SCOTTSDALE — You could almost see the wheels churning in Pablo Sandoval’s head as he looked down at the dirt on Saturday morning. The Giants were between rounds of batting practice and he had stepped out from behind the cage to help collect baseballs. He had a jersey on and there were fans filing into Scottsdale Stadium, many of whom happily yelled out to the Panda.
Why not take a few swings?
Sandoval resisted the urge, although not because he’s retired. The popular former Giants third baseman played a few weeks in Dubai earlier this year and plans to suit up for the Staten Island FerryHawks for a second straight summer.
Sandoval is 38 and four years removed from his last big league game, but he said he’ll keep taking swings as long as it’s feasible. His family loves watching him, even if it is in independent leagues these days.
“I’ll play until my body breaks down,” he said, laughing.
In the meantime, Sandoval is trying a different role. He’s not sure if he ever wants to coach full-time, and he’s not sure if his wife would even allow that much time away from home, but he wants to remain involved with the Giants. Sandoval was excited to see former teammate Buster Posey get named president of baseball operations, and in December, he sent Posey a text to say that he would like to help out if he could. Posey was happy to add Sandoval to the list of spring training special instructors.
The two were once at the heart of the lineup at Oracle Park, and they won three titles together. Sandoval believes those days will return under Posey.
“He knows how important it is to wear this jersey,” he said. “He knows how to win. He knows how to put the pieces together.”
Posey also knows Sandoval can bring a unique perspective, having gone through plenty of ups and downs in his career. After speaking to reporters Saturday morning, Sandoval hopped in a car to drive to the organization’s minor league facility, where he and fellow guest instructor Jeremy Affeldt were set to address the organization’s prospects.
“I reached out to Buster (last year) and said if he needs help with the young guys, I’m always going to be available to help them,” he said.
Sandoval will spend much of his time in big league camp with young position players like Heliot Ramos, Luis Matos and Tyler Fitzgerald, but it’s his interactions with the oldest player in camp that would surely be the most fascinating to any Giants fans. Justin Verlander said earlier this spring that he hasn’t talked to Posey yet about the 2012 World Series, but he wouldn’t shy away from any conversation.
“I don’t mind, man,” he said on the Giants Talk Podcast. “If you play long enough, you’re going to have some things not go your way and that’s obviously a great part of the Giants legacy. I hate that I was a part of it, but I also was in the World Series and heck, man, it doesn’t always go your way.”
Verlander’s struggles in Game 1 of that series came largely because of Sandoval, who twice took him deep as part of a historic three-homer game. Sandoval would be named MVP of that series, but he said it didn’t come up when he saw Verlander this weekend. It was a bit weird seeing Verlander in orange and black, but Sandoval said his main takeaway was that the 20-year veteran has already taken on a leadership role with his new franchise.
“I don’t bring it up,” he said of 2012, smiling. “When you respect a player, a guy that’s still playing and throwing the ball the way he is, you don’t bring old memories up.”
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