Buster Posey
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
2012 NL MVP WINNER
- Was named the National League’s Most Valuable player after batting .336 (178-for-530) with 78 runs scored, 39 doubles, 24 home runs and 103 RBI while posting a .408 on-base pct., .549 slugging pct. and a .957 OPS.
- At 25 years old, was the youngest player to win an MVP award since Ryan Sandberg in 1984.
- Became the first player since Frank Robinson to win a league MVP award, batting title and World Series in the same season…Robinson accomplished the feat with the Orioles in 1966…five players registered that hat trick prior to Robinson: Dick Groat (1960 Pirates), Mickey Mantle (1956 Yankees), Willie Mays (1954 Giants), Stan Musial (1946 Cardinals) and Joe DiMaggio (1939 Yankees) (Elias).
- Posey, Yogi Berra (1951 Yankees) and Roy Campanella (1955 Dodgers) are the only catchers to win a World Series and MVP award in the same season (Elias).
- Joined Willie Mays and Willie McCovey as the only Giants to win Rookie of the Year and an MVP award in franchise history.
- Is one of only three catchers to win Rookie of the Year, MVP and a World Series in their careers, joining Johnny Bench and Thurman Munson…Posey, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey are the only Giants to accomplish that trio of feats.
Brandon Belt
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
2012 POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- At 24 years old, became the fourth youngest Giants player to start at first base in a postseason game since Will Clark in 1987 (23 years old).
2012 SEASON
- His 12 stolen bases as a first baseman were the most by a Giant since Will Clark stole 12 in 1992.
- Made 106 starts (102 at 1st, four in LF)…his .992 fielding pct. as a first baseman was the sixth-best in the NL.
GIANTS GEMS
- Had a verbal agreement with Cubs coming out of high school to be drafted in high rounds and paid high-round money. But Cubs didn’t come through and Red Sox drafted him in the 11th round. Disappointed, Belt went to college instead. “Everything I went through happened for a reason,’’ he says. “I’m so happy I went to college. I matured so much as a baseball player and as a person and I made so many friends.’’
- Played one year for San Jacinto College in Houston before transferring to University of Texas (Same two colleges Roger Clemens attended.) Majored in education. Helped propel Texas to the College World Series in 2009, where the Longhorns lost in championship game to LSU.
- Married Hudson High sweetheart Haylee Stephenson Dec. 3, 2010, at Providence Baptist Church in Lufkin. The groom’s cake was three tiers of chocolate with a Giants cap on top and alternating Longhorns and Giants logos on the sides.
Jean Machi
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
- Made his professional debut in 2000 with VSL-Phillies and went 2-2 with a 4.13 ERA (11er, 24.0ip), one save and 23 strikeouts in 11 games (three starts).
2012 SEASON
- Had his contract purchased by San Francisco from triple-A Fresno on Sept. 1.
- Made his ML debut on Sept. 3 and went on to appear in eight games with SF.
- Spent the entire season with triple-A Fresno, going 2-1 with a 3.97 ERA (25er, 56.2ip) and 15 saves in 53 relief appearances
- Was Fresno’s primary closer in the second-half, going 15-for-18 in save chances.
Javier Lopez
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
- Throughout his career, has held lefties to a .219 batting avg. against (165-for-753)
- His 21.8 inherited runners scored percent is lowest figure among all active pitchers
- Has appeared in at least 70 games in five of his 10 seasons, including a career-high 77 games in 2010
- Has appeared in the postseason in four of the last seven seasons (2006, 2007, 2010 and 2012)
2012 POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Made five postseason appearances tossing 3.0- scoreless innings.
- He and his wife Renee welcomed their second child, Chistian, prior to Game 3 of the World Series.
Angel Pagan
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
- Owns San Francisco Giants record for most triples in a single season with 15 in 2012
- Has the longest home hit streak in Giants franchise history, hitting safely in 28-straight home games in 2012
- Became the first Giants player in the modern era (since 1900) to hit safely in 47 of 50 games in a single season (2012)
2012 POST SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Led off Game 4 of the NLDS at Cincinnati with a home run, the first leadoff homer in Giants postseason history (including New York-era).
- Led off Game 2 of the NLCS with another home run, his second leadoff homer in the postseason.
- Joined Jimmy Rollins (two leadoff homers in 2008 post- season with Philadelphia) as the only two players in MLB history with a pair of leadoff home runs in the same postseason.
Pablo Sandoval
As we count down to Opening Day we would like to highlight some of the players and coaches we will be cheering on during the 2013 season. Be sure to check out our 2013 Media Guide for more tidbits about our players and coaches.
2012 POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
- Capped a spectacular postseason with earning the World Series MVP award…overall, hit .364 (24-for- 66) with six HRs and 13 RBI in 16 games.
- His .500 average tied for ninth all-time for a single Fall Classic (minimum 15 at-bats) behind only Babe Ruth (.625, 1928 Yankees), Chris Sabo (.563, 1990 Reds), Johnny Bench (.533, 1976 Reds), Deion Sanders (.533, 1992 Braves), Sean Casey (.529, 2006 Tigers), Lou Gehrig (.529, 1932 Yankees), Dane Iorg (.529, 1982 Cardinals) and Thurman Munson (.529, 1976 Yankees).
- Became the first-ever Venezuelan-born World Series Most Valuable Player.
- With 24 hits in the postseason, he finished just one hit shy of the all-time single Postseason record of 25 set by Marquis Grissom (1995 Braves), Darin Erstad (2002 Angels) and David Freese (2011 Cardinals).
- Made Major League history in Game 1 of the World Series after hitting home runs in each of his first three plate appearances…it was just the fifth three-homer game in World Series history, joining Babe Ruth (1926 Game 4 and 1928 Game 4), Reggie Jackson (1977 Game 6) and Albert Pujols (2011 Game 5).
- He was the second Giants player to homer in the first inning of an opening Fall Classic game, joining Hall of Famer Mel Ott, who did so in 1933 against the Washington Senators.
