New arrival Hwang helps spark sweep
With his suitcase in hand and interpreter by his side, Jae-Gyun Hwang arrived at AT&T Park late Tuesday night while the Giants were finishing a 14-inning win. They walked through the office door, explained who they were and were essentially told, “So you’re here to play with the Giants? Well, I’m the crown prince of Sweden.”
When they finally talked their way into the stadium, Hwang nearly walked into the visiting clubhouse.
When he finally gained his bearings and returned Wednesday morning, Hwang became the first Korean player to don a Giants uniform, started at third base, and in a moment that he and his country will not soon forget, Hwang hit the go-ahead homer for his first big-league hit in a 5-3 victory that completed a three-game sweep of the
Rockies.
Which was more surprising, the homer or the sweep? Tough to say.
On one hand, the Giants seemed incapable of winning one game, much less three. Even with the sweep they reached the midpoint of their schedule at 30-51.
On the other, team officials hinted more than once that the roster configuration would not allow them to add Hwang even though he had a right to opt out of his Triple-A contract Friday and become a free agent.
Then Conor Gillaspie got hurt again, Hwang got his big-league call and late Wednesday afternoon he got a beer shower in the clubhouse in a raucous celebration that could be heard in the adjoining press interview room.
“There’s no such thing in Korea,” Hwang said through interpreter Mark Kim, who was close enough to wear some suds, too. “Actually, I’m more surprised at how cold the beer was.”
Hwang would not say whether he would have opted out of his deal had he not been promoted. But he also stressed that he did not walk away from stardom in Korea at age 29 to win Most Valuable Player of the Pacific Coast League.
“I’m giving up a lot back home, money, being away from my family, just to be here,” Hwang said. “The only reason I did that was to realize my childhood dream to play in the major leagues. The opportunity came up suddenly. I really hope I can capitalize on the field.”
He capitalized with a sharp RBI groundout in the fourth inning before he slammed a 2-0 fastball from Kyle Freeland in the sixth deep into the left-field seats to give the Giants a 4-3 lead after Ty Blach’s two-base throwing error helped the Rockies tie the game in the top half.
“I made a stupid play that cost me a run,” Blach said. “For him to come up in that situation and deliver was big there.”
The game was televised live in South Korea. Viewers watched Hwang go deep at about 6:30 a.m. Thursday.
Giants players loved Hwang’s sense of humor and work ethic the moment he walked into spring training. They voted him the Barney Nugent Award as the best player in his first big-league camp.
When Hwang completed his trot Wednesday he was mobbed in the dugout with vigor not seen in these parts for a good while.
“I could feel it the way they were hitting the back of my head,” Hwang said.
Hwang was known for his flamboyant bat flips in Korea. He was more subdued Wednesday. He held his pose, bat extended, as he watched the ball depart, then did a sort of “mike drop” with his lumber. He later conceded his mind was a jumble and he could not remember what he was thinking at that moment.
Asked if his boyhood majorleague dream included a homer on Day 1, Hwang said no.
“The only thing I imagined was stepping onto the field and feeling the grass in the stadium,” he said. “I never even dreamed of hitting a home run here.”
While Hwang provided a lift in the series finale, the Giants already had played two solid games against the Rockies, who have lost eight in a row. As the season was spiraling way out of hand, and their stretching program became a scandal, the players met before Monday’s game to hash things out.
“We did a really good job coming into this series deciding what our intent was going to be,” said catcher Nick Hundley, whose two-run homer highlighted a three-run fourth. “We decided we weren’t going to worry about what was going on, just control what we can control. When a team comes together with that mind-set, you see the results.”