The long ball is long gone

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July 10, 8:52 AM

by David Bush, S.F. Baseball Examiner

 

 

Willie Mays began a local tradition of sluggers.

The home run? Tell it bye bye, Baby. 

Neither of the local teams, both of whom have produced some of the most prolific sluggers in history, can get the ball out of the park this year. And they are paying for it.

The Giants, who were shut out Tuesday and Wednesday in New York are 16^th and last in the National League in home runs as a team with 57 going into Thursday. The A’s were 12^th (of 14) in the other league with 65 until they hit three on Thursday.. That’s 122 between the two clubs, or fewer than three teams, the Marlins, Phillies and White Sox have all by themselves. 

Didn’t the Giants and A’s used to hit a lot of home runs? Isn’t that what Barry Ball and Money Ball were all about? Get a couple of singles or walks and put it one in the seats. Or in the drink. 

The Giants arrived in 1958 with Willie Mays and soon were running out Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Bobby Bonds, Dave Kingman, Jack Clark, Matt Williams and Mr. BALCO himself Barry Bonds. And in the East Bay the A’s brought Reggie Jackson with them from Kansas City. In the mid-80s along came the Bash Brothers, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, followed by Jason Giambi and Miguel Tejada. Now nobody reaches the seats with any consistency. At the season’s halfway point only the A’s Jack Cust among the locals is in double figures in home runs. The Giants cleanup hitter, Bengie Molina, has six dingers. In fact those who hit the in the three, four and five spots in the Giants lineup, where the power usually lies, have just 19 between them. That would be good for fourth place among American League leaders and wouldn’t crack the top ten in the N.L. They have gone a combined 387 at-bats without a homer, the last coming on June 2. 

What’s going on? The ballparks are a factor, neither being that friendly to long ball hitters. The Giants certainly have their problems at home, hitting just 26 homers in 45 games at AT&T Park but 31 in 46 games on the road. Neither is a blowout number, but a disparity is obvious. Without Bonds and his ability to dunk pitches into McCovey Cove or bury them in the right field arcade, the Giants are helpless when it comes to hitting home runs in San Francisco. 

The Oakland Coliseum, in all its configurations, has traditionally been a tough place to hit homers, especially at night. But since the return of the Raiders and the erection of the notorious Mt. Davis in center field, the ballpark is a little more homer friendly. In ttheir first 51 home games the A’s hit 40 homers (0.8 per game), while on the road Oakland has hit just 25 in 40 games (.625 per contest). In their case it’s hard to blame the home field. It’sjust that neither team has a power source, nor are they likely to get one.  

The Giants, despite being only six games out of the division lead going into Thursday, realistically do not have a shot. The pitching, statistically in the middle of the pack in the N.L. might be good enough to contend in this collection of mediocre teams given some offense. But they don’t have one, and especially the ability to score multiple runs with one swing. 

In Oakland the lack of power is even more telling. The A’s pitchers have the best ERA in the big leagues and yet the team is barely hanging on in the A.L. West. If they are to stay in contention the hitters must do their part, and that is difficult without the long ball threat. The three homer outburst on Thursday showed just how valuable they can be. Three swings, three runs, one win,.

The A’s might get more muscle if Frank Thomas is ever made whole again and returns from the disabled list. He has 520 career homers and in just 151 at-bats with the Blue Jays and A’s this year he hit seven. In this year’s context, that’s a bonanza, but it might not be enough.

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