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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Pablo Sandoval isn’t saying he’s retiring. Knowing his love for the game and confidence that he could probably always swing a bat with authority, we might never hear the Panda utter the R-word.
Which is perfectly OK for Giants fans. In their minds, Sandoval will forever be hitting three home runs in a World Series game, catching foul popups (and falling on his backside) to clinch epic Game 7 wins, and crushing pitches over his head or at his ankles for opposite-field doubles.
But the affable Sandoval, who played the past two seasons for the independent Staten Island FerryHawks, is admitting for the first time that it might finally be time to hang ’em up. With his home and family in Miami and his fifth child born two months ago, a boy named Samuel, he has obvious off-field priorities.
“At a certain age, you step back,” Sandoval said Monday after reporting to Scottsdale Stadium for a weeklong stint as a Giants guest instructor, a welcoming site for players and coaches who embraced his presence and fans who snagged his autograph. “I have to decide with my wife and family. I’ve been blessed and grateful to be able to play baseball, but I want to spend time with my family. You’re thankful for the opportunity to pass the torch to the young guys.”
Sandoval, 39, has played pro ball every year since he was a 17-year-old in the 2004 Arizona rookie league — after signing as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela — but said he won’t play this year. One of his sons, Liam, is nine and playing ball himself (“He can hit,” the father said), and Pablo can’t wait to get home and be there for him.
First, he’ll be working with other kids in the Giants’ camp. He’s hoping to visit the minor-league facility at nearby Papago Park and get a look at the organization’s top young talent, including Luis Hernández, the 17-year-old Venezuelan shortstop who signed with the Giants in January, the crown jewel of the latest international free agent class who received a $5 million bonus.
“It’s one of the things I want to tell the young guys, because it’s the place you want to be, what you work for, and when you get the opportunity, you keep working hard to keep chasing your dreams,” Sandoval said. ”Some of the young guys, when they get the signing bonus, they stop dreaming. The thing I’ve been seeing with Luis, he’s a young guy with a great baseball IQ, and the way he plays the game at that age, playing with mature guys, guys playing in a higher league, and handling things the way he’s handled them, he’s special.”
It was a different world when Sandoval turned pro, not just because he received a signing bonus of “only” $60,000 but also because he didn’t have the luxury of being groomed at the state-of-the-art Felipe Alou Academy, which opened in 2016 in the Dominican, houses all the Giants’ Latin American prospects, and surrounds them with top-end coaches and trainers and many other support staffers.
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“It was tough for me,” said Sandoval, who had to adjust to a new country, new language, and new position – he transitioned to third base after signing as a catcher. “It’s completely different for these kids. I had great teammates and coaches all the way up who taught me the right way to play the game. The goal remains the same: chase your dreams.
“Sometimes it’s hard mentally for these young guys. They’re at that age that they’re not completely mature, so they’ve got to pay attention mentally with the work ethic. It’s tough. Their family is far away, and they might be thinking about going back home, but you have to keep at it. That’s the advice I’d have for the young guys.”
Sandoval’s last big-league season was 2021, and he got a World Series ring from the Braves to accompany the three he won with the Giants. Since then, he played in the Mexican League and winter ball in both Venezuela and Puerto Rico and then indy ball in the Atlantic League. These aren’t casual stints, either. He played 120 and 103 games the past two seasons as a FerryHawk.
Over the years, the Giants ceremoniously invited players back to San Francisco to “retire as a Giant,” from J.T. Snow to Ryan Vogelsong to Sergio Romo. Asked if he’d like such treatment, Sandoval flashed a wide smile and said, “You never know.” In other words, absolutely yes.
It’s a golden opportunity for the Giants and their marketing team to give Sandoval one more day, something they’d love to do for Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, once either of those guys agrees to such a thing.
For now, Sandoval is perfectly content in Giants camp, a three-time World Series champion wearing his familiar No. 48 jersey and preaching the good word about playing hard and chasing dreams.