rog
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Post by rog on Mar 19, 2019 21:28:25 GMT -5
Apparently the Giants missed their chance at a young outfielder. Hunter Pence seems to be turning back the clock, hitting .349 with a 1.091 OPS that is third among all qualifiers this spring training. Where the youth comes in is that he's got really young legs -- tied for the Spring Training lead with a perfect six steals. Hunter has averaged only three steals per SEASON over the past three years.
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Post by Islandboagie on Mar 20, 2019 10:05:47 GMT -5
It certainly appears he's in fine shape this spring. He said he was going to work really hard this off season to get himself in shape, it looks like he did just that. I would have never questioned Pence's effort with the Giants over the past few seasons until now. I guess $20 million a season wasn't enough incentive to try hard. Perhaps this is why older players aren't given lucrative contracts anymore, it makes them complacent.
I still love the guy, but if this continues into the regular season, my respect for him will diminish, slightly.
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rog
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Post by rog on Mar 20, 2019 12:03:55 GMT -5
This probably has more to do with health and a revamped swing than with effort IMO. I didn't mention Pence on my moves I wish the Giants had made, but I did mention early on that I was in favor of signing him to a minor league contract, something I imagine we all did.
I would have thought he would have loved to stay with the Giants, but perhaps he felt he would benefit from a fresh start. And he did pick a ballpark that is far more conducive to his hitting. And located in his hometown.
I love Hunter, but there are a couple of things I felt we gave him too much credit for.
He drove in a lot of runs in 2012 after the Giants traded for him, but that was primarily because -- and given the way the Giants have hit in recent year, this is hard to believe -- the Giants gave him a ton of RBI opportunities. Hunter hit only .219 for the Giants that year, with just seven home runs.
He also began to fail in the outfield a couple of years before we seemed to realize it here. A decade ago Hunter was a fine fielder, but he began to fall off quickly and wasn't a good fielder by the time he joined the Giants.
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