SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — When Pablo Sandoval visited Oracle Park for Mike Murphy's Wall of Fame ceremony last August, he met reporters and Giants officials during batting practice. I found myself standing on the court. At one point, it was said that Sandoval seemed to be in about the best shape of his life. he started laughing.
“There's no stress,” he explained. “I don't have to worry about striking out anymore.”
Six months later, Sandoval is inviting that stress back into his life. And he's excited to do it.
Sandoval officially joined Giants camp on Monday morning, the first full team at Scottsdale Stadium. He is attending camp as a non-roster invitee on a minor league contract, but he has made it clear that this is not a Sergio Romo situation. Sandoval wasn't here for his walk-off appearance during the Bay Bridge Series, and he said Monday he wasn't thinking about his retirement.
“I came here to compete for position,” he said.
The Giants don't have that right now. Sandoval, a longtime switch-hitter, will be batting only left-handed and will likely be limited to first base and DH, but he's much thinner than when he regularly played third base.
The Giants are starting Lamonte Wade Jr., and Wilmer Flores should get most of the at-bats initially. There are some players who could be in the backup mix initially, including Blake Sabol. Jorge Soler will be the daily DH.
Sandoval said he's open to whatever the Giants need and hinted in late March that he might be open to accepting a stint in Triple-A Sacramento if that's his only path. did. By easing Sandoval's path to the major leagues, he could also be noticed by other teams.
These are the details six weeks from now. On Monday, Sandoval made it clear he simply wasn't ready to hang them. He's always loved hitting, and he still wants to hit.
“It's amazing. It's amazing. I missed it so much during my withdrawal,” he said. “If you love baseball and all you do is play baseball, you’re going to miss baseball when you go out.”
It's been three years since Sandoval played in the major leagues, but his OPS was just .645 in his last stint with the Atlanta Braves. Since then, Sandoval has played in Mexico and Dubai, the latter appearance thanks in part to a conversation Sandoval had just before visiting Oracle Park.
Liam Sandoval is now 8 years old and is as obsessed with the game as his father was. The pair had been batting in August last year, when Liam reportedly told his father that he thought he could still play. Even the older Sandoval began to seriously believe this when his matches against other former major leaguers went well in Dubai.
“When I came back (to Florida), I took it more seriously,” he said.
Sandoval began making it clear to Giants employees that he was looking to return. That led to a risk-free tryout and certainly energized the young clubhouse.
Sandoval's voice is often heard before he shows up, but adding Soler and Sandoval back-to-back definitely makes the Giants a more energetic team. Even if his spring return doesn't go well on the field, it could pay off. Sandoval said he plans to coach young hitters like Marco Luciano and Luis Matos, a fellow Venezuelan who grew up watching pandas.
Sandoval, 37, is closer to the coaching staff than any other player. He actually played with one of the coaches and won a title with new hitting coach Pat Burrell in 2010. When asked if he would like to become a coach himself someday, Sandoval smiled and said he remains focused on hitting and attempting a highly unlikely comeback.
The Giants have already seen Sandoval do it once, successfully bringing him back in 2017 after a decision to go to Boston as a free agent didn't work out. Seven years later, and 18 years after his first appearance in Scottsdale Stadium, Sandoval is ready to try again.
“It's not going to be easy. It's a big challenge,” he said. “I've been through something like this before, but this time it's going to be even more special.”
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