CINCINNATI -- It¡¯s an Opening Day tradition like no other for the Giants.
For the past 19 years, the Giants have had 19 different players start in left field for their regular-season opener, a wild streak that dates back to Barry Bonds¡¯ final season in 2007.
Heliot Ramos became the latest player to join the list on Thursday, but the Giants are hoping the 25-year-old outfielder will be the one to finally put an end to their historic revolving door next season.
¡°I would love to see it,¡± new president of baseball operations Buster Posey said. ¡°For 10 years or more.¡±
Ramos is certainly looking like he¡¯ll have staying power, as he picked up where he left off from his 2024 All-Star campaign and crushed the Giants¡¯ first home run of the season in their 6-4 comeback win over the Reds on Opening Day at Great American Ball Park.
Cincinnati ace Hunter Greene, who finished eighth in the National League Cy Young race last year, held the Giants scoreless through the first three innings before Ramos finally put them on the board with an early contender for the at-bat of the year.
After fouling off five consecutive upper 90s fastballs, Ramos finally won an 11-pitch battle by crushing a 98.7 mph heater out to the right-field corner for a two-run shot that cut the Reds¡¯ lead to 3-2. It was the longest at-bat that ended in a home run for the Giants since Michael Conforto¡¯s 12-pitch tussle against the D-backs¡¯ Ryne Nelson on May 12, 2023.
¡°It was a great at-bat,¡± Ramos said. ¡°Honestly, I was just trying to get on base, trying to put the ball in play. I knew we would need runners. We were down by two. But at the same time, he doesn't want to walk me. He¡¯s winning 3-0. I was just trying to be aggressive in the zone and try to get a good pitch to hit.¡±
¡°It was a duel,¡± Greene said. ¡°Maybe that would have been a better thing if I just walked him. Being able to slow the game down in that situation and have the next guy come up. I¡¯ve had really good at-bats against him, so I obviously trusted myself.¡±
Ramos has learned to trust himself as well, especially when it comes to his opposite-field power, which he showed when he became the first right-handed hitter to deliver a splash hit at Oracle Park last year. He tapped into that ability again against Greene, driving a down-and-away pitch just over the right-field fence for his 344-foot shot.
¡°It¡¯s just the confidence that I can hit the ball out the other way,¡± Ramos said. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to lie, the splash [hit] gave me a lot of confidence last year, too. But I always knew that I had that pop, that power right there. I just needed to make it better and polish it.¡±
Ramos has been in the Giants organization since he was selected in the first round of the 2017 Draft, but he didn¡¯t make his first Opening Day roster until this year. The Puerto Rico native was among the earliest rounds of Spring Training cuts last year and opened the 2024 season at Triple-A Sacramento, but he ended up forcing his way back to the Majors and finally established himself as an everyday player after batting .269 with a .792 OPS and 22 home runs over 121 games with the Giants.
¡°I think the confidence goes with what happened last year,¡± manager Bob Melvin said. ¡°You can see just a different guy coming in this spring. He knew he had a spot. He knew he was just getting ready for a season. He didn¡¯t have to go play winter ball. He got himself fully healthy after a heavy workload, especially at the end of last year. Now he's just a really good player that we¡¯re going to rely on. The guy was an All-Star last year. He has a lot to feel good about.¡±
While Ramos showed he could crush left-handed pitching last year (1.189 OPS), his production was much spottier against righties (.673 OPS), giving him a clear area of improvement for 2025. His ability to do damage against Greene is certainly a step in the right direction, though.
¡°I¡¯ve been working hard the whole offseason,¡± Ramos said. ¡°I felt pretty good today. I felt like my first two at-bats were pretty good. I had two great at-bats. It¡¯s something that I¡¯ve been working the whole spring. I¡¯ve been wanting to face the righties. Lefties, I know I can hit them. Obviously, the lefties are going to get me out. They¡¯re pitchers, too. They eat, too. But I¡¯ve been wanting to face righties and make that a point, for sure.¡±