Harrison Bader put a figurative dent into a baseball. Then, he put a actual dent into a food truck.<\/p>\n
In the fourth inning of the Giants\u2019 13-12 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday afternoon, Milwaukee\u2019s Garrett Stallings tried to punch out Bader with a 1-2 slider. Stallings hung the breaking ball and Bader wasn\u2019t fooled. The sound of bat meeting ball reverberated throughout American Family Fields of Phoenix, and Bader\u2019s 113.6 mph line drive that cleared the left-field fence in a blink.<\/p>\n
And smashed right into the top of Monica Godfrey\u2019s food truck.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was talking to a lady,\u201d Godfrey recalled. \u201cShe ordered, and I took it out to her because she didn\u2019t come for her name. Then, all of a sudden, I hear, \u2018Ahhh.\u2019 And I knew it was coming this way because people were ducking. I look, and it was like, \u2018Bam!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday, funny enough, was the first day that Godfrey\u2019s truck resided in that specific location during Cactus League play. Godfrey, whose kids played baseball and softball, wondered what would happen if her business got hit by a home run. Thanks to Bader, whose homer was the hardest-hit ball by a Giant this spring, Godfrey didn\u2019t have to ponder.<\/p>\n
Once Bader finished up his day, he walked over to the truck in the middle of the game and signed his name next to the dent with a black permanent marker. Alongside his name, Bader wrote, \u201cSorry.\u201d Godfrey, wearing an ear-to-ear smile, didn\u2019t seem to mind in the slightest.<\/p>\n
Godfrey said she knew of Bader before his homer, but added that \u201cnow I definitely know him.\u201d Godfrey began Cactus Bowls, which sells a\u00e7ai bowls, this past August, taking the trailer to high school games and cheer competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m trying to stay away from sugar, but I saw a lot of people over there, though,\u201d Bader said. \u201cI hope there\u2019s some good food that they\u2019re serving in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bader has strung together good at-bats to begin Cactus League play, reaching base five times (four hits, one walk) and totaling five RBIs over 10 plate appearances. The center fielder will be in camp for another week before joining Team Israel for the upcoming World Baseball Classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just focus on the process involved with everything right before a result takes place,\u201d Bader said. \u201cSo, with regards to that, you just want to swing at good pitches and set yourself up in the box. I like to move around the box a lot, so just putting myself in a good position to see the ball and swing at strikes is the biggest focus right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bader wasn\u2019t the only Giant who left the yard on Wednesday. Top prospect Bryce Eldridge hit a towering two-run shot, and outfielder Luis Matos also cleared the left-field fence (though nowhere near Godfrey\u2019s truck).<\/p>\n
While Bader\u2019s three-run shot was a true no-doubter, Eldridge\u2019s first homer of the spring a wallscraper. Eldridge didn\u2019t think he homered off the bat, but his fly ball kept going and Brewers center fielder Garrett Mitchell kept on drifting. Mitchell eventually ran out of room and Eldridge had a 391-foot, 101.3-mph homer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s just very fortunate to be the size I am,\u201d said Eldridge, who is 2-for-8 with two walks this spring. \u201cIf anything, that was inside on the barrel a little bit, so maybe a little bit jammed. That\u2019s the thing with me. I can take advantage of that. I think if you watched a lot of my home runs last year, people say most of them were on accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a few I run into pretty well, but I think that was one of those ones where I just take advantage of the size and the strength. That\u2019s what makes me different as a hitter.\u201d<\/p>\n
For all his natural power, Eldridge understands that there\u2019s still room for him to grow as a hitter. Before Monday\u2019s game, Eldridge took a couple of minutes to chat with soon-to-be Hall of Famer Jeff Kent, who hit more home runs than any second baseman in MLB history.<\/p>\n
Kent, a spring training guest instructor, joked that he felt like a \u201cclean toy that comes out and stands around\u201d since he wasn\u2019t doing too much hands-on coaching during his time in Scottsdale. When Eldridge approached, Kent was more than happy to dish out some free game.<\/p>\n
\u201cI asked him what made him so good. He started off by saying he hated losing; that was his thing,\u201d Eldridge said. \u201c(He wasn\u2019t) afraid to learn from players around him, and that\u2019s something that hit home with me. Like, I can learn from every single person here, whether they have 14 days of service time or no days of service time or 10 years of service time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing is being open to learning from everyone. \u2026 Hearing that from him is reassuring that it\u2019s very important in this game to make adjustments. He said he wasn\u2019t scared of making adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee departs for World Baseball Classic<\/p>\n
The Giants\u2019 marathon against the Brewers, one that saw 55 players enter the game, was right fielder Jung Hoo Lee\u2019s final game before joining Team South Korea for the WBC, which is participating in Pool C. Lee tallied a single and a triple against Milwaukee and is 5-for-12 in Cactus League play.<\/p>\n
While the teams in Pool A (Puerto Rico), Pool B (Houston) and Pool D (Miami) are playing in the continental United States, teams in Pool C will play in Tokyo.<\/p>\n
Vitello said there is no concern about Lee making the overseas trip to Japan, adding that the Giants will have to be mindful once Lee returns to the team after the tournament. Before Lee\u2019s departure, Vitello wrote a personal message to Lee, hoping that he would enjoy the experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just had a couple sentences in there,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cI think they made sense. Google Translate! I can read English, that\u2019s about it. I can barely do that, to be honest with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whisenhunt shaky in first Cactus League appearance<\/p>\n
For left-hander Carson Whisenhunt, Wednesday was a tale of two innings.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
In his first frame, Whisenhunt retired all three batters he faced and recorded a strikeout of Jake Bauers. Then, the Giants rattled off five runs in the top of the fourth inning, forcing Whisenhunt to stew on the bench for about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n
When Whisenhunt returned for his second inning of work, the 25-year-old had a sequence to scrap from memory. He faced five batters, walking four of them and allowing a single to the other. Vitello then lifted him in favor of right-hander Tristan Beck, who served up a grand slam to Brice Turang. Whisenhunt ended the afternoon with five earned runs to his name over one-plus inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing you get on the bus with is know that first inning, he\u2019s fully capable of doing that and hunting that approach down next time,\u201d Vitello said.<\/p>\n