Just an incredible number of shirtless dudes in the stands. The Giants were gone, poof, a Florida team playing in a dome. One of the most famous home openers, and for good reason. Quotable: “Through the Giants’ first seven scoreless innings, fans sat on their hands and were mostly quiet, except for a fourth-inning chorus, “We want beer.” - Bucky Walter, The San Francisco Examiner April 12, 1993: Giants 4, Florida Marlins 3 The winning run was in scoring position because Bob Melvin got a single and moved him there. Mike Krukow pitched eight strong innings, and Chili Davis singled home the winning run in the ninth. It would be rude to suggest the Padres are to the Giants what the Kansas City Athletics in the 1950s were to the New York Yankees, so I’m not going to suggest it here. They make contact, have guys who can hit the ball and play good defense.’” - Steve Garvey, a person who can’t possibly be trusted if he thought that about the 1985 Giants April 6, 1987: Giants 4, Padres 3Īre you noticing a theme? The Giants love to walk off against the Padres in a tight home opener.Īppearing for the Padres in this game: Kevin Mitchell, Benito Santiago, Craig Lefferts, Dave Dravecky and Tim Flannery. Quotable: “I think (the 1985 Giants) are an improved team. Blue pitched to one batter in the top of the ninth and ended up with his first win since 1982. But Chris Brown spoiled it all by singling Jeffrey Leonard home with one out in the ninth. They had reigning Cy Young Award winner LaMarr Hoyt on the mound. The Padres, on the other hand, were coming off their first pennant in franchise history. They were awful, but they sure knew how to treat their fans. I’m not about to go through every team to see if that’s the highest walk-off-to-win ratio in baseball history, but I’ll assume it’s close. The Giants won 62 games in 1985, but 15 of them were walk-off wins. Quotable: “I know it was a crazy thing to do because I might have popped a muscle or something, but I was so happy for John.” - Vida Blue, after literally carrying Tamargo off the field like a newlywed The Padres had three future Hall of Famers in their starting lineup - Perry, Dave Winfield and Ozzie Smith - but they screwed it all up because they were the Padres. And it’s a little weird that people cheer at all, now that you mention it.Īnyway, Blue threw a complete game for the Giants’ home opener, outdueling the Padres’ combo of Gaylord Perry (!) and John D’Acquisto (!!), and John Tamargo won the game with a pinch-hit home run. If Alou got some of the biggest cheers in the In Memoriam segment before Friday’s home opener, Vida Blue might have gotten the biggest. Quotable: “You have to get 27 outs, and I didn’t quite do it.” - Tom Seaver, before bullpens were invented April 10, 1979: Giants 4, San Diego Padres 2 Then Jesús Alou - who received some of the biggest cheers in the In Memoriam part of Friday’s pregame ceremonies - doubled both runners home for a rare come-from-behind walk-off win. The future Hall of Famer pitched into the ninth inning with a 4-2 lead, but Willie Mays led off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball, Jim Ray Hart singled him home and a Nate Oliver single sent Hart to second. You get excited that you get to start the season against the comically terrible Mets, but whoops, here’s Tom Seaver. April 10, 1968: Giants 5, New York Mets 4 They go super fast, and everyone gets excited because look at those fast airplanes! Vroooom.Įither way, here’s a brief history of the other 10 walk-off wins in Giants home openers. Is it a fluke or is it the excitement of being in front of your fans for the first time that season? Maybe it’s the jets doing a flyover before the game.
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