Five things we learned at Giants HQ: Gabe Kapler’s first big speech, who stands out and more

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Gabe Kapler stood in front of all 72 players in Giants camp on Monday with the opportunity to give his first “Let’s shock the world,” speech.

Instead of giving a passionate, fiery address to a team that’s in a rebuilding phase, Kapler said he kept his message “short and sweet,” and allowed some of his veteran players to address the room too.

The first full-squad workout is traditionally a chance for a manager to set the stage for spring training, inspire his players and introduce the main themes of camp. Kapler stressed versatility, competition and energy to the Giants and his coaching staff, but didn’t feel compelled to turn his opening message into a long-winded State of the Franchise.

“I think the one focus this camp for us is going to be, if I had to use one word, I would say unity,” veteran third baseman Evan Longoria said.

Longoria was Kapler’s teammate with the Tampa Bay Rays from 2009-2010 and said he was one of the players who vouched for Kapler when Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi asked for his input about hiring him. After Kapler was fired from his first gig following a two-year stint with the Philadelphia Phillies, he was brought in to succeed Bruce Bochy and lead a Giants team through a challenging transitional phase.

At Monday’s team meeting, Kapler made a point to introduce players to members of the organization behind the scenes including front office personnel, minor league coaches and others to emphasize how the Giants’ success depends on more than just what transpires on the field at Oracle Park.

One of the primary reasons Kapler kept the meeting to about 35 minutes was because he knows the team will meet four-to-five times a week before workouts anyway and players are hungry to hit the field.

“I think Gabe is really a lead-by-example guy and I’m sure that he could give the rah-rah first day speech if he had to,” Longoria said. “But I don’t think that’s him. I think he wants to strike people as a genuine person.”

Early batting practice impressions

Giants position players took batting practice on the main field at Scottsdale Stadium for the first time Monday and it was easy to see why so many members of the organization believe in Jaylin Davis’ ability.

Davis, who was acquired from the Twins at last year’s trade deadline, hit 35 home runs in the minor leagues last season but struggled in limited opportunities with the Giants in September. The power Davis showed last year is legitimate and it was on display during an impressive batting practice Monday. Davis launched balls as high as the lights on the tower in outfield and landed a few balls beyond the trees on the left field berm.

The biggest question Davis will face is whether he can consistently hit major league pitching, but it’s unlikely anyone in Giants camp can hit the ball farther than the rookie outfielder.

“We have a lot of faith in Jaylin’s ability to drive the baseball,” Kapler said.

Another standout from Monday was Pablo Sandoval, who swung exclusively from the left side of the plate as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery. Sandoval whacked pitches all over the diamond and showed the all-field approach that has made him so successful throughout his career.

The Giants have said they hope Sandoval will be ready to take a few at-bats in Cactus League games by the end of spring training and based on Monday’s showing, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him hit earlier than expected.

It’s often hard to spot slight adjustments players are making to swings with the naked eye, but free-agent signee Hunter Pence’s swing looks much more compact than it did during his 2018 season with the Giants. Pence appears to be quicker through the zone and seems to have cut down on some of the pre-pitch movements he used to do in the batter’s box.

“I think it’s impressive when players who are established and have had long track records of success are willing to make adjustments,” Kapler said.

Billy Hamilton’s worst moment

New Giants outfielder Billy Hamilton spoke to reporters Monday for the first time since signing a minor league deal with the club this offseason.

Hamilton has hundreds of stories of terrorizing pitchers with his world-class speed on the basepaths, but the former Reds center fielder opted to share a more humorous memory when asked if he can remember any interactions with current Giants starters.

When veteran Jeff Samardzija pitched for the Cubs, Hamilton recalled an at-bat in which he registered the worst swing of his career.

“When he was with the Cubs, he threw a pitch and it was 3-2 in a battle and it was one of those ones I thought would come in,” Hamilton said. “And I just dropped the bat. The ball was already in the mitt. I didn’t want to go down with a backward K, so I just tried to throw the bat down.”

Hamilton’s swing was so non-competitive that the Cubs’ TV broadcast showed replays from three different angles. It also ended up on ESPN for the whole baseball world to see.

“It was funny, they had it on ESPN for like the next three or four days,” Hamilton said with a laugh. “That’s what I remember about Samardzija.”

A new clubhouse feature

During the first full-squad workout, the Giants planned to continue every player’s favorite spring tradition of practicing bunt defense.

When players arrived at Scottsdale Stadium on Monday, most of the televisions in the clubhouse displayed a computer animation showing exactly how the coaching staff wanted players to defend bunts. The animation included various scenarios including where defensive players would rotate when hitters bunted up the first base line or third base line and where they should go when different bases were occupied by runners.

The animations included instructions in English and Spanish and while a play unfolded, speaking bubbles appeared next to certain players such as the catcher to simulate the communication that’s expected to take place.

After the animation finished, videos of major league teams –including the Giants– putting successful bunt defense in action played to provide players with another visual component.

Bunt defense animations are a small detail, but another example of the ways the new coaching staff is trying to use technology as a teaching tool.

Around the diamond

When the Giants lined up for infield drills on the main field Monday, all of the team’s incumbent starters and returning players assumed their regular positions. Buster Posey was behind the plate, Evan Longoria lined up at third, Brandon Crawford manned shortstop and Brandon Belt played first.

The Giants had Mauricio Dubón and non-roster invitee Yolmer Sánchez split reps at second base while free-agent signee Wilmer Flores and corner infielder Pablo Sandoval took reps behind Belt at first base. Halfway through the drill, Sánchez moved over to play behind Longoria at third while Flores also played some second base.

It’s too early to say the Giants have established an unofficial depth chart, but infielders Abiatal Avelino, Donovan Solano and Kean Wong were all presumably working on the same drill on one of the team’s back fields.

The Giants didn’t do much outfield work on the main field Monday, but Dubón and Mike Yastrzemski took flyballs in center field after each player hit during batting practice.