Has four children, three daughters and a son...Signed by San Francisco as a non-drafted free agent on May 8, 2008; Signed by Ciro Villalobos.
2023
Played for the Dubai Falcons of the Baseball United League, becoming the first in the new league¡¯s history to hit a six-run home run. The six-run homer was possible because Sandoval¡¯s at-bat was the ¡°Moneyball¡± at-bat, meaning every run that scored during the AB counted as two runs...so Sandoval¡¯s three-run homer became a six-run homer. Other players in the league include former Giants catcher Hector S¨¢nchez, former MLB Cy Young winner Bartolo Col¨®n, four-time Gold Glove infielder Andrelton Simmons and eight-time All-Star Robinson Can¨®.
2022
Played 71 games in the Mexican League with Aceros del Norte (28 games) and Olmecas de Tabasco (43 games). He had a slash line of .282/.361/.421 with 10 home runs and 42 RBI.
2021
Returned to the Braves and slashed .178/.302/.342 while hitting four home runs in 69 games before being traded to Cleveland on July 30 for OF Eddie Rosario, and subsequently released.
2020
Played in 33 games with the Giants to begin the season...Went 18-for-82 (.220)...Had just two extra-base hits (1 2B, 1 HR)...Hit his only home run of the season, a two-run shot, off the Angels¡¯ Dylan Bundy on 8/18...Appeared as the designated hitter in 14 games, and defensively played first base (8 games) and third base (4 games)...Went 3-for-13 (.231) as a pinch hitter with five strikeouts...Signed a minor-league deal with the Giants in January...Made the Opening Day roster after having his contract selected on 7/23...Released by San Francisco on 9/10, and signed with Atlanta three days later...The Braves selected his contract on 9/27, the final day of the regular season...Started at third base against Boston... Walked twice in four plate appearances.
POSTSEASON
Made each of Atlanta¡¯s three postseason rosters¡ Appeared in three games, all in the NLCS vs. L.A...Went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a hit-by-pitch.
2019
His .820 OPS and .507 slugging percentage were his highest totals since 2011 (.909 and .552, respectively)... Averaged one homer every 19.43 at-bats, the second-best HR/AB rate of his career and best since his career-best 18.52 HR/AB ratio from 2011... Went 18-for-48 (.375) with eight doubles, two HRs and six RBI as a pinch-hitter...his 1.067 OPS as a pinch-hitter was third-best in the Majors (min. 25 PH at-bats)... His 18 hits as a pinch-hitter were the most in the Majors The 18 pinch hits were tied with Ken Oberkfell (1989) for most by a Giant since 1974 (when pinch-hitting stats are complete)...Sandoval's eight pinch-hit doubles were the most by a Giant since 1974(Fred Lewis had seven PH doubles in 2009)... 23 of his 73 hits were doubles...overall, 37 of his 73 hits were for extra bases... Started 64 games (36 at third base, 15 at first base and four as a DH)... Hit his fourth career walk-off homer with his solo walk-off homer on July 23 vs. Chicago-NL off Brad Brach... was his first walk-off homer since 2017... Placed on the 10-day injured list on August 14 with right elbow inflammation... was activated on September 1 to have one final at-bat this season in front of the home crowd on September 1... Placed on the 60-day injured list on September 3 with a sprained right elbow...underwent successful surgery performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on September 4 in LA...he had an arthroscopic procedure to remove loose bodies in the back of his right elbow as well as a procedure to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.
2018
His .248 averaged marked his highest figure since 2014 with SF (.279)...Placed on the 10-day injured list on July 30 with a right hamstring strain suffered while scoring on a sacrifice fly on July 29...transferred to the 60-day injured list and had season-ending surgery on August 7... Saw action at first base (24 games), second base (two games) and third base (36 games)...Batted .323 (20-for-62) with runners in scoring position and was 7-for-11 (.636) with the bases loaded...Made his first start of the season on April 4 vs. Seattle and hit his first home run of the year, a three-run "Splash Hit" homer...marked his eighth career "Splash Hit" home run and first since May 12, 2013 vs. Atlanta...Came in to pitch the 9th inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader vs. Los Angeles-NL on April 28...induced three groundouts in a 1-2-3 inning...was the fourth position player to pitch in the SF Giants era and first since Greg Litton did so on July 4, 1991 vs. Houston...Connected on his first career pinch-hit homer on May 8 at Philadelphia...Made his first career start (second career appearance) at second base on May 27 at Chicago-NL...Hit just his 20th career home run off of a left-handed pitcher on June 18 vs. Miami (off Caleb Smith)...Went 3-for-5 and drove in a season-high five runs on July 8 vs. St. Louis...his five RBI marked the most by a Giant in a single game in 2018...Collected his fourth career game-ending hit with his walkoff RBI single on July 9 vs. Chicago-NL...marked his first walk-off hit that was not a home run.
