Pence says so long, but not to the game
Some teammates were packing boxes and preparing for flights home. Others were exchanging hugs with trainers and clubbies. A few were sitting at their lockers savoring the clubhouse scene one last time.
Then there was Hunter Pence.
“I want to work out,” the one-of-a-kind outfielder said after the Giants were smoked 15-0 Sunday by the playoffbound Dodgers. “I have no off time. It’s time to get ready.”
Pence had a postgame workout because baseball isn’t over for him. It’s still in his blood, still in his future. He’s 35 with an expiring contract, and instead of riding off into the sunset on his new motorized scooter, a gift from the Giants on Pence Appreciation Day, he’ll train for the 2019 season because he believes more chapters remain in his career.
Pence will fly to Los Angeles on Tuesday to begin revamping his swing under the guidance of private hitting coach Doug Latta — who redid the swings of Justin Turner, Mac Williamson and others — and the plan is to play winter ball in Mexico or the Dominican and suit up again next season, somewhere.
“I want to still play,” Pence reiterated. “Hopefully, I can find an opportunity, and I’m going to look for it and be the best I can because I want to come back and contribute to another playoff run.”
There’s no telling how this will turn out, whether Pence will get another opportunity, and no one’s predicting he’ll be with the Giants again because of the franchise’s lean toward reconstructing the culture and getting younger under the new chief of baseball operations, who hasn’t been hired.
Fans showering Pence with love Sunday sensed he was playing his final home game at AT&T Park. Heck, the team did, too. It’s why the Giants distributed #GR8FUL placards, showed Pence highlights on the scoreboard throughout the day and presented him a customized scooter in a postgame ceremony.
Surrounded by teammates on the infield, Pence addressed the crowd with some uplifting comments, closing with, “The darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn. You guys show unconditional love to us, and we appreciate that. The dawn is coming.” He then jumped on the scooter for a lap around the ballpark, though he didn’t exactly accelerate to the point of burning rubber.
“It was fun to take a little ride around, especially after I sped it up a little,” Pence said. “It was on the slowest setting, and it wasn’t fast enough to even get anywhere. I was, like, it’s going to take an hour to get around this stadium at 1.5 miles an hour.”
Pence made it just fine and was embraced by every Giant before he waved farewell to the fans and exited down the dugout steps and into the clubhouse, his future unknown but his outlook on life and his career positive, as usual.
“Always look to get better and continue to chase what you love,” Pence said. “I can look in the mirror and ask, ‘What do I want to do if this was the last day or year of my life?’ This is exactly where I want to be.”
Pence went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts and finished his season with a .226 average, though he hit .302 in his final 12 games as manager Bruce Bochy gave him steady playing time.
The next stop is L.A., where Pence plans a prolonged visit with Latta, a far cry from his four-day crash course with Latta while on rehab from a thumb sprain in May. Pence didn’t stick long with the altered swing, ultimately returning to his old approach.
“I feel strong. I feel healthy. I feel fast,” he said. “I’m going to work on flexibility and changing my swing completely, and I’ll have a whole offseason to prepare for that and have winter ball to leverage my way in.
“Hopefully, I can reinvent myself and come back and produce on the field. My body’s healthy, and I still have a love and joy for the game.”