Splendor is grass seating at a spring training game
Editor’s note: This story is a scaled-down version of the Giants HQ email newsletter sent out by beat writer Kerry Crowley on Tuesday and Friday mornings. SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. >> After watching the first week of Giants spring training games from press boxes at Cactus League stadiums, I did what any normal beat writer would do with my day off on Sunday.
I bought tickets to see the Giants play the Reds.
Under normal circumstances, the ballpark is the last place I’d spend the day off, but like most people who enjoy baseball, I missed what I consider the “authentic” experience last year.
Yes, I covered almost all of the Giants’ home games from the Oracle Park press box, but the atmosphere was stale without fans. I missed the energy, the enthusiasm and the roar of the crowd, and I can’t tell you how exciting it’s been to see fans back inside the ballpark during spring training.
So on Sunday, I joined the socially-distanced fans out in Goodyear and bought tickets with a friend to sit on the left field berm. (Hot take: All major league stadiums should have lawn seating).
Simply put, the experience was awesome.
From purchasing mobile tickets and scanning our way into the ballpark to ordering hot dogs and beers using a QR code with a menu link, attending a game again was practically seamless and felt relatively normal. Most people around us were respectful about wearing face coverings, our spray-painted square had plenty of distance from the next closest groups of fans and because we ordered food to be picked up, we never waited in a line.
My favorite part of sitting on the berm was listening to fans interact with the outfielders, which is an element that was obviously missing during the 2020 season. Reds left fielder Jesse Winker had plenty of hecklers in the early innings while Giants left fielder Joe McCarthy faked out a group of fans by pretending as if he was going to throw a warm-up ball in their direction before ultimately tossing a souvenir into the crowd.
The back and forth was fun, particularly when the outfielders acknowledged that they were hearing what the fans were yelling. And yes, even when shouted from behind a mask, some of the funnier commentary would draw a player’s reaction.
Taking in a spring training game from the outfield lawn isn’t how I would have spent an off day in the past, but after missing out on what baseball is supposed to feel like for so long, I’m grateful fans are back and it was a treat to join them.
I know not everyone is ready to take the step of going back to the ballpark, but when you eventually reach that point, you’ll remember why you love the game.
Down on the farm
After a slow start to the spring for many Giants prospects, several have turned in their best at-bats in recent days.
Hunter Bishop, Marco Luciano and Patrick Bailey all recorded their first hits, but two upper-level Giants position player prospects, Heliot Ramos and Joey Bart, produced the most dramatic highlights.
When the Giants traveled to Goodyear to play the Reds on Sunday, Ramos clubbed two home runs, while Bart slugged a pitch over the left-center field fence for his first homer of the spring.
Bart didn’t homer in 104 at-bats as a rookie, but there’s still a belief he has 20- to 30-homer power potential. And his shot on Sunday was an encouraging sign for the Giants as they’re hoping to see the young catcher hit the ball in the air more this spring.
Giants manager Gabe Kapler has warned not to read too much into the small sample sizes of spring training at-bats, but it’s obvious when a player has made an adjustment and it appears Bart is lifting the ball more often and isn’t chasing as many pitches out of the strike zone.
He’ll still have to show he’s improved his plate discipline at Triple-A this year before returning to the big leagues, but the Giants know Bart is a future starting catcher and they’re optimistic he’ll be one who can hit in the middle of the order.
Statcast study
The Giants don’t want to give away too much of their pitching strategy, but since the beginning of camp, the changeup has been a point of emphasis for nearly all of their starting pitchers.
Alex Wood has a new one, Johnny Cueto has an elite one and right-handers Logan Webb and Anthony DeSclafani are both working on making their changeups better this spring.
On back-to-back days, Webb and DeSclafani showed the hard work is paying off as both pitchers fared well in their starts and racked up a few swings and misses with the offspeed offering. After fooling Dodgers sluggers Mookie Betts and Corey Seager with his changeup in his Cactus League debut, Webb said all three of his strikeouts against the Diamondbacks on Monday at Scottsdale Stadium came with his changeup.
The pitch wasn’t quite as effective as his slider last season, but after Webb picked up 17 strikeouts and limited opponents to a .230 batting average on his changeup in 2020, the Giants think it can be even better this year.
As for DeSclafani, he said he wants his changeup to be an effective weapon against left-handed hitters, against who he has struggled mightily at times during his career. He worked quickly and efficiently against his former club, Cincinnati, on Sunday and said he thinks changeups can be “a real weapon.”
There’s hard data suggesting Webb’s changeup can make him a quality starting pitcher, but that’s not the case for DeSclafani, a six-year veteran who has rarely thrown the pitch in the majors. According to Statcast, DeSclafani has thrown only 519 changeups, an average of fewer than 100 per year since becoming a big leaguer.
Opponents went 1 for 6 against the pitch last year and 4 for 25 against DeSclafani’s changeups in 2019. So while it appears to be a good option for him, hitters have seen the changeup so rarely that it’s difficult to know what to expect if he uses it more often in 2021.