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Hunter Pence thanks San Francisco in emotional speech to Giants fans

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SAN FRANCISCO – It looks like this might be it, folks. Hunter Pence has been showered with the loudest applause of any Giants player all season long and today, on what may be Pence’s final day as a San Francisco Giant, that held even truer than ever.

Pence received countless ovations from fans today. After the game, he was the first to run out to right field, where he threw balls to fans in the right field corner before removing his cap and handing it to a young fan in the crowd.

He walked back toward the third base line and proceeded to hug just about every Giants coach and player he could. When Bruce Bochy took the microphone and thanked fans, he spoke about Pence, trying to avoid becoming emotional.

“I know one of the many reasons you’ve come to this park the past seven years is to watch Hunter Pence play,” Bochy said. “From the moment he put on the orange and black, we could see how much he loved to play the game… For each game, this man was full throttle.”

Bochy concluded with this:

“You’re an inspiration to all of us.”

When Pence took the microphone, he of course thanked Bochy first.

“I appreciate that,” Pence said. “Working with a legend, working with a future Hall of Fame manager. That was tough. Today, this game was tough, I’m not going to lie. This season was tough, I’m not going to lie. It was bad. But you know what? What’s greater than that? The spirit of the San Francisco Giants was never broken.”

Pence then thanked the fans for their unending support with a classic comparison to orange juice.

“When you have an orange and you squeeze it… you’re going to get orange juice,” Pence said. “When you come to AT&T park you’re going to get love, you’re going to get passion… every single day.”

He then shed that light upon the Giants’ young players in Dereck Rodriguez, Andy Suarez and the team as a whole through a tough season.

“It’s not easy when it’s tough. That’s when you find out what you’re made of,” Pence said. “That’s why I’m proud of these guys right here, going through one of the toughest seasons… No one pointed fingers, let’s have a round of applause for these guys right here.”

To conclude, Pence was all love.

“I love you guys,” Pence said. “The darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn. You guys show unconditional love to us… and the dawn is coming. We appreciate that. I hope you felt a little bit of the joy that I felt playing for you… I love you all. Thank you so much.”

And in true Pence fashion, he hopped on a scooted and drove around AT&T Park, waving to and high-fiving fans at a very leisurely pace.