The San Francisco Giants walked off in their home opener again. They’ve played 5,159 home games that aren’t a home opener since moving to San Francisco, and they’ve walked off in 492 of them, or 3.2 percent. They’ve played 66 home openers, and they’ve walked off in 11 of them — 16.7 percent. When there’s bunting around the perimeter of the ballpark, the Giants are at their most dramatic.
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. They go super fast, and everyone gets excited because look at those fast airplanes! Vroooom.
Either way, here’s a brief history of the other 10 walk-off wins in Giants home openers.
You get excited that you get to start the season against the comically terrible Mets, but whoops, here’s Tom Seaver. The future Hall of Famer pitched into the ninth inning with a 4-2 lead, but Willie Mays led off with a single, Jim Ray Hart singled him home, and Jesús Alou — who received some of the biggest cheers in the In Memoriam part of Friday’s pregame ceremonies — doubled him home for a rare come-from-behind walk-off win.
Quotable: “You have to get 27 outs, and I didn’t quite do it.” — Tom Seaver, before bullpens were invented
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. Not that it’s a competition. And it’s a little weird that people cheer at all, now that you mention it.
Anyway, 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. 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.
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 Giants won 62 games in 1985, but 15 of them were walk-off wins. 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. They were awful, but they sure knew how to treat their fans.
The Padres, on the other hand, were coming off their first pennant in franchise history. They had reigning Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt on the mound. They were trending upward. Sky’s the limit. But Chris Brown spoiled it all by singling Jeffrey Leonard home with one out in the ninth. Blue pitched to one batter in the top of the ninth and ended up with his first win since 1982.
Quotable: “I think (the 1985 Giants) are an improved team. 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
Are you noticing a theme? The Giants love to walk off against the Padres in a tight home opener.
Appearing for the Padres in this game: Kevin Mitchell, Benito Santiago, Craig Lefferts, Dave Dravecky and Tim Flannery. 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. I’m not even going to bring it up.
Mike Krukow pitched eight strong innings, and Chili Davis singled home the winning run in the ninth. The winning run was in scoring position because Bob Melvin got a single and moved him there. Time is a flat circle.
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
One of the most famous home openers, and for good reason. The Giants were gone, poof, a Florida team playing in a dome. Then they had Barry Bonds.
Just an incredible number of shirtless dudes in the stands. What a time.
Everyone remembers the Bonds homer but few remember Rod Beck striking out Benito Santiago in the top of the ninth, then laying down a delicate sacrifice bunt in the bottom of the ninth to set up the walk-off single from Darren Lewis. Miss you, Shooter.
Quotable: “We’ve been so busy trying to get Candlestick ready, we haven’t had time to focus on a (new) stadium.” — Peter Magowan, the Oakland Tribune
Alternate quotable: “I feel like I’m part of the game now. Now I can spit on the field like the players.” — Aldo Christensen, a fan who was impressed with the new bleachers in left field
I used to think Billy Wagner belonged in the Hall of Fame, but then I remembered he gave up a walk-off single to Rey Sánchez in the bottom of the 10th in this game. Instant disqualification.
Bonds had only one RBI in the game. Beginning of the end? Only time would tell.
Quotable: “(J.T.) Snow came home, missing a tag by a blink, if that. He had dirt everywhere, smeared down his front, stuck to his back.” — Gwen Knapp, honored before Friday’s opener, on the game-winning run
Wow, a close game against the Padres. This one ended with a long splash hit from Bonds, who hit it off old friend Alan Embree. I’d love to embed the video, but 2002 was before the internet was invented. That’s why there are no videos of the 2002 World Series anywhere.
Quotable: “If they’d have pitched to him last year, he might have hit 90 home runs. What a player.” — Ernie Banks on Bonds, after a pregame ceremony honoring players who had won the Most Valuable Player Award
The lineup included Mark DeRosa hitting fifth, John Bowker starting in right field and Bengie Molina behind the plate. Tim Hudson was dominant for seven innings, but the Giants broke through against Wagner, this time without Sánchez. Edgar Rentería hit a two-run homer — the most memorable of his Giants career — in the bottom of the ninth inning, and Aaron Rowand walked it off with a 39-hopper infield hit to shortstop.
Quotable: “Hey, man, if that’s what it takes to win, let’s do it every day. Get the smoke going again tomorrow.” — Sergio Romo, to one Andrew Baggarly, a lifetime ago
The Giants were wearing jerseys with gold lettering. “Oh, this?” they said. “You get one of these when you beat the Rangers in the World Series.” The Cardinals took note.
Rowand became the only player in Giants history to get a walk-off hit in consecutive home openers. It happened because, with two outs in the bottom of the 12th, Andrés Torres reached on something that Baseball Reference describes as “Reached on E3 (catch) (Ground Ball to Front of Home to P); N. Schierholtz to 3B.” I don’t want additional details. It’s perfect as is.
Quotable: “I’m the king of offseason summer league championships. My dad has all the rings. You should see it. As soon as I get ’em, my dad takes ’em from me. He wears them to school.” — Brandon Belt, talking about his dad, who flew for the first time in his life to watch his son make his home debut
The last time the Giants walked off in a home opener, Belt was a rookie. “Gee whiz,” he probably said before the game. “My oh my, I’m sure nervous. I’ve got the flutterbys in my tummy!” Bruce Bochy might have offered him a beer to calm those flutterbys.
This time, Belt rode onto the field on a boat before the game. He had a captain’s hat on because he was the captain, with a black, electrical-taped C. What a difference 11 seasons make.
The Giants survived a blown save from Camilo Doval that made all sorts of beat writers swear loudly in the press box, which was funny to me, someone who wasn’t writing a game recap on deadline. A clutch homer from Thairo Estrada tied the score in the bottom of the ninth, and then Austin Slater gave Duane Kuiper a chance to make one of the greatest calls in the history of regular-season baseball:
Quotable: “There were imperfections, but the Giants’ 2022 season is perfect to this point. The rest of the season will have bear traps and quicksand because all baseball seasons do, but every team deserves a chance at temporary perfection in front of a home crowd.” — Me, (correctly) talking about how the Giants should have more true Opening Day experiences instead of opening every season on the road
The Giants are still under .500, with a lot of work to do if they want to live up to their lofty expectations. But they walked off in a home opener again. Wasn’t that fun? That’s always so fun. The rest of the season will have bear traps and quicksand because all baseball seasons do, but the Giants have temporary perfection at home yet again, which is always a memory worth hanging on to.
(Photo of Thairo Estrada celebrating his walk-off RBI double: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)
