Top 9 Moments In The Giants Career Of Pablo Sandoval
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) - Every indication is that Pablo Sandoval has played his last game as a San Francisco Giant. If that's true, he generated a lot of good memories (and three titles) in San Francisco. Here's a look at a few of our favorite moments:
In 2009, Sandoval was establishing himself as the best home-made prospect the Giants had brought up since Will Clark. His July 6th grand slam against the Marlins showed why people were right to be excited about the young catcher-turned third baseman:
After a poor 2010 campaign and an offseason of questions about his weight, a slimmed down Sandoval rebounded in 2011 with .315 with 23 homers, his best ever numbers in San Francisco. He capped the comeback by hitting for the Cycle on September 15th in Colorado:
Pablo continued to quiet weight critics that year by proving he had what it takes to play elite defense at third. Including running down this blooper against the Dodgers:
After hitting an RBI double in his first ever All-Star game at bat in 2011, Sandoval returned as a starter in 2013 and blasted a bases-loaded triple to give the National League a 4-0 lead:
Tim Lincecum has two career no-hitters and Pablo Sandoval is a big reason why. Check out this clip from the 2013 no-n0:
Sandoval was originally nicknamed the "Kung-Fu Panda" by teammate Barry Zito. During is catch in the 2014 Wild Card game he brought the kung-fu athleticism back:
Against the nationals in the NLDS, it was Sandoval's clutch double in game two that tied the game at one and set up the longest game in postseason history, which the Giants won. Here's the clip (complete with Buster getting gunned down at the plate).
Sandoval made better plays than his final one in a Giants uniform, but none was more memorable than this...
Sandoval's biggest night ever came during Game 1 of the 2012 season, when Tigers ace Justin Verlander served up two of the Panda's three homers on the evening: