San Francisco Giants History: Pablo Sandoval Hits Three Homers
Only three players had ever hit three home runs in a game during the World Series. On this day in 2012, former San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval joined them.
Babe Ruth. Reggie Jackson. Albert Pujols. Those three players either have, or will, go down in baseball history as some of the best to play the game. All three also held the distinction of being the only players to hit three home runs in a single game in the World Series. That is, until former San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval joined that trio on this day in 2012.
Sandoval got the 2012 World Series started with a bang. Facing the Detroit Tigers and the defending CY Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander, Sandoval lined the 0-2 offering for a home run to right center, giving the Giants a quick lead.
After a dominant second inning, the Giants caught a bit of a break in the third. Angel Pagan‘s line drive caught the edge of third base, and ended up becoming a double, instead of what appeared to be an easy third out. He scored on Marco Scutaro‘s base hit, and Sandoval followed with an opposite field blast, taking Verlander deep to left for his second homer.
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That was only the beginning. After Verlander was knocked out of the game in the fifth inning, Sandoval came up to face Al Albuquerque. This time, he belted Albuquerque’s offering to deep center, giving him three home runs in his first three at bats, tying the legends of Ruth, Jackson, and Pujols.
He had a chance for history in the seventh. Facing Jose Valverde with a runner on first and a run already in, Sandoval had the chance to become the first player to hit four home runs in a World Series game. However, for as shaky as Valverde had been, he managed to hold Sandoval to a base hit. After the inning, Sandoval was lifted for Joaquim Arias, his job done.
That performance just kicked off what would be a dominant series for Sandoval. He ended up with a .500/.529/1.125 batting line, hitting four extra base hits. Although all three of his homers, and all four RBI, came in Game One, Sandoval was still productive enough to capture the World Series MVP award.
While Pablo Sandoval may not have a career like the three legends he tied, he cemented his place in San Francisco Giants, and postseason, lore.
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