The San Francisco Giants hit 177 home runs this year, and if that seems like a surprisingly normal total, that’s because it is. The league average was 182 home runs, and the Giants just snuck under that. In terms of raw numbers, they hit more home runs than they did in 52 of their 67 seasons since they moved to San Francisco.
When you compare all of those seasons to their respective league averages, though, you get a slightly different story. Barely below league average is bad for the Giants, historically speaking. This is the team that’s employed the all-time record holder for career and single-season home runs, the career home-run leader for second basemen, as well as Willie Mays and Willie McCovey. They’ve been above the league average in 43 out of those 67 seasons, which is almost comical when you consider the ballparks they’ve played in. The 2024 Giants rank 46th in San Francisco history, after adjusting for the league, which isn’t nearly as fun.
You know what’s fun, though? All of those 177 home runs. They were all fun and welcome and delightful. If the Giants are winning by 10, home runs make you guffaw. If they’re losing by 10, they make you a bit less annoyed. And if they come in a close game or directly lead to a win? Oh, goodness, that’s the sweetest nectar you can squeeze out of a baseball.
So let’s roll out the red carpet and give out some awards. The Dingies. The Dongles. The Grammys But For Home Runs.
The official name can be hashed out later. Until then, let’s watch all 177 home runs and see which ones rise to the top.
Longest home run of the year — Jorge Soler, July 21 (478 feet)
This was the longest home run in baseball at the time, although it was surpassed just a couple weeks later. It was still the second-longest home run in baseball this season, and it went farther than anything hit by Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani, Giancarlo Stanton, Bryce Harper or any of the other guys who told the Giants to pound sand. It was hit by someone who actually took the Giants’ money. And he was then traded a couple months later. Still. Makes you think.
If you’re concerned that home run doesn’t count because it was aided by the thin air of Coors Field, here’s a bonus home run for you. On April 3, when the Giants still had that innocent, earnest twinkle of hope in their eye, Soler hit a 452-foot shot that might have been the prettiest home run of the year.
I’ve been enjoying the national calls from Joe Davis this postseason, and this is a great example of what he does right. He knows the difference between the kinda-cool and the super-cool, and he makes it a point to let the viewer know. It would have been much funnier for the Dodgers to follow Vin Scully with a drunken goofball who constantly mixed up names and game situations, but they didn’t respond to any of my letters or emails. So at least they got a guy who’s worth listening to.
Look at how perfect that home run is, though. It was hit in the slightly thicker April night air, too. No Coors cheapie, that one. Of course, the farthest home run of the year wasn’t a Coors cheapie, either. They both win. It’s a tie.
Hardest-hit home run of the year — Michael Conforto, Sept. 19 (113.2 mph)
If I’m choosing to embed the other team’s broadcast, it’s for a reason. In this case, it’s because the Orioles’ announcers have absolutely had it. With the Orioles in the middle of a miserable second-half stretch — it was so bad that they were losing to the Giants, if you can believe it — play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown calls Conforto’s home run like he’s holding both of his middle fingers up at the field. It sounds like he was going to light up a cigarette only to realize he already had one going. It’s a truly incredible call, and I mean that sincerely.
It wasn’t the most meaningful home run of the year, but it certainly was the fastest. If there’s a twist, it’s that Conforto also had the second- and third-fastest home runs for the Giants this year. If he’s relevant a year from now, hitting all sorts of October bombs for, say, the Guardians, it would only be a minor surprise. Maybe a mid-major surprise.
Of course, the fastest exit velocity for a Giants home run was just the 97th-hardest-hit home run in baseball, which probably says a whole lot. You can still appreciate this home run that was hit really, really hard.
Lowest home run of the year — Matt Chapman, Sept. 3 (17-degree launch angle)
The high, majestic home runs get all of the headlines and the highlights, all of the attention. They get the homecoming king or queen, and they get the convertible to drive them around in.
What about the humble low liner? They’re just as beautiful in their own way. They also require for a baseball to be unraveled, stitch by stitch, by a batter with malicious intent. You can hear the surprise in Duane Kuiper’s voice, and the call even starts with a “hammered into the gap” instead of the traditional “hits it high, hits it deep.” The ball left the ballpark so quickly that Sean Hjelle had no idea that he was about to die until the outfield fence saved him with a reverse-Kinsler.
Not every home run has to be majestic. Some of them can just be violent.
