One of the all time great 'gamer' baseball players, Hunter Pence, opted against calling it a day on his playing career after winning two World Series titles. Nope, Mr. Gamer is giving it another go round with a team that lost back to back World Series, the Texas Rangers.
“The darkest hour of the night comes just before the dawn. You guys show unconditional love to us and we appreciate that. The dawn is coming.”
- Hunter Pence
Mercury News reports:
The Texas Rangers announced they signed Pence, who will turn 36 in April, to a minor league contract with an invitation to major league spring training. The 12-year major league veteran spent the last six-plus seasons in San Francisco, where he became a fan favorite and helped lead the Giants to World Series titles in 2012 and 2014.
Pence’s five-year, $90 million contract expired at the end of the 2018 season, but instead of opting to retire, Pence expressed a desire to continue his professional career.
“I want to still play,” Pence said last September. “It’s uncertain. Hopefully I can find an opportunity and I’m going to look for it and do everything I can to be the best I can and come back because I want to come back and contribute to another playoff run.”
With Pence’s future up in the air, the Giants paid tribute to their longtime right fielder during and after the final game of his tenure in San Francisco. Pence’s teammates allowed him to take the field by himself ahead of the season finale against the Los Angeles Dodgers and the organization presented Pence with a scooter during a postgame ceremony. Pence addressed the home crowd and thanked Giants fans for their support during a challenging season.
“From the moment he put on the orange and black, we all could truly see how much this man loves this game,” Bochy said after Pence’s last game.
“Each and every one of the 772 games he played here, this man was full throttle.”
- Bruce Bochy on Hunter Pence
Despite hitting .226 and slugging .332 in 97 games for the Giants last year, Pence felt confident in his ability to revamp his swing and contribute to a major league club this season. The Texas native worked with a private hitting instructor before traveling to the Dominican Republic to play winter ball for Toros del Este.
Pence recorded eight hits in 31 at-bats (.276) for Toros del Este and found the spotlight back in the United States thanks to a postgame speech he gave to teammates during his first week with the club.
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