San Francisco Giants week in review: Another walk-off, an extension and a missing glove

The Giants were 3-3 last week. They lost an incredibly frustrating series against a division rival, and they looked like a team that was years away from contention. They won a surprising, fun series against a division rival, and they looked like a team that should be contending right now. Last week was the this year of weeks.

It sure could have been a lot worse, though, and if you move the goalposts juuuust enough, you’ll see that the Giants are playing .750 ball over their last four games. Why, that would make them one of the best teams in baseball history stretched out over a 162-game season!

Mostly, though, they looked like a team that will take one step forward and one step back, one step back and one step forward, until the sun becomes a red giant star that swallows the planet whole. They looked like that team because they probably are that team, and last week didn’t tell us anything we didn’t know already.

Is it weird that we’re going to miss it tremendously in a few weeks? Seems weird.

Updating the walk-off counter

Patrick Bailey’s walk-off double on Thursday was important for a couple of reasons. The first is that it allowed us to discover that Baseball Savant — a part of the official Major League Baseball content empire — doesn’t know the difference between a ground-rule double and an automatic double.

EXCUSE ME, SIR OR MADAM, BUT THIS IS TECHNICALLY INCORRECT. A ground-rule double is when a ball is out of play because of something specific to the ballpark, like a ball getting stuck in the ivy at Wrigley Field, or a ball that’s lodged in the eyebrows of Rusty the Mechanical Man. An automatic double is a ball that bounces over the fence. It’s possible for there to be a ground-rule double hit to left field at Fenway Park, but it’s impossible for there to be an automatic double, unless those nice young men at Dude Perfect want to prove me wrong.

Another reason the walk-off double is important is because of the nice bare-handed snag from the fan. It’s satisfying to watch, sure, but it’s even better because it gives me an excuse to link to another bare-handed snag of an automatic double in a Giants-Diamondbacks game.

That’s basketball great Dan Majerle who got that ball and stared into the camera, which still makes me smile for some reason. The Giants would eventually win that game on a Matt Cain double to drive in Emmanuel Burriss and Brandon Crawford, which feels important to note.

The final reason to care about Bailey’s walk-off double is that we get to update the counter.

Most walk-offs in a season since moving to San Francisco

1. 1985 – 15
2. (t) 1958 – 13
2. (t) 2003 – 13
4. (t) 2011 – 12
4. (t) 2013 – 12
6. (t) 2024 – 11
6. (t) 1961 – 11
6. (t) 1967 – 11
6. (t) 1973 – 11
6. (t) 1978 – 11
6. (t) 1987 – 11
6. (t) 1990 – 11
6. (t) 2002 – 11

There are nine home games left, so there’s still a very small chance for them to catch those rascally ’85 Giants. At the very least, they can move up a rank or two.

Matt Chapman, Forever Giant

Chapman signed a six-year extension with the Giants on Wednesday night, and he hit a home run three games later. Let’s see how that kind of turnaround stacks up with other Giants who have signed a long-term extension:

Bonds hit two home runs in his first game after the extension, which probably lowered his per-game home run average. It’s also worth noting that his agent was Scott Boras, just like Chapman, and that Bonds gave this quote in response to the Giants trading for Desi Relaford and Tsuyoshi Shinjo:

“When they did all those trades, I told Scott if we don’t hurry up (and sign), I’m going to kill you,” Bonds said. “I was excited.”

Desi Fever infected us all, Barry. Completely understandable.

Wisely, awkwardly

Let’s appreciate how silly this play was. Then let’s appreciate how it didn’t happen as Alex Gordon was rounding third base in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series.

At the very end of the clip, you can hear Duane Kuiper ask, “How?” I have the same question. I’ve watched the video about 20 times, and I can’t quite figure it out. It sure is fun to watch, though.

I might even like still frames from the video even more.

The last time I saw that happen to a player on a baseball field, Peppermint Patty was the hitter, and it made me realize how much I enjoy the rarity of a fielder without a glove. It looks so danged wrong.

What’s the over-under for gloveless fielders in the typical baseball season? My guess is 2.5, but that might be too high. I’ll bet individual teams can go years without one. Most of the examples are pitchers trying to field comebackers or outfielders trying to catch a home run. Infielders are much less common, but it would appear that Wisely wasn’t the first this season:

Jeff McNeil loses his glove and still completes the double play! pic.twitter.com/l9IzBvSeri

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) May 11, 2024

Please let do your best to let me know when this happens again. I think this is my new beat.

Home run of the week

Some weeks make it easy to find the best home run. Other weeks, like this last one, make it almost impossible. Again, we’re looking for the best looking home run, not necessarily a home run that directly led to a Giants’ victory. And what’s more aesthetically pure than watching as the baseball gods punish fans who do the wave?

But, again, that’s context. Can’t use context. We’re just looking for the prettiest home run. Grant McCray had not one but two absolute bombs, moonshots that would have been a homer in all 30 parks. Both of them are absurd when you look at how easy the swings were. McCray will never be in danger of falling down to a knee on one of his homers, Adrián Beltré-style, and it makes you realize how strong he really is. He’s listed at the same height as Nick Ahmed, but 10 pounds lighter, and he’s flicking balls 430 feet. He might strike out 300 times next season, but if it comes with a couple dozen swings like those two …

However, when you need to break a tie, there’s only one way to do it: Look for the wet baseballs.

There’s nothing better than a Splash Hit that’s correctly identified by Duane Kuiper before it even leaves the yard.

There’s also nothing better than a Splash Hit. These are the best home runs in baseball history. Better than the ones hit over the Green Monster. Better than the ones hit out of Tiger Stadium entirely. Better than the ones that smack against a warehouse outside of the ballpark. Even better than the ones that land in the Allegheny River, if only because I say so. Splash Hits strike the perfect balance between rare and not impossible.

Splash Hits get bonus points, which makes this homer the easy choice. Congratulations to LaMonte Wade, Jr., who wins a trial subscription to The Athletic for just $0.50 per week (billed at $2 every four weeks for the first six months, then $8 per month after). Please contact us directly to collect your prize.

(Top photo of McCray: Orlando Ramirez / Getty Images)