San Francisco Giants: Pitchers Who Rake
Aug 29, 2015; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants fans applauded starting pitcher Ryan Vogelsong (32) who was relieved in the fifth inning of their MLB baseball game with the St. Louis Cardinals at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Lance Iversen-USA TODAY Sports
Vogelsong’s start on September 3rd in Coors Field didn’t exactly go how he would have liked. He pitched into the fourth inning, and didn’t retire any of the three hitters he faced, while surrendering 11 hits and eight runs before eventually taking the loss.
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But at the plate, Vogelsong provided some excitement. In his first at-bat in the third inning, Vogelsong took a fastball up and away, and crushed it into the Colorado night for his first career home run. He did something that not even Bumgarner has done this year: hit an opposite field home run.
Of course, because he’s the master of the game face, Vogelsong cracked nary a smile as he rounded the bases, and high-fived his teammates in the dugout like he’d hit dozens of home runs before.
With his first career home run, Vogelsong became the oldest Giants’ player to ever hit their first career home run at 38 years old. It took him 262 games and 349 plate appearances to accomplish the feat. In his younger days, Vogey wasn’t a half bad hitter. He even hit two home runs during his stay in Japan.
Even though that game didn’t end up like Vogelsong wanted, it is still special for what he did at the plate.
Next: One Last Hurrah