SAN FRANCISCO — When the Giants gave Willy Adames the largest free-agent contract in franchise history last offseason, they were counting on him ending the long-running 30-homer drought. On Sunday, Adames finally did it, although the path to 30 was unlike anything he or the organization could have imagined.
Adames did it on the first pitch Sunday, becoming the first Giant since Barry Bonds in 2004 to reach 30 in a season. After an incredibly slow start to his Giants career, he has hit 21 homers since the start of July, ending an infamous streak.
This is Adames’ third 30-homer season, and he’ll end up giving the Giants exactly what they hoped for this year, despite having a batting average under .200 as late as June 10. When he was slumping, Adames took pride in celebrating teammates’ homers, capping each one by taking the helmet off as a fellow Giant approached the dugout. That enthusiasm helped make him the Willie Mac Award winner, and he gave a speech Friday, a few minutes before hitting No. 29.
The wild thing about the 30-homer drought is that, most years, nobody has even come close. Since Bonds hit 45 homers in 2004, only nine Giants have even reached 25. Brandon Belt gave it the best shot, getting to 29 in 2021 with a red-hot streak that came while he dubbed himself The Captain. But Belt fractured his left thumb in the 156th game that season, missing the final homestand and the postseason.
Adames got No. 28 back on Sept. 9, but then went 14 games without a homer, batting just .176 with three extra-base hits during that span. He broke out in the first inning Friday when German Marquez grooved a fastball. Adames blasted it 402 feet down the left field line; at 110.2 mph, it was his hardest-hit ball of the season.
Adames was moved up to the leadoff spot on Sunday to get extra opportunities. It was his first time doing it since 2018, and he crushed a fastball from McCade Brown over the center field wall as Oracle Park roared. It was Adames’ first career leadoff homer.
Adames hit 32 homers for the Milwaukee Brewers last year, but got off to a slow start in orange and black. Everything finally clicked into place midway through the season.
The shortstop hit seven homers in July and nine in August, joining Rafael Devers — who reached 30 homers combined with the Red Sox and Giants — in giving the lineup a dangerous one-two punch. His 30 homers are the most by a right-handed-hitting Giant since Jeff Kent had 37 in 2002 and the second-most by any shortstop in the Majors this year.
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