Kuiper recalls his homer on its 40th anniversary

SAN DIEGO — Tuesday was the 40th anniversary of the event that made Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper famous, his lone major-league home run, off White Sox pitcher Steve Stone in Cleveland.

A year later, something terrible almost happened. Kuiper nearly homered again in Cleveland — off Stone, again.

“It’s better to hit one than none or two,” said Kuiper, who would not have gotten nearly as much mileage over the years had the second ball gone out.

“The ball hit the top of the wall, like, literally, on top,” Kuiper recalled Tuesday. “It should have bounced over, but it bounced backward.”

Kuiper thus had one of his 29 career triples.

“When the second one didn’t go out, I looked and Stone, and he was suicidal,” Kuiper said. “Could you imagine if it had gone out?”

Stone recovered. He won 25 games and the American League Cy Young Award for the Orioles in 1980. Like Kuiper, Stone became a broadcaster after his playing career and saw Kuiper often when the Giants played the Cubs.

“He doesn’t want to talk about it, so I leave him alone,” Kuiper said. “He doesn’t want to be reminded of it. Many people remind him of it. I do not.” Belt’s future: First baseman Brandon Belt continues to improve as he recovers from a fourth concussion. His slow pace of progress since he was beaned Aug. 4 has fueled speculation that he won’t play again in 2017, but manager Bruce Bochy would not rule it out.

“I think he’ll play this year,” Bochy said. “I do . ... He’s feeling a lot better.” Fall League: The Arizona Fall League announced its rosters. Four of the six Giants who will play for the Scottsdale Scorpions were named: pitcher Tyler Beede, center fielder Steven Duggar, catcher Aramis Garcia and closer Tyler Cyr.

Teams often send players to the Fall League to make up for playing time they lost due to injuries, such as Duggar and Beede. Other players are sent because their clubs are high on their chances and want to see them compete against better prospects.

Cyr (pronounced “Sear”) is the least known of the four to casual fans, but he had a solid year for Double-A Richmond, Va., with a 2.09 ERA and 18 saves. He could bid for a bigleague job next spring.