Sports
Q&A
with San Francisco Giants outfielder
Hunter Pence
—Matt Tyra, Sports Co-Editor, and Maddie Berry, Reporter
Crimson: Is there a player you idolized growing up?
Hunter Pence: When I was growing up, I was
TO THE NATION: Freshman Jena Corea, sophomores Rachel Cole, Cooper Silva, Jonathan Baldwin, and Matt Tyra and senior Megan Clark faithfully pledge their allegiance to Giant Nation. Photo by Josh Orcutt.
Season of Giant proportions Giants absorb all the hits and dish out even more on their way to World Series by Matt Tyra, Sports Co-Editor
In a histrionic showing that only they could pull off, the Giants stomped the Detroit Tigers in a 4-0 sweep to capture their second World Series of the past three years. What ended in the ultimate victory didn’t start out in such dominant fashion. The Giants’ 2012 season began in Arizona on Apr. 6, where they lost their first three games to the resident Diamondbacks. However, the Giants recovered from their early stumble, and by the 77th game of the season, they stood at 44-33. The Giants’ season was marked by the adversity they faced and overcame throughout the year, no matter the circumstances were. On Aug. 15, news broke that All-Star outfielder Melky Cabrera, who was second in the league in hits, was suspended for the remainder of the season for his use of illegal performance-enhancing drugs, bringing back dark memories of former Giant star Barry Bonds. Yet, not even the loss of one of their best players could phase the Giants; the club went 30-14 without Cabrera to finish the
C
season at 94-68 atop the National League West division. San Francisco wasn’t out of the woods yet; although they earned a postseason berth, it seemed to be for naught after losing their first two games in a best three out of five series to the Cincinnati Reds. Still the team fought on; after a speech from outfielder Hunter Pence before Game Three of the series, the Giants won three in a row to beat the Reds and move onto the next round, where more adversity awaited them. The St. Louis Cardinals appeared ready to end San Francisco’s run, as they raced to a three games to one lead in the National League Championship Series. Yet, as they’d done all year, the Giants rallied from their deficit and won Game Seven of the series in the San Francisco rain. Once they reached the World Series, San Francisco seemed to reach its peak, beating the Detroit Tigers soundly in a four games to none sweep. The Giants did not take the easy route to a championship, but they did what needed to be done and were ready when the moment called. //SPORTS BLOGS AND RECAPS >>Catch us on scores, read game recaps, and get to know your favorite players on both our Facebook like page and website. Photo by Josh Orcutt.
//SEND US YOUR SUGGESTIONS >>Send us ideas for events, topics, or people you would like to see covered in the paper.
a big fan of Pete Rose, of George Brett, and of my big brother. He loves baseball, so that was our thing. We really respected hustle; that was like our favorite thing.
C: What advice would you give to high school players aspiring to play in the pros?
HP: If that’s your goal, make a decision to put everything you have into it. Use your mind to grow in every aspect of the game. Basically, with that being said, study the skills and study the way to improve your skills besides practicing them, which is strength and speed. So, basically using your mind and making a decision not to take ‘no’ for an answer. C: How would you describe your time with the Giants so far? HP: It was a pretty wild ride. It seemed to happen really fast, and the playoffs were an emotional time. It’s what you play the game for. It was an incredible journey and it was definitely an experience I’ll never forget.
C: How did you deal with the pressure of getting down two games to zero against Cincinnati and three games to one against St. Louis?
HP: My mindset was that I wasn’t going to give up. We worked all season. You don’t ever really know how many opportunities you’re going to have to be in the playoffs. My mindset was that I love the game and I’m going to give everything I have and believe that we’re going to win someway somehow, and if the Reds were going to beat us, they were going to beat us fighting, clawing, scratching with every ounce, because you work every year really hard to get to that point; not just every year, you work your whole life for just those small moments, so I just made the decision that we’re going to make them earn it with everything we have and we were going to believe that we were going to find a way to win. C: Given that GM Brian Sabean brought back every starter from last year’s championship team, how are you feeling about this year’s squad?
HP: We definitely know that we’re capable of doing great things. That being said, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy. It doesn’t mean that it’s guaranteed to happen by any means. Every year is a new year and every challenge is a new challenge. There’s confidence in knowing that you have those capabilities, but I’m not going to take the year for granted and expect that sort of thing to just be given to us. There’s no such thing as something for nothing and ultimately, the challenge is what I thrive on. I’m just looking forward to another year, another season of challenges, and going to take it one day at a time. Feb. 2013
Crimson
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