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All-star Neal is delivering on potential in left field for Giants
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Giants executives celebrate Neal's all-star selection
If there was any question whether Thomas Neal was ready to play everyday in the outfield for the San Jose Giants, he has answered it with a thundering, yes.
The California League’s leading hitter missed all of the 2007 campaign because of a shoulder injury, and spent all of 2008 as a first baseman/designated hitter for the Augusta GreenJackets of the South Atlantic League. Promoted to the California League’s San Jose Giants this year, Neal has responded with a league-leading .342 average, a team-best 13 home runs, and solid defense in left field. He’s been rewarded with a starting slot in Tuesday’s California-Carolina All-Star Game at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore.
Giants catcher Buster Posey was also named a starter, while outfielder Roger Kieschnick was chosen as an alternate.
Being named to the all-star team is “a great, great accomplishment,” says Neal.” “But my theory has always been ‘it’s not how you start it’s how you finish,’ and you have to be playing your best to win championships at the end of the year.”
The first half North division champion Giants seem to have bought into that idea. Eleven current Giants were with the GreenJackets for at least part of last year when they won the South Atlantic League title, and many those same players were part of the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes when they won the Northwest League championship in 2007.
“There’s a lot of players here who know how to win,” says Neal. “That’s a big reason why we haven’t panicked,” as the team had its ups and downs. “It’s a grind, but if you stick with it and continue to do the right things everything will fall into place.”
Consistent hitting from Neal, a 21-year-old from San Diego, has moved him up the batting order and he now often hits third. A lot of outfielders can hit but Neal knows it’s the combination of offense and defense that will get him to the big leagues.
“One of my biggest goals and the thing I work the hardest in is defense. You can change a ballgame with your defense. If you’re not hitting well, you can go out there and take someone’s hit away or throw someone out at home.”
Neal was drafted in the 37th round in 2005 out of Poway High School, and is considered the 23rd prospect in the Giants’ organization, according to Baseball America. He’s happy that his family has been able to watch him play close to home. They were in attendance in Lake Elsinore on April 28 when Neal hit for the cycle, the third San Jose Giant ever to accomplish that feat.
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