Pablo wants to continue career despite likely final Giants game

Pablo wants to continue career despite likely final Giants game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO -- With two balls, two strikes, and a ballpark filled with "Let's Go Pablo!" chants, Athletics right-hander Vinny Nittoli threw a cutter that made a beeline for Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval's back shoulder. It was high, and it was also inside. It was nowhere close to being a strike.

Sandoval took a massive swing, because that's what he does and has always done. He fouled it off, tapped the top of his helmet, and came back to take another massive cut, because that's what he has always done.

Sandoval stayed true to his brand Tuesday night at Oracle Park, swinging at 11 of the 13 pitches he saw in two at-bats in what was likely his final appearance as a Giant. The final swing resulted in a broken bat, but also a flare that dropped on the edge of the right field grass for a single. If that was it for Sandoval, it was a very appropriate way to go out.

The 13th pitch of his night was another cutter, so far in on his hands that it sawed the wood in half. But for more than 1,400 MLB games, the vast majority of them in orange and black, Sandoval has found a way to get bat to ball when most others could not -- and would not even try.

"I was sure I wasn't taking a pitch," Sandoval said, laughing. "Whatever it took to get that hit. I've always been a free swinger and I got the opportunity to get that hit."

Sandoval said he wanted that moment for the fans, and they showered him with love throughout the night. He entered in the top of the sixth after the eight fielders and pitcher Camilo Doval had already warmed up, and the ballpark exploded when he emerged from the dugout and ran to third base, where Matt Chapman was waiting with a hug.

The 37-year-old ended up playing the rest of the night at third base and getting two chances to take big swings. He struck out the first time up, and then picked up his single, which was followed by another loud ovation as he jogged off for a pinch-runner.

"It was cool. We had a couple of scenarios and we were trying to get as many ovations as we could," manager Bob Melvin said. "I don't know how it could have gone better than that. We got him out on the field, he got a hit, the baseball gods smiled on him and he got another ovation coming off the field. That was pretty neat to see."

Sandoval was all smiles throughout, soaking up every moment of a third stint with the Giants that started when he was a surprise non-roster invitee in February. He proved to be a mentor for young players, including Luis Matos, who grew up idolizing Sandoval, and said he was happy to be able to pass along what he has learned.

The Chapman signing closed off any narrow path to a roster spot, but Sandoval still believes there are more hits in that bat -- or the one he grabs next since Tuesday's ended up splintered on the grass at Oracle Park. He said he would be open to playing for Triple-A Sacramento, although that's not a conversation that he has had with Giants management yet, which is notable given that the minor league season starts this Friday.

"Everybody thinks that I'm retired," Sandoval said. "I'm not. I'm going to continue playing."

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