Pablo Sandoval knew he was leaving Giants last year
New Red Sox third baseman knew he was leaving San Francisco last year