2017
Appeared in 47 games with the Giants, hitting .225 with five home runs and 20 RBI...Was released by Boston on July 19 and signed a minor league contract with the Giants on July 22...Had his contract purchased by SF from triple-A Sacramento on Aug. 5...Hit .212 (21-for-99) with four homers in 32 games with the Red Sox...While with Boston, he missed 31 games with a right knee sprain and 19 games with a left inner ear infection...Had a 39 at-bat hitless drought from Aug. 25-Sept. 8, which marked the longest hitless streak of his career and the longest by a Giants position player since 1900...Slugged his third-career walk-off home run in the 9th inning in the final game of the season against San Diego to give SF a 5-4 win...Hit .207 (6-for-29) with one home run in nine games for triple-A Sacramento.
2016
Limited to 3 games due to a shoulder injury...Underwent successful surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder on 5/3. Transferred to the 60-day DL on 5/6 and missed the remainder of the season. Dr. James Andrews performed the surgery in Pensacola, FL. Appeared in 3 games and made 1 start before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on 4/13 (retroactive to 4/11) with a left shoulder strain.
2015
Played 126 games in his 1st season with the Red Sox. Batted exclusively left-handed beginning with a pinch-hit single in the 8th inning on 5/24 vs. LAA...From that date on, hit .255 (27-for-106) against southpaws...Prior to that point, had been 2-for-41 off left-handers. Hit .312 (24-for-77) in 20 April games with a .398 OBP, his best in any single month since September 2013 (.410). Batted .288 (62-for-215) with 21 of his 36 XBH in 60 home games compared to a .208 AVG (53-for-255) on the road...Slugged .461 at home from 7/26 on, going 21-for-76 with 8 2B and 2 HR. Hit .328 (22-for-67) on the 1st pitch of his plate appearances. Made his Fenway Park debut on 4/13 vs. WSH, going 2-for-4 with a run scored in BOS' 9-4 win over WSH. Hit a solo shot in the 11th inning on 5/11 at OAK for the deciding run...Was his 5th career extra-inning HR, tied for 5th most in MLB since the start of 2009...In that time, only Nelson Cruz (9), Brian McCann (9), Matt Kemp (6), and Albert Pujols (6) have hit more HR in extras. Had 2 hits in 6 consecutive games from 6/13-19...Marked the longest multi-hit streak of his career and the longest by a Red Sox all season. On 6/15 vs. ATL, recorded both his 200th career double in the 7th inning and his 1,000th career hit with a 2-out double in the 9th. 15 of his last 31 hits beginning 7/27 went for extra bases (12 2B, 3 HR). Homered off Felix Hernandez in each of the right-hander's 2 starts against BOS, 5/16 in SEA and 8/15 in BOS. Ejected by HP umpire John Hirschbeck in the 8th inning on 8/28 at NYM, his 1st career ejection. Played in just 1 of the Red Sox' last 17 games beginning 9/18 due to illness that resulted in pneumonia...In his last game, 9/20 at TOR, scored the deciding run on an 8th-inning sac fly by Jackie Bradley Jr.
2014
Won 3rd World Series championship in final season with the Giants...Hit .279 with 26 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR, and 73 RBI while setting career highs with 157 games and 153 starts...Tied for the team lead with 14 game-winning RBI (also Buster Posey)...His 22 go-ahead RBI fell 1 shy of Posey for the team high...Had a .317 AVG (126-for-397) against righties, 4th best among National Leaguers...Was the 9th-hardest National Leaguer to strike out (7.5 PA/SO)...Hit .336 (50-for-149) when leading off an inning, 10th best in the NL...Spent majority of season as Giants' No. 4 hitter, batting .310 (114-for-368) in 95 starts in that spot in the batting order...Also started 3rd (31), 5th (17), and 6th (11) in the lineup...Placed 3rd among National League 3B with a .971 fielding percentage...Posted a career-long 73-game errorless streak from 5/25-8/22...Hit over .300 in 4 consecutive months: .312 in May, .301 in June, .311 in July, and .336 in August...Over his last 126 games beginning on 5/7, had the NL's 5th-most hits (145) and 8th-best AVG (.306)...Hit 6 HR in May, his most in any month since September 2011 (7 HR)...All 6 came within an 11-game span from 5/18-29...Homered in back-to-back games from 5/23-24 vs. MIN, as well as an NL-leading 5 HR in 8 games from 5/18-26...Had an RBI in a career-high 9 straight games from 5/21-29, the longest streak in the majors all year and the longest by a Giant since Barry Bonds' 9-gamer in September 2000...Totaled an NL-high 15 RBI during that time...POSTSEASON: Helped the Giants to the 2014 World Series title, batting .366 with 7 2B, 5 RBI, and 5 BB...Started all 17 of SF's postseason games and reached safely in 16 of them...Set an all-time record for any single postseason with 26 hits...Went 2-for-4 with a BB in an 8-0 Wild Card win at PIT...Was 4-for-19 (.211) in the 4-game NLDS against WSH...Sent Game 2 of the NLDS to extras with a 2-out RBI double that ended the top of the 9th (Buster Posey out at home) in a game that SF won in 18 innings, 2-1...Had a hit in all 5 NLCS games against STL (.400, 8-for-20)...Had the Giants' only XBH (2B) in a 3-0 win over Adam Wainwright in NLCS Game 1...In NLCS Game 5 clincher, singled to open the bottom of the 9th inning and was pinch-run for by Joaquin Arias, who scored the go-ahead run on Travis Ishikawa's game-ending 3-run HR...Batted .429 (12-for-28) with multiple hits in 4 of the 7 games of the World Series against KC...Drove in the 1st run of the WS with an RBI double in the top of the 1st inning against James Shields, his 1st of 2 RBI hits in Game 1 at KC...Had a streak of reaching base safely in 25 consecutive postseason games snapped in Game 3 of the WS (0-for-4)...Unknotted a 4-4 tie in World Series Game 4 with a 2-run single in the 6th inning, providing the winning run in an eventual 11-4 SF victory...Reached in all 4 PA in Game 7 of the WS (3-for-3, 2B, HBP)...Scored the game's 1st run on a sac fly in the 2nd inning.