Best-timed home run of the year — Patrick Bailey, May 24
Down three. The end of the game. Bases loaded. Two outs. Grand slam.
It’s one of the most relatable situations in all of baseball. It’s the sugar plum dancing in your head on Opening Day, the same scenario you practiced in your backyard. Except how often do they happen?
They’re extremely rare. This was just the 41st grand slam like it in baseball since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958. They somehow had the other one before this (in 2021), but the last time they did it before then was 1963. These are special home runs. So even though Bailey hit another especially well-timed home run that actually ended a game, this one gets the award for best-timed home run.
People are saying it was the grand slam that buried the Mets and ruined their season once and for all. I can’t confirm, but that’s what people are saying. I wonder what the Mets are doing right now.
Most ridiculous home run of the year (impressive) — Heliot Ramos, June 3
Bob Brenly, who hit one of the greatest home runs in Giants history, wants to blame the wind so badly on this home run. Except there’s a roof. No wind, just vibes.
Ramos hit a flick-of-the-wrist opposite-field homer that somehow went into the level above the pool in one of the deepest center fields in baseball. I’m not sure what kind of career Ramos will end up having, but this is an absurd home run. The breaking ball was lazy, but it was also on the outside edge of the strike zone. That’s a pitch that gets hit for a double into the gap, at best. Instead, it was a ridiculous home run. Perhaps the most ridiculous home run. At least when it comes to ridiculously impressive home runs.
Most ridiculous home run of the year (ridiculous) — LaMonte Wade Jr., May 12
That would have been a home run in one out of 30 ballparks, according to Baseball Savant. It wasn’t the first time that a left-handed hitter thought, “Boy, I’m sure glad I hit that in this ballpark,” but it might have been the second.
Check out the screenshot. You’ve got a catcher standing up to get the 96-mph fastball out of the strike zone and a hitter that looks like he’s about to slip a disc and/or roll an ankle.
This had the highest launch angle (50 degrees) of any homer in baseball this year. It’s tied for the highest launch angle of any home run that left the ballpark in the Statcast era. The only higher home run was an inside-the-parker that might have hit the catwalks in Tampa. This isn’t one of the most ridiculous homers of the year. It might be one of the most ridiculous homers in the ballpark’s history. And it counted just as much.
Best home run while Jon Miller was holding court in the other teams’ broadcast booth — Heliot Ramos, June 8
No commentary on this one, other than it’s awesome to know that other teams get the full Jon Miller experience. That, and I like his point toward the field. He’s talking, but he’s definitely watching. It’s what makes him the best.
Home run of the year (runner up) — Matt Chapman, Sept. 23
The home run that kept the Diamondbacks out of the postseason. Prove me wrong. Guess what, you can’t.
I’m a sucker for inside-the-park home runs, and you probably are too. You can sense when they might happen, and it’s one of the greatest Easter eggs in the sport, like a punt return for a touchdown or a buzzer-beater from beyond half-court. That sense of “no way, no way, oh my goodness” is the progressive jackpot that keeps all of us watching. This is one of the best examples.
I do wonder what would have happened if José Herrera had set up in front of the plate instead of behind it for whatever reason. It was a heckuva throw from Gerardo Perdomo. But it was moreofaheckuva effort from Chapman, who was smelling the inside-the-parker from the moment Jake McCarthy hit the wall.
Home run of the year — Heliot Ramos, Sept. 15
The fastball was 100 mph. The home run would have been a homer in all 30 parks. And it went where no baseball had gone before, not even in batting practice. This, friends, was the first right-handed Splash Hit in history, and it will be celebrated until there’s another one, and then it will be celebrated long after that for being a pioneer.
I embedded the visiting broadcast because the home broadcast was using butt-cam, but the butt-cam is still cool. You can see how it’s a no-doubter, even if that’s not where no-doubters are supposed to go:
A simply incredible home run. And it came in the ninth inning, with the Giants down by a run! It could have come in the fourth inning of a game where the Giants were down by six runs, and it would have been a curiosity and something to celebrate, but it was a perfectly timed homer instead.
It was the home run of the year, in fact. It’s a reminder that even in the most annoying seasons, that there’s always something fun about baseball. Just ignore that none of these glorious home runs are in October, and you’ll have a great time reminiscing.
(Photo of Ramos flipping his bat after a home run: Alika Jenner / Getty Images)
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