Nice to meet you
Giants 10, Mariners 9 F/11
🎧 Editor’s note: I started a Giants podcast with KNBR’s Kerry Crowley. Come get your baseball fix once a week with us. More below.
First impressions mean a lot in life. In baseball, though? They probably shouldn't mean quite as much. Seasons go on for months, careers go on for years.
And yet, I'd bet $182 million that Willy Adames wanted to leave a mark on his first game in San Francisco.
What a beautiful, messy, unforgettable impression he left.
The shortstop of the future looked nothing like it for a few innings. Three balls clanked off his glove in two innings, and I wouldn't blame you for wondering aloud just how long his new deal is. (Talk to you in 2031!)
Lucky for Adames, 41,000 people left the ballpark buzzing about what he did with a bat in his hands.
In one inning he singled, stole second, and scored immediately on a hit to put the Giants ahead. The next inning he put the Giants ahead again with a double down the line. He saved his best moment for last, capping off his first impression with the last impression anyone would have of the highest scoring home opener in Oracle Park history.
Down to the game's last out, Adames swatted the first pitch into right to bring home the tying and go-ahead runs.
Hands and liquids sprung into the air at once. Strangers hugged and smashed high-fives. A final standing ovation ensued.
Nice to meet you, Willy Adames.
📣 Listen up: I know you’ve been saying for a while, boy, what this world needs right now is another podcast. Kerry and I listened and started the Giants Postcards podcast. Join us for our first episode where we debate Opening Day overreactions and consider small sample sizes, like Wilmer Flores’s journey to the first 100 home run season. It’ll be a fun listen, I promise. You’ll hear from us every week or so.
Up next: The Giants send Robbie Ray to the mound against Bryce Miller and the Mariners. First pitch at 6:05 pm.