2013
Appeared in 141 games, making 137 starts (all at third base) and batted .278 (146-for-525) with 27 doubles, 14 HRs and 79 RBI. Played for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic and batted .308 (4-for-13) with one home run and four RBI in three games. His 18 errors at third base were for the third-most in the Majors. Hit .354 (51-for-144) with runners in scoring position, the seventh-highest clip in the NL. Missed 13 games in spring with ulnar neuritis, an inflammation of the nerve that runs through the elbow...an MRI exam also showed a bone spur in the back of his elbow. Made his fifth career Opening Day roster with the Giants. Slugged a game-winning two-run homer in the 9th inning on April 30 at Arizona off closer J.J. Putz...marked his 11th career HR in the 9th inning or later. Hit .333 in April and is a career .327 hitter in the month, his highest average of any month. Ended April with 35 hits, tied with the Pirate's Starling Marte for the most in the NL and it also set a Giants franchise record (since 1900) for the most hits in April (Elias). Recorded his second career game-ending home run on May 21 vs. Washington, hitting a two-run shot off RHP Yunesky Maya to give the Giants a 4-2 win in the 10th inning...according to ESPN Stats Info, Sandoval's homer was calculated at 464 feet, the longest of his career. Missed four games with a left foot strain, suffered in the 8th inning of the Giants-A's game on May 30...was removed from the game on June 8 at Arizona and eventually put on the 15-day disabled list on June 11 with the injury, which was described as a perineal tendon strain. Reached base safely in all six plate appearances on Aug. 16 at Miami, as he went 4-for-4 with two walks...the last Giants hitter to reach base in each PA (min 6 PA) was Nate Schierholtz, who achieved the feat on April 28, 2010, against the Phillies. Recorded his second career three HR game Sept. 4 at San Diego (also: Game 1 of WS vs. DET last season). Became just the sixth player in MLB history to have a three-homer performance in both the regular and postseason in his career...of the other five players, two are active (Albert Pujols, Adrian Beltre) and three are in the Hall of Fame (Babe Ruth, George Brett, Reggie Jackson). Became the first reigning World Series MVP in MLB History to hit three homers in a game the following season (WS MVP first awarded in 1955).
2012
The two-time NL All-Star completed his fifth season with the Giants, batting .283 (112-for-396) with 59 runs, 25 2Bs, 12 HRs and 63 RBI in 108 games...Missed a total of 53 games due to a left hamate fracture and strained left hamstring...therefore, he posted career lows in nearly every offensive category...Made 105 starts (101 at third base, two at first, two as DH)...Began the year with a 20-game hit streak, tied for the 13th-longest hit streak to begin a season since 1876...he became just the third SF Giant with two separate 20+ game streaks, joining Mays and McCovey...Was named to his second-consecutive All-Star team being selected by the fans as the NL starting third baseman...garnered 5,743,542 votes, displacing New York Mets third baseman David Wright (4,133,380) after surging in the final week to make up a deficit of nearly 465,000 votes...Became the second Giants third baseman to earn a fan-elected start, joining Matt Williams (1994-96)...Hit the first bases-loaded triple in All-Star Game history on July 10 at Kansas City...became only the third player in ASG history to come to the plate with the bases loaded and drive in all three men on base...the other two were Fred Lynn (1983) and Brian McCann (2010)...Left the game on July 24 vs. San Diego in the third inning after suffering a left hamstring strain after stretching at first base on a throw from shortstop Brandon Crawford to complete a double play...sat out the next two games before being placed on the disabled list on July 28...Homered from both sides of the plate for the first time in his career on Sept. 20 vs. Colorado...hit a solo HR off LHP Jorge De La Rosa in the 1st inning, then a three-run shot off RHP Edgmer Escalona in the Giants' six-run 4th inning...became the sixth Giants player in SF-era history to homer from both sides of the plate in a game, joining Chili Davis, Kevin Bass, Todd Benzinger, Ray Durham and Randy Winn.
POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Capped a spectacular postseason with earning the World Series MVP award...overall, hit .364 (24-for-66) with six HRs and 13 RBI in 16 games...Most of his postseason highlights came in the WorldSeries, where he went 8-for-16 (.500) with three homers and four RBI to help the Giants to a four-game sweep of the Tigers...His .500 average tied for ninth all-time for a single Fall Classic (minimum 15 at-bats) behind only Babe Ruth (.625, 1928 Yankees), Chris Sabo (.563, 1990 Reds), Johnny Bench (.533, 1976 Reds), Deion Sanders (.533, 1992 Braves), Sean Casey (.529, 2006 Tigers), Lou Gehrig (.529, 1932 Yankees), Dane Iorg (.529, 1982 Cardinals) and Thurman Munson (.529, 1976 Yankees)...Became the second player in Giants history to win a World Series MVP, joining Edgar Renteria (2010)...the award was first given out in 1955, the year after the Giants last World Championship prior to 2010...Also became the first-ever Venezuelan-born World Series Most Valuable Player...Became the 10th third baseman in history, and the second straight, to win World Series MVP, joining Baltimore's Brooks Robinson (1970), Cincinnati's Pete Rose (1975), Philadelphia's Mike Schmidt (1980), Ron Cey (1981) of the Dodgers, Ray Knight (1986) of the Mets, Scott Brosius (1998) of the Yankees, Anaheim's Troy Glaus (2002), Boston's Mike Lowell (2007) and David Freese (2011) of the Cardinals...With 24 hits in the postseason, he finished just one hit shy of the all-time single Postseason record of 25 set by Marquis Grissom (1995 Braves), Darin Erstad (2002 Angels) and David Freese (2011 Cardinals)...Sandoval is the Giants all-time leader for hits in a single Postseason, eclipsing J.T. Snow, who had 22 hits for San Francisco in 2002...With six home runs in his postseason career, Sandoval tied with Rich Aurilia (2002) for the second-most in franchise history for a single postseason behind only Barry Bonds (eight in 2002)...Made Major League history in Game 1 of the World Series after hitting home runs in each of his first three
plate appearances...it was just the fifth three-homer game in World Series history, joining Babe Ruth (1926 Game 4 and 1928 Game 4), Reggie Jackson (1977 Game 6) and Albert Pujols (2011 Game 5)...Overall, it was the ninth three-homer game in Postseason history...Sandoval became the third player in Giants history to record a multi-homer game in World Series history, joining Benny Kauff (Game 4, 1917) and Jeff Kent (Game 5, 2002)...He was the second Giants player to homer in the first inning of an opening Fall Classic game, joining Hall of Famer Mel Ott, who did so in 1933 against the Washington Senators...Sandoval was just the fourth Venezuelan-born player to homer in World Series history, joining Dave Concepcion (1975 Game 3), Miguel Cabrera (2003 Game 4), and Alex Gonzalez (2003 Game 4)...He collected at least one RBI in six straight postseason games becoming the ninth player in history to accomplish that, joining Alex Rodriguez (eight in 2007-09), Ryan Howard (eight in 2009), Lou Gehrig (eight from 1928-32), Bill Skowron (seven from 1958-60), Clyde Barnhart (seven from 1925-27), Ivan Rodriguez (six in 2003), Bernie Williams (six in 1996) and Tony Perez (six from 1975-76).
2011
Was by far San Francisco's best offensive player in 2011, hitting .315 (134-for-426) with 26 2Bs, 23 HRs and 70 RBI in 117 games in his 4th season with Giants ... Was named by NL All-Star manager Bruce Bochy to his 1st career All-Star team, joining teammates Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, Ryan Vogelsong and Brian Wilson on NL roster ... Led team in runs scored (55), hits, HRs, RBI and multi-hit games (34), even after missing 40 games with hand injury ... Switch-hitter batted .324 (107-for-330) against righthanders, which was 4th-highest clip in NL among players with at least 330 plate appearances...only NYM's Jose Reyes (.341), MIL's Ryan Braun (.327) and NYM's Daniel Murphy (.326) had higher averages ... His 27 go-ahead RBI was tied for 8th-most in NL and his 13 game-winning RBI was tied for 11th-best ... Posted longest hitting streak of his career and 6th-longest hit streak in National League in 2011, hitting safely in 22-consecutive games from June 19-July 14...streak was longest by Giants player since Willie McCovey and Alvin Dark both hit safely in 22-straight in 1959 and 1952, respectively ... Sandoval's 22-game hit streak was also 4th-longest by Venezuelan-born player in ML history...Victor Martinez
holds record with 25-game streak in 2009 with Boston ... Was diagnosed with fractured hamate bone in his right
hand on April 30 and was placed on 15-day DL on May 1...injured hand while swinging bat in game on April 29 at
Washington ... Had successful surgery in Arizona on May 3 with Dr. Don Sheridan performing procedure ... After missing nearly six weeks, began rehab assignment playing one game at Class A Advanced San Jose and and
