This article first appeared in Sportsnet Magazine’s MLB preview.
Ryan Vogelsong needs a moment to get in character. Matt Cain pries his eyes open so wide they rival the size of baseballs. The San Francisco Giants, as the credits roll on the video commemorating their 2012 World Series win, are doing their best Hunter Pence impressions. There’s a lot of intense staring, and the word "love" is frequently used as they recreate Pence’s signature emotionally charged speeches.
Barry Zito’s tribute even includes references to cooking: "Every time you get a filet mignon, a piece of fish, a piece of chicken you want to put on the grill, you gotta think win!" Sprinkled throughout are shots of Pence experiencing pure delight while watching all these versions of himself on a laptop. The segment is fun, a touch awkward and—judging by the gently mocked man’s effusive reaction—quite effective. In other words, it perfectly mirrors Pence’s play on the diamond.
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Pence came to northern California in a 2012 trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, a couple months before San Francisco won its second championship in three years. When the Giants added a third title last October, they became perhaps the stealthiest dynasty in baseball history, partially because when they don’t win the World Series, they miss the playoffs completely.
Like the club he plays for, Pence’s success sort of sneaks up on you. And while his distinct personality quirks are easy to imitate, don’t even think of trying to mimic the way this guy plays the game; you’re likely to wind up on the ground looking like the crumpled victim of a doomed Twister game. With Pence, it’s best to just sit back, enjoy the show and occasionally remind yourself that behind the ugly swing and sinful stride is a player whose unorthodox aesthetic sometimes distracts from the fact that he’s one of the best players in baseball.
The Giants’ seven-game triumph over the Kansas City Royals last October will long be remembered for the absurdly masterful performance turned in by pitcher Madison Bumgarner. At the plate, though, Pence was the biggest force in the series, batting .444 and knocking in five runs while posting an incredible .500 on-base percentage. He had two hits in the decisive game and scored the contest’s opening run. In his two World Series appearances with the Giants, Pence is batting a spectacular .390 with an on-base percentage of .435.
Numbers like that are obviously unsustainable over the course of an entire season, but Pence has been an extremely productive player since breaking in with the Houston Astros. Dating back to his 2007 rookie campaign, no player has collected more hits in the National League than the 1,349 posted by Pence.
Since 2008, only four players have more home runs in the NL than Pence’s 168, and the 31-year-old is also sixth in doubles, seventh in triples and second in runs scored during that same span. But because those numbers are the result of sustained solidness as opposed to waves of greatness—he’s hit better than .300 just twice in his career and never topped 27 dingers—Pence’s name is often omitted from conversations about the league’s elite.
Making it all the easier to overlook what Pence does on the field is, quite frankly, how he looks when he’s doing it. Batting purists may have to avert their eyes when Pence steps to the plate, but he’s always generated enough bat speed to get the job done. And while the deceptively large Texan—Pence stands six-foot-four and 220 lb.—doesn’t exactly have the athletic grace of Usain Bolt, he still manages to steal his share of bases, including 22 in 2013.
"I guess he can hit, because he hits .280 every year. I guess he can run, because he steals a few bags and scores some runs," says MLB analyst Bill Ripken, before ragging on the right-fielder’s one obvious weakness. "We know he can’t throw, so that one’s out. And yet he’s a solid—I don’t think you can drop ‘superstar’ on him—but he’s an all-star player."
He’s also incredibly valuable to a Giants team that often manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. Last September, San Francisco skipper Bruce Bochy called him the lowest-maintenance player he’s ever managed. And since his arrival in the Bay Area two and a half seasons ago, the gregarious Pence—known for arriving at the ballpark via scooter—has not missed a game. (That will change this year after he sustained a broken forearm early in spring training.)
Though he won’t be in the lineup until late April at the earliest, Pence will surely unleash a motivational monologue or two on his team before they begin the process of defending their World Series title. And while some people’s shots at oratory glory can wear thin, Pence has the credibility to let fly without fear of it landing on deaf ears.
"A lot of times you can look at somebody doing things like that and you can roll your eyes at him," says Ripken. "But if he’s doing it all the time—and in Pence’s case he’s playing 162 games and putting up numbers—then you realize he’s real and it’s genuine."
For everything that can be missed about Pence, authenticity isn’t one of them.