Giants keep 13-year streak alive with new left fielder on Opening Day
SAN DIEGO–Barry Bonds was the Opening Day left fielder in 14 of the 15 seasons he played for the San Francisco Giants.
Since Bonds’ final season with the Giants in 2007, no player has started in left field on Opening Day in two consecutive years.
The Giants kept a 13-year streak alive Thursday by naming Rule 5 draft choice and recent acquisition Connor Joe the starter in left field for the 2019 opener against the Padres.
Joe has never spent a day in the major leagues, but Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi traded pitcher Jordan Johnson and cash to the Reds to acquire the versatile right-handed hitter last week. The Reds selected Joe with the sixth pick in the Rule 5 draft out of the Dodgers’ organization in December.
The Giants have no fewer than four players on their Opening Day roster expected to play left field at some point this season including Joe, Michael Reed, Yangervis Solarte and Brandon Belt. Zaidi traded outfielder John Andreoli for Reed Saturday after the Twins determined Reed, who is out of options, would not make Minnesota’s Opening Day roster.
Here’s a list of the Giants’ Opening Day starters in left field since 2007.
2007: Barry Bonds
2008: Dave Roberts
2009: Fred Lewis
2010: Mark DeRosa
2011: Pat Burrell
2012: Aubrey Huff
2013: Andres Torres
2014: Michael Morse
2015: Nori Aoki
2016: Angel Pagan
2017: Jarrett Parker
2018: Hunter Pence
2019: Connor Joe
#SFGiants lineup
1. Steven Duggar CF
2. Brandon Belt 1B
3. Evan Longoria 3B
4. Buster Posey C
5. Brandon Crawford SS
6. Connor Joe LF
7. Michael Reed RF
8. Joe Panik 2B
9. Madison Bumgarner SP— Kerry Crowley (@KO_Crowley) March 28, 2019