then in five games with triple-A Fresno...was reinstated from disabled list on June 14. Had at least one extra-base hit in nine-straight contests from June 26-July 4, tying 2nd-longest such streak in Majors in 2011 (Justin Upton had 10)...Sandoval's streak of consecutive games with an extra-base hit was longest for any Giants player since Willie Mays had nine-game streak in 1963...since 1900, only one Giants player had an extra base hit in 10-straight games: Willie Mays (10-straight from May 23-June 3, 1954) (Elias) ... Hit his 5th career "Splash Hit" and his 1st of season off San Diego reliever Ernesto Frieri in 6th inning on July 4 at AT&T Park ... Was named to his 1st career All-Star team by MGR Bruce Bochy, one week after teams were announced...replaced Mets' SS Jose Reyes, who was on DL...became 1st Giants position player to be chosen to Mid-Summer Classic since Barry Bonds in 2007 ... Replaced All-Star starter Scott Rolen at 3rd base in 6th inning and went 1-for-1 with an RBI-2B in his lone plate appearance ... Faced left-handed pitcher Sergio Escalona while batting from left side of plate on Aug. 20 at Houston...marked 1st time he had ever faced lefty while batting left-handed...struck out with his bat flailing from his hands...swung this way due to inflammation in his left shoulder and could not swing right-handed...faced Escalona again next day and struck out with runners on 1st and 2nd and two outs ... Belted pair of solo HRs on Sept. 5 at San Diego...marked 3rd time in his career to have multi-HR game ... Hit for cycle on Sept. 15 at Colorado...with 3B in 6th inning, he became 26th Giant - and 10th in club's San Francisco era - to hit for cycle...Sandoval hit 2-run home run in 1st inning, singled in 2nd, doubled in 5th and then hit drive off base of wall in right-center field, bellyflopping into 3rd base well ahead of throw to achieve feat ... Prior to Sandoval, last Giant to hit for cycle was Fred Lewis, who did it on Mother's Day, 2007, also at Coors Field ... Recorded his 2nd multi-HR game of season and 4th of his career on Sept. 18 at Colorado...both of his HRs came in Giants' 8-run 4th inning...became 1st Giants player to homer twice in one inning since Juan Uribe accomplished feat on Sept. 23, 2010 at Chicago-NL...Sandoval finished game with career-best 11 total bases as he also tripled ... Was named NL Player of Week for 1st time in his career for week of Sept. 12-18...hit .440 (11-for-25) with 2B, 2 3Bs, 4 HRs, 10 RBI ... Finished month of Sept. ranking 1st in NL with .784 slugging pct., 2nd with .378 avg. and tied for 4th with 7 HRs ... Battled with inflammation in his left shoulder over final 6 weeks of season and felt pain when he swung righthanded...
saw limited playing time against left-handed pitchers, starting just 4 of 10 games in Sept. in which SF faced LH starter.
2010
After batting .330 with 25 HRs and 90 RBI in 2009, Sandoval struggled in his 2nd full big league season, batting just .268 (151-for-563) with 34 2Bs, 13 HRs and 63 RBI in 152 games ... In 2009, switch-hitter batted .314 as left-handed hitter and .379 as righty, however in 2010, batted just .282 (119-for-422) from left-side and .227 (32-for-141) from right ... His batting average on balls in play slid from .367 in 2008 to .353 in 2009 to .294 in 2010 ... Sandoval's year-by-year batting average with runners in scoring position: in 2008, .395 (in 38 at-bats); in 2009, .301 (in 143 ABs); in 2010, .208 (27-for-130)...finished season by going just 3-for-15 (.200) with RISP over his last 30 games...batted .182 (10-for-55) with RISP/2 outs ... Had staggering home/road splits, hitting .330 (92-for-279) with 9 HRs and 40 RBI in 76 games at AT&T Park, which ranked as 6th-highest home average among NL players, behind Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez (.380), Atlanta's Martin Prado (.353), Chicago's Starlin Castro (.340), Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki (.339) and St. Louis' Albert Pujols (.335) ... Struggled on road, batting 122 points lower at .208 clip (59-for-284) with 4 HRs and 23 RBI, which was 3rd-lowest road batting clip in NL, behind only Arizona's Mark Reynolds (.181) and Chicago's Aramis Ramirez (.201)...had largest difference in batting average at home vs. road among all MLB qualifiers (STATS, LLC) ... Grounded into NL-leading 26 double-plays (grounded into only 10 in 2009), 1 shy of A.J. Pierzynski's franchise record of 27 GIDP's in 2004 ... Hit .370 (37-for-100) on 1st pitch ... Averaged just 3.42 pitches per plate appearance (3.40 in his career) for 3rd-lowest avg. in NL, behind Cincinnati's Orlando Cabrera (3.35) and Houston's Carlos Lee (3.42) ... Started 146 of 162 games (136 at 3rd base and 10 at 1st base)...fashioned .961 (13err, 334tc) fielding pct. at 3rd base, which was 5th-highest mark in NL ... Made his 2nd career Opening Day roster as well as his 2nd consecutive Opening Day start ... Began season on hot note, hitting safely in his 1st 8 games and finishing month of April with .368 batting avg. (32-for-87), 4th-highest in NL, behind Manny Ramirez (.415), Ivan Rodriguez (.413) and teammate Nate Schierholtz (.375) ... However, avg. took hit over next 3 months, as he hit just .233 (70-for-300) from May-July...hit .312 (34-for-109) in month of Aug. for 2nd-highest clip on team (behind Freddy Sanchez, .356), but finished Sept./Oct. by hitting just .244 (15-for-67) ... Left game on May 14 against Astros in 8th inning after getting hit on left foot by pitch from Jeff Fulchino...X-rays came back negative...Sandoval had started every one of SF's 34 games and had played in all of club's 310.1 defensive innings before sitting out...received 1st off day following game vs. Houston to rest sore foot ... Was dropped from 3rd spot in order to 8th on June 5 at Pittsburgh, marking just 2nd time in his career to hit 8th ... Was part of back-to-back home runs with Pat Burrell on Aug. 12 vs. Chicago-NL...followed Burrell's solo shot off Randy Wells with his 3rd career "Splash Hit" and 1st in 2010...that home run snapped 178 at-bat homerless drought, which was longest of his career ... Hit his 2nd homer in 3 games, after going 46 contests (and career-long 178 at-bats) without one on Aug. 14 vs. San Diego, hitting solo shot off RHP Mat Latos in 7th inning to give Giants their 1st run in game in their 3-2 win in 11 innings...Sandoval's solo shot was fastball that he hit at chin level and one-hopped into McCovey Cove ... Hammered his 1st home run of season off left-handed pitcher on Aug. 19 at Philadelphia, hitting solo shot off Cole Hamels in 4th inning to extend San Francisco's lead to 5-0...it came in his 122nd at-bat from right side of plate.
POSTSEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Batted .176 (3-for-17) with 2 RBI in 6 postseason contests ... Started 5 of 15 games (4 at 3rd base, 1 as DH) ... Had his biggest at-bat of postseason in Game 4 of LCS vs. Philadelphia on Oct. 20, driving in pair of go-ahead runs with 2B in 6th inning to help stake Giants to 5-4 lead in their 6-5 victory.
2009
Established himself as fan favorite and one of best all-around players on Giants in 2009...batted .330 (189-for-572) with 79 runs, 44 2Bs, 5 3Bs, 25 HRs and 90 RBI in 153 games in his sophomore season, establishing career highs in every offensive category...recorded most doubles, home runs and RBI in any season of his pro career...his .330 avg. ranked as 2nd-highest in NL among qualifying players behind Florida's Hanley Ramirez (.342), while his 2Bs ranked 3rd-most in league...also ranked 2nd in multi-hit games (57), 3rd in avg. against left-handed pitchers (.379), 4th in hits, 6th in total bases (318) and slugging pct. (.556), 7th in extra base hits (74), and 9th in intentional walks (13)...his .330 avg. was 4th-highest among players in their 1st full ML season since 1958...only Wade Boggs (.361 in 1983), Ichiro Suzuki (.350 in 2001) and Fred Lynn (.331 in 1975) had higher figures than Sandoval in their 1st full season (Sports Features Group)...was just 3rd player in franchise history to record season of .330 avg., 40+ 2Bs, 25+ HRs, and 90+ RBI, joining Bill Terry (1932) and Jeff Kent (2000)...became only 7th Giant in club history to reach 40 2B's in single season...his hit total were most by Giant in single season since Jeff Kent in 2002 (195)...became 8th Giant in franchise history to record 20-plus HRs and 40-plus 2Bs...( Jeff Kent SF, 4 times; Jack Clark SF; Barry Bonds SF; Willie Mays SF; George Kelly NYG; Bill Terry NYG; Al Dark NYG, all one time)...led NL in home batting avg. (.361), which was 3rd-highest home mark in SF-era history (Barry Bonds, .412 in 2004 and .369 in 2003)...proved to be versatile in field, making 120 starts at 3rd base, 24 at 1st base and 3 at catcher...was only Giant to start 1st 22 games of season (20 at 3B, 2 at C)...committed 14 errors combined at 1st (3) and 3rd base (11)...his .960 fielding pct. as 3rd baseman was 7th-best in NL...batted .357 (92-for-258) with runners on base, 5th-best in NL...hit .301 (43-for-143) with runners in scoring position (2nd-highest clip on Giants) and .314 (16-for-51) with RISP and 2 outs (3rd-highest on team)...hit in number 3-hole for majority of season, batting .318 (121-for-380) in 97 games, but also hit in cleanup spot, posting .416 avg. (37-for-89) in 24 games...also appeared in 5th-hole (.289) for 24 games and batted 6th on 5 occasions (.368)...12 of his 25 home runs gave SF lead, and 7 of his 25 homers came in 8th inning or later...did not show much patience at plate as he led majors with swinging at 1st pitch 48.2% of time, although he hit .357 (41-for-115) with 7 HRs and 28 RBI on 0-0 counts...ranked 2nd in NL with .344 avg. (64-for-186) with 2 outs...his longest hitless drought was only 4 games from April 11-15, going 0-for-13...hit only .217 (18-for-83) through his 1st 23 road games of season, however, hit .335 (70-for-209) in his final 55 road contests raising his avg. to .301...feasted on AL pitching during his 14 Interleague games, batting .400 (20-for-50) with 6 2B's, 3 HRs and 8 RBI...his .400 Interleague clip was tied for 6th-highest mark in majors...had 5 separate 8-game hitting streaks: 1 10-game, 2 9-game and 2 8-game...dominated Arizona pitching, hitting .500 (29-for-58) with 5 2Bs, 3 3Bs, 3 HRs and 13 RBI...hit safely in 12 of his 16 games vs. Snakes, while recording 3 4-hit contests...was one of 5 NL players to be on list of Final Vote for NL team in Mid-Summer Classic, however finished 2nd in voting behind Philadelphia's Shane Victorino...after walking only 9 times in his 1st 52 games of season, worked 43 free passes in his last 101...made Opening Day roster for 1st time in his career and became Giants youngest Opening Day starter at 3rd base since Tom O'Malley (22 years and 101 days) in 1983 (Sports Features Group)...hit only .179 (5-for-28) with 2B and 7 strikeouts through his 1st 8 games of season...snapped 0-for-15 streak (April 10-16) with 2-for-5 showing April 16 at Los Angeles-NL...had 1st 3-hit game and 3B of season April 19 vs. Arizona...went 17-for-45 (.378) with 4 2Bs, 3B, HR and 6 RBI from April 16-28 raising his average to .301, jump of 123 points...caught his 1st game April 22 vs. San Diego, catching all 10.0 innings of San Francisco's 1-0 win...recorded career-high 4 hits April 26 at Arizona, including his 1st HR of