No San Franciso Giant had hit 30 home runs in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004. Until Sunday.
On the final game of the season, San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin put Willy Adames in the lead off spot, in hopes that getting an extra plate appearance could get him his 30th home run of the season. Adames only needed one pitch.
With his first-pitch blast to center field, Adames become the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 2004 to hit the 30-homer barrier. The Giants had a lot of success since then — three World Series titles, a franchise-record 107 wins in 2021 — but no one broke the 30-home run mark.
Some players came close. Brandon Belt hit 29 home runs in 2021 in just 97 games, but he missed the final six games of the season thanks to a broken hand suffered while bunting. He and Brandon Crawford did set a single-season record for home runs by Giants named Brandon that year, with 53 combined.
Aubrey Huff topped out at 26 homers in the 2010 title season, but a conspiracy between Big Pharma, the deep state, and female journalists kept him below 30. 22-year-old Pablo Sandoval hit 25 homers in 2009, then only topped 20 one more time in his career. In 2012, he hit 12 homers in the regular season and hit six in the playoffs, including three in the first game of the World Series.
Hunter Pence had 27 home runs in 2013, but he unfortunately wasn’t able to get an inspiration speech from himself to get him over 30. In 2022, Joc Pederson hit 17 home runs by June 25, the Giants’ 71st game of the season. He hit six the rest of the season. Bonds himself hit 28 dingers in 2007, a year where he still led the majors in walks (132) and on-base percentage (.480) at age 42.
Adames is the one who finally broke through in his first season in orange and black. Signed to a seven-year, $182M contract before the season, Adames started slowly but seemed to find his stroke after Melvin gave him two straight days off in early June. Since June 10, when Adames hit a home run in his return, he’s hit 25 home runs and gome back to being one of the league’s better defensive shortstops.
He caught fire in July, when he slashed .337/.422/.674 and blasted seven homers, then hit nine more in August, including a two-homer game against his former team, the Milwaukee Brewers.
But what really helped Adames get over the top was playing the Colorado Rockies, against whom he hit seven home runs this season and slugged .907.
Rafael Devers hit a milestone by launching his 35th home run of the season and his 20th as a Giant in the 4th inning.
That’s 20 homers in 90 games as a Giant — and 29 at first base!
Ultimately, the 2025 season will end up a disappointment for the Giants. But with Adames, Devers, and a full season from Bryce Eldridge coming in 2026, the Giants might be able to dream of not just having one 30-home-run hitter, but several.
Category: General Sports
