SAN FRANCISCO–On August 7, 2007, Ryder Jones was an eighth grader in Oklahoma when Barry Bonds hit his 756th career home run to pass Henry Aaron and become Major League Baseball’s home run king.
On August 7, 2017, exactly 10 years after Bonds etched his name atop baseball’s record books, Jones hit his first career home run in the same ballpark that Bonds launched his record-setting blast.
After swinging and offering at Jake Arrieta’s first offering in the bottom of the sixth inning, Jones smashed the second pitch of the at-bat high in the air toward a right field arcade that has proven difficult to reach for every hitter not named Bonds. Though Jones admitted he wasn’t sure if he got enough of the Arrieta cutter, when he rounded first base and looked up, he realized he had his first career big fly.
“It feels good, I mean I tried to just quiet it down tonight and not too much pressure on myself,” Jones said. “Had a couple ABs with guys in scoring position so that was huge just trying to get the ball up and drive the ball. I got a cutter first pitch, and took a good swing at it and missed it and then he went down and then back to the cutter and I was lucky enough to catch it out front and get the barrel to it.”
After Monday’s contest, Jones was thrilled to exchange tickets to an upcoming game with the 23-year-old fan who caught the home run ball, and was elated that such a memorable hit came off a pitcher who’s dominated professional hitters for the past few seasons.
One of the best parts of Jones’ celebration, though, was reaching home plate, where he was greeted by Giants’ third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who scored on Jones’ home run.
“It’s really fun, you know, I played with him (Sandoval) in Sacramento for a week before I got here,” Jones said. “Then he came I guess two or three days right after so his energy is great. He loves baseball. He’s having fun. You can tell. He was actually the guy at home plate. He just had a smirk on his face because he’s trying to calm me down.”
Jones began his Major League career with just three hits in his first 36 at-bats, but on Monday night, he reached base in his first three plate appearances, once on a hit by pitch, once on a single, and of course, on his home run.
The Giants’ rookie credited the veteran Sandoval for helping him remain calm after a sluggish start to his Major League career, and said that the time and energy the 30-year-old infielder invested in him paid dividends on Monday night.
“He (Sandoval) played with me in Sacramento when I was swinging it hot,” Jones said. “He knows that I can swing it and he can tell that maybe I’m putting a little too much pressure on myself so he tried to calm me down yesterday and I took the words and I tried to bring it into tonight and calm down and I took some good swings.”
Though Jones and Sandoval are both third baseman who can play first (Jones played first on Monday), the rookie said after the game that both players are tasked with bringing new energy and a new presence to a Giants’ clubhouse that certainly needs the help.