season in 8th inning off RHP Jon Garland...finished season, going 6-for-7 with 2 2Bs, HR and 3 RBI against Garland...stole his 1st base of career April 27 vs. Los Angeles-NL...broke up Jason Marquis' complete-game shutout bid with home run in 9th inning May 2 vs. Colorado....had 8-game hit streak from April 26-May 4, batting .483 (14-for-29) with 3 2Bs, 3B, 2 HRs and 7 RBI...hit 1st game-ending HR of his career May 12 vs. Washington off LHP Joe Beimel...became youngest Giant (22 years, 274 days old) to hit walkoff HR since Jack Clark (22 years, 218 days old) accomplished feat June 16, 1978...finished night going 3-for-5 with HR, 2B and 3 RBI...was candidate for NL Player of Week honors for week May 11-17 after batting .433 (13-for-30) with HR and 7 RBI...sat out May 24 game with tightness in his right elbow and missed 4 contests...came back from injury May 29 vs. St. Louis and went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI while also making his 1st start of season at 1st base...tied his career-high with 4-hit performance June 10 at Arizona with HR and 3 RBI...had 1st career multi-home run contest June 15 vs. Los Angeles-AL, going 3-for-5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBI...had career-best 10-game hit streak June 7-16, batting .500 (19-for-38) with 3 2Bs, 4 HRs and 9 RBI...recorded 3 errors June 16 vs. Los Angeles-AL at 1st base (2 fielding, 1 throwing)...was 4th time in SF history that 1st baseman had committed 3 miscues in 1 game with last occurrence by Todd Benzinger June 18, 1994...was nominee for NL Player of Week June 14-21, hitting .455 (10-for-2) with 3 2Bs, 2 HRs and 4 RBI...posted his 2nd career multi-HR game June 27 at Milwaukee, finishing 3-for-5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBI...had 9-game hit streak June 19-28, hitting .406 (13-for-31) with 5 2Bs, 3 HRs and 5 RBI...led NL with .394 avg. (37-for-94) in June and was 2nd-best clip in majors behind Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki (.407)...his 8 HR's in June were most he recorded in any month...had streak of reaching base safely in 25-straight games June 4-30 with .411 avg. (37-for-90)...snapped an 0-for-11 streak at plate July 4 vs. Houston with 2-run HR off Felipe Paulino...sat out July 5 game with bruised right knee after sliding into home previous day...belted his 1st career grand slam on 1-0 pitch off Florida's Sean West in 5th inning July 6 at AT&T Park...his 4 RBI matched his season-high and was one shy of his career-high...became youngest Giant to hit grand slam since Matt Williams (5 months younger than Sandoval) did so June 4, 1988 vs. Houston...had back-to-back games with home runs, hitting 3-run clout July 11 and 2-run opposite field clout July 12, both vs. San Diego...was 3rd time in his brief career that he has homered on back-to-back nights...had 15 home runs in 1st half of season, which were most 1st half homers for Giant since Barry Bonds clubbed 17 in 2007...had 8-game hit streak July 8-19, hitting .364 (12-for-33) with 2 2Bs, 2 HR's and 8 RBI...hit his 1st career splash hit HR with solo shot July 30 off Philadelphia's Rodrigo Lopez...finished going 2-for-4 with HR and 4 RBI (3rd-career 4 RBI performance)...hit back-to-back HRs with Freddy Sanchez Aug. 4 at Houston...went 3-for-4 with solo HR and reached base in 4 of his 5 plate appearances Aug. 15 at New York-NL...on Aug. 15 at New York-NL, hit solo HR off Johan Santana after Santana's 1st pitch sailed behind him...Bengie Molina yelled for Sandoval to remain calm and two pitches later he homered, hitting face of second deck in left field for his 18th home run to push Giants' lead to 4-1...recorded his 1st 3 strikeout game of his career Aug. 19 at Cincinnati...was removed from game Aug. 25 at Arizona with tight right calf...did not start next 3 games (made 1 PH appearance)...returned from injury and stomach flu Aug. 28 vs. Colorado, going 1-for-3 with opposite field solo HR...became 1st Giant to record at least 20 HRs in season since Barry Bonds (28) and Pedro Feliz (20) both did so in 2007...clubbed 50th Splash hit by Giants in AT&T Park history with solo HR Aug. 29 vs. Colorado...hit only .189 (7-for-37) through his 1st 11 games of Sept....however, hit .354 (23-for-65) with 4 2Bs, 3B, 2 HRs and 10 RBI over month's final 17 games...had 9-game hit streak from Sept. 15-24, batting .400 (14-for-35) with 3 2Bs, 3B, HR and 7 RBI...tied his career-high with 4 hits Sept. 29 vs. Arizona (3rd time), finishing 4-for-5 with career-best 4 runs, 2B, HR and 2 RBI...hit game-winning solo home run to deep center field in last game of season Oct. 4 at San Diego in 10th inning to help Giants win 4-3...
