Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
Games like this make for a good deal of rubbernecking. And good lord was there a lot to look back upon.
Alex Dickerson’s 16 total bases match Willie Mays for the most by a Giants player in San Francisco-era (since 1958) history. He was the first Giant to score five runs and knock in five runs since Phil Weintraub on June 12, 1944. Dickerson is the first Giants player since at least 1901 with five extra-base hits; not even Barry Bonds did it, maxing out at four at this same Coors Field.
Hitting three home runs (and nearly a fourth) with a pair of doubles has no comparison in Dickerson’s own history; “that’s by far the best game I’ve had in my life,” he said over Zoom. But perhaps the most encouraging piece of the past for the Giants to look toward is late June 2019 — the last time Dickerson said his swing felt as good as it does right now.
“Probably when I came over to the Giants last year — I was right around about 120 at-bats or so on the season, that’s generally when I start hitting my stride, is after 100,” said the left fielder fresh off one of the best games in MLB history in one of the best team efforts in Giants history, a 23-5 victory over the Rockies on Tuesday. “And I had been in a huge slump before I’d come over. And sometimes when it clicks, it clicks, and you just get in there and try to ride it out.”
A year ago, Dickerson had accumulated 132 plate appearances between the Padres’ minor and major leagues before he was dealt to the Giants. He played a week in Triple-A Sacramento before his call-up. From his Giants debut on June 21 until July 28, the oft-injured Dickerson could have hurt his back by placing the Giants on it. He slashed .391/.454/.782 with six homers and 23 RBIs and most importantly led San Francisco to 20 wins in the 29 games he appeared, helping persuade the front office to reverse from all-out, trade-deadline sellers to a more measured approach.
After his explosion Tuesday, Dickerson now has 104 plate appearances and is again hitting his stride. He could not find luck until Saturday, which he entered batting .195. His average is suddenly .261 with four more home runs three games later. The Giants had been seeking another lefty bat because their offense sputtered against righty starters; perhaps Dickerson’s pre-deadline awakening helped persuade Farhan Zaidi and Scott Harris against another move.
He has lifted the Giants once for an incredible few weeks, and his incredible day lifted the Giants into playoff position at 18-19, now ahead of Colorado for third in the NL West. Does he have it in him again?
A hallmark of Dickerson’s arrival last year was his effect on the clubhouse around him, the “Dick, Dick, Dick” chants livening up the crew.
They did the same against the Rockies, though with diminishing returns.
“After the third homer, the chants in the dugout weren’t quite as enthusiastic,” said Brandon Crawford, who himself went 3-for-6 with a homer, double, three RBIs and three runs scored. “It was like, ‘OK, another homer, cool.’”
His teammates last year immediately appreciated Dickerson’s dry wit and sarcasm, which he said he got plenty of before stepping to the plate in the ninth against Drew Butera, a catcher, with a chance at tying Mays’ record of four home runs. He merely doubled off the wall, falling just short.
“It’s a little harder to be honest — a lot of times when you’re going real well in a lot of these games, the position player at-bat’s the one that kind of gets you,” Dickerson said. “It’s just a different look.”
Brandon Belt shares the wit, even if he doesn’t quite share the distances Dickerson’s balls were traveling Tuesday. His first homer went a stunning 480 feet, according to Statcast, five feet far farther than Belt’s longest career dinger allegedly went five years ago in Denver. Belt has complained since that he got shortchanged.
“That’s the first thing he said to me in the dugout after I got that hit,” Dickerson recounted, though Crawford weighed in by saying Dickerson’s went deeper.
There was so much to like from a game that never seemed as if it would end; Dickerson went 5-for-6 with three homers and two doubles and yet was thanking his teammates, who also could not record outs, because he doesn’t get six at-bats without them.
Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the onslaught was the timing — directly after the front office showed its faith, and the team responded immediately and loudly.
“We’re very comfortable with what we had,” Dickerson said of the Giants’ roster. “And them not making really any moves is something we were fine with. We’re gonna roll through and feel like we can win baseball games on a consistent basis. It’s a good vibe right now.”