just so he wouldn’t spike the ball.
“You can’t let the fans down,” Lurie told The Standard in an interview in the press elevator. “Listen, we’ve got good vibes in the city. There are good vibes with the Giants. It was an honor. It wasn’t something you think you’ll ever do in your hometown, so it was fun.”
Lurie’s trying to revitalize downtown San Francisco like Posey’s trying to revitalize the Giants, and the mayor said, “It’s absolutely linked. What he’s doing with Melvin, the veterans, rookies, new players like Willy Adames, that’s what we’re doing at City Hall, and the city deserves nothing less than everybody working together, and that’s what Buster’s doing.”
So far, it’s working. Take the second inning, for example. According to hitting coach Pat Burrell, it’s not how hard you hit it. It’s how often. It’s also how successful you move runners along. The little things. Both Patrick Bailey and Fitzgerald bunted; Bailey was awarded a single and Fitzgerald reached on an error. Little ball at its finest. LaMonte Wade Jr. followed with a two-run double that landed softly on the grass in right field, giving the Giants a 3-1 lead.
That Wade’s double left his bat at a mere 79.4 mph was significant. Rather than muscling up and worrying about his exit velocity or launch angle, Wade simply made contact and found a hole. Make no mistake. Wade can make very loud contact. He did so his next at-bat, hitting the ball 97.1 mph (anything at least 95 mph is considered “hard hit,” according to Statcast) to the right-center gap, a triple in Triples Alley. He scored on Adames’ double, and the Giants led 6-5.
The Mariners moved ahead in the sixth with three unearned runs, attributed to Fitzgerald’s fielding error at second, the Giants’ first error of the season. The Giants tied it 8-8 in the home half in a rally featuring a home run by Matt Chapman.
The Giants had three splendid chances to win it in the ninth after positioning a runner at third with no outs, but Fitzgerald, Adames, and Lee all failed to drive in the run. Ditto in the 10th and 11th, at least until Adames’ game-clinching hit.
In the end, the Giants and their fans were winners. Bonds made sure to give credit to fans before the game when he grabbed a microphone and thanked the crowd, asking those who have been around throughout the ballpark’s quarter-century history to stand up.
“I’ve got a message for you,” he said. “None of this would ever be possible without your love and support and loyalty. Thank you very much.”
The crowd responded with chants of “Ba-rry, Ba-rry, Ba-rry.”