As fans prepare for farewell to Pence, Blanco ponders future

SAN DIEGO — With little left to serve this season, nostalgia will be the dish of choice at AT&T Park next week.

When Hunter Pence strolls to the plate, sprints to the outfield and jogs in toward the dugout, fans will stand and cheer his every move, knowing it may be their last opportunity to celebrate a leading figure of the Giants’ golden era.

Pence has two rings, but no certainty.

He hasn’t publicly stated whether he wants to continue playing baseball next season, but the pending free agent privately understands what’s out of his control.

Pence, 35, may not receive an invitation to spring training in 2019. If he does, it won’t come from the Giants.

He’s not the only outfielder on the roster who is left to ponder his future in the game. Gregor Blanco also won two World Series with the Giants and like Pence, Blanco spent a portion of his season fighting his way back to the active roster during a stint with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.

After Pence completed an extended rehab assignment, the Giants cleared a roster spot for him by designating Blanco for assignment June 2.

“I kept thinking about what’s going to happen to my career,” Blanco said. “My career might be done here. Maybe it was going to be time to hang my cleats. That happened in my head so many times when I was there. But something was telling myself to keep pushing.”

Blanco’s legacy with the franchise may not rival Pence’s, but he owns a special place in team history. His diving effort to salvage Matt Cain’s 2012 perfect game ranks among the franchise’s most iconic defensive plays since Willie Mays made “The Catch” in 1954.

Even at 34, speed remains one of Blanco’s best assets. After spending the 2017 season with the Diamondbacks, Blanco signed a minor league contract with the Giants and arrived in spring training as one of the fastest players in camp.

And just as he did in 2012, his first season with the team, Blanco made the Opening Day club as a non-roster invitee.

“I take pride in myself for that because I worked really hard in the offseason,” Blanco said. “It was a reward. As a Giant, that’s a dream come true again.”

Prior to the 2014 season, Pence signed a five-year, $90 million contract that anointed him as one of the franchise’s core players for the foreseeable future.

Even as his skills declined, Pence didn’t experience the same type of concerns that dominate the minds of players like Blanco, who live on the margins of major league rosters. Though Pence spent more than a month with the River Cats this season, the Giants planned to bring him back when he proved he was healthy.

Blanco never had that assurance. So when a call finally came at the end of August, he once again used his speed to his advantage.

“I remember when they told me, they said ‘Can you make it to the field at six o’clock?” Blanco said. “I said, I’m already going. I left everything there. I didn’t even take clothes. Nothing.”

The phone call meant Pence and Blanco would once again share a clubhouse, likely for the last time.

When asked earlier this week whether he plans to continue his playing career, Pence didn’t want to look beyond the present.

“We’ll see,” Pence said with a smile.

Blanco knows he may not have a say in his future either, but if there’s a team looking for a versatile defender and willing mentor to younger players, he’ll happily fill the role.

“I’m really pleased and happy and proud of myself for my career, but I still have one more goal and that’s trying to make it to 10 years in the game,” Blanco said.

Blanco began his career in 2008, but appeared in just 24 games in 2009 and spent 2011 with a pair of Triple-A teams. He wasn’t a full-time major league player until he won a job with the Giants in 2012, the same year Pence arrived in a trade from Philadelphia.

Though their routes to San Francisco were different, their attitude in the final days of the season is shared.

“It’s been an incredible time for me being a part of the Giants organization for this long and I’ve loved every bit of it,” Pence said. “I’m going to continue to do so until it’s officially over.”

When the Giants return home next week, manager Bruce Bochy will honor Pence and Blanco for their contributions to the franchise with the chance to play in front of the club’s home fans.