2008
Posted by far his best season and was one of best of any Giants farmhand in 2008...rewarded for his success, making his big league debut in mid-Aug...moved quickly through ranks, beginning season at single-A and finishing as one of Giants' major run producers...in limited big league action, batted .345 (50-for-145) with 24 runs, 10 2Bs, 3B, 3 HRs and 24 RBI in 41 games for San Francisco...collected 18 multi-hit contests, tied for 9th-most among NL rookies... hit .395 (15-for-38) with 22 RBI with RISP...logged .368 mark (28-for-76) on road, hitting safely in 15 of 20 road contests with 12 multi-hit games...started 34 contests (13 at 1B, 12 at 3B, 9 at C), with Giants going 17-17 in his starts...had his contract purchased from double-A Connecticut Aug. 13 and made his Major League debut Aug. 14 at Houston (start at C), going 0-for-3 with 1st RBI coming on sacrifice fly...following debut, recorded hits in each of his next 9 games, going 15-for-33 (.455) during season-high 9-game hit streak...recorded his 1st ML hit Aug. 16 at Atlanta with single off LHP Mike Hampton...hit 1st career HR Aug. 27 vs. Colorado off RHP Livan Hernandez
in 7th inning, giving SF 2-1 cushion...clout was part of back-to-back HRs with Bengie Molina...led all ML rookies in batting avg. in Aug. with .393 clip, 11 points higher than next closest player (Joey Votto of Cincinnati - .382)...also finished month with .554 slugging pct., 3rd-highest among NL rookies...recorded career-high 5 RBI Sept. 7 vs. Pittsburgh, going 2-for-3 with run, 2B and pair of sacrifice flies...had 4 of those RBI in Giants' 10-run 4th inning...became 1st Giants rookie to collect 5-RBI contest since Damon Minor in 2002...slugged 3rd career HR Sept. 12 vs. Padres, solo shot in 4th inning (off RHP Jake Peavy)...scored go-ahead run on wild pitch by Dirk Hayhurst Sept. 14 at SD in 10th inning, giving Giants 8-6 victory...beginning Aug. 14, ranked among NL leaders in avg. (7th) and hits (9th)...suffered sore left quadriceps Sept. 19 at Los Angeles-NL and started just 4 of SF's last 8 games...prior to getting big league call, combined to hit .350 (157-for-448) with 90 runs, 38 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 20 HRs, 96 RBI and .578 slugging mark over 112 games between Single-A San Jose and Double-A Connecticut...was named Giants' Minor League Player of Year for his efforts, 1st time that club has handed out award...at time of his promotion, ranked 7th among all minor leaguers for avg., while ranking 4th for total bases (259) and 8th for RBI...did end up finishing 12th overall among all minor league players in avg...was member of World Team for
Futures Game at Yankee Stadium...appeared at 1B and went 0-for-1 with an RBI and BB in World's 3-0 victory over U.S. Team...started '08 season at single-A, batting .359 (98-for-273) with 61 runs, 25 2Bs, 2 3Bs, 12 HRs and 59 RBI in 68 games...was named to California League in-season All-Star team...was promoted to double-A June 25 and batted .337 (59-for-175) with 29 runs, 13 2Bs, 8 HRs and 37 RBI in 44 games for Defenders...had season-best 15-game hitting streak July 6-23, batting.408 (29-for-71)...received Eastern League Player of Week honors for July 21-27 after batting .417 (10-for-24) with 4 runs, 2 2Bs, 2 HRs and 12 RBI.
2007
Hit .287 in 102 games at single-A San Jose, while setting career highs with 33 2Bs, 5 3Bs (tied), 11 HRs and 52 RBI...logged 59 games behind plate, and 42 contests at 1B...tied for club lead with 7 RBI during SJ's run to California League title...went 9-for-34 (.265) with 2 HRs in 9 post season games...played for Magallanes in Venezuelan Winter League...
2006
Split time between 1B (93 games) and 3B (21) with single-A Augusta, batting .265 with 20 2Bs, 1 HR and 49 RBI...played for World Team in Futures Game, part of All-Star Festivities in Pittsburgh.
2005
Earned Northwest League All-Star honors for short-season Salem-Keizer, batting .330 with 15 2Bs, 3 HRs and 50 RBI in 75 games...ranked among league leaders for RBI (2nd), hits (2nd - 97), games (2nd), avg. (3rd) and total bases (5th - 125).
2004
Logged 1st season on U.S. soil, appearing in 46 games for Giants' affiliate in Arizona Rookie League.
2003
Began professional career with SF's club in Dominican Summer League, batting .354 in 57 games.
