Pence double in 11th gives S.F. a victory
The mass of people who have not, and cannot, understand the rush of a high-level athlete in the arena still have an avenue to understand how Hunter Pence must feel to have his skills decline, being forced to outrun the calendar, listening to the couch surfers and microphone jockeys advising him to get lost.
Haven’t most people had one of their passions taken from them, by physical decline or life’s circumstances? Isn’t that sting universal to the famous and ordinary?
Pence is not blind. He knows it’s coming, be it this year, next year or soon enough. He is 35 and hitting below the Mendoza Line. His accolades
and World Series rings cannot buy him more at-bats. Only success on the field can.
So imagine the thoughts that rushed through Pence’s mind Sunday as he celebrated his 11th-inning groundball double that produced the tying and winning runs in a 3-2 victory against the Padres and their All-Star closer, Brad Hand.
“Getting an opportunity with the bases loaded, one out, down a run is like a kid on Christmas morning for me,” Pence said. “It’s a lot of responsibility, but that’s what you dream of every day.”
He did it on an 0-2 pitch, when so many were expecting him to fail.
Manager Bruce Bochy, who wrote Pence’s name in the lineup to eye rolls everywhere, said he was “ecstatic” for Pence.
“It’s been a tough road for him,” Bochy said. “He’s been trying to find his game. He finds a way to at times and today he did. For him, that’s probably as big a hit as he’s had with what’s been going on for him.”
The game, a winning series and a 5-2 week ended with Pence taking a two-strike protection swing and rolling the ball between first baseman Eric Hosmer and the bag. As Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey scored, Pence extended his arms in jubilation. After he touched second base he found the arms of Brandon Crawford as the mob emerged from the dugout.
The Padres had taken a 2-1 lead on Cory Spangenberg’s two-out RBI single off Ty Blach before McCutchen launched the Giants’ comeback with a oneout double against Hand.
After Hand walked Posey intentionally, he made a terrible mistake by hitting Crawford with a first-pitch slider to load the bases.
Pence was 0-for-3 with a walk and had not hit a ball out of the infield before he delivered his weakly hit, but perfectly spotted, game-ending hit.
The Giants have lauded Pence for everything he does in the clubhouse and dugout. His energy. His spirit. His support of teammates. But he does not want to be a mascot. He wants to help his mates win.
“You’ve got to pull your weight here,” he said. “All of my focus and all of my effort and all the work I’ve put in are to be ready for moments like that and be a part of big games, and ultimately doing something bigger than yourself for the city, the organization that you love and the fans who show me so much love.”
Yes, there are fans who do love Pence, but even some of them wish the club could find a proper way to say so long to an all-time great Giant and have someone else play left field, particularly Alen Hanson or Austin Slater.
For generations, players could ignore criticisms by shunning their newspapers or keeping their radios off, but how can Pence not hear it? He and wife Alexis are social-media stars.
“I understand their frustration at times and I’m not going to get super down on myself,” Pence said.
“There’s no way to please everyone. That’s impossible. You just do the best you can to be kind to all and put all your effort into the team, the city and the community, and go at it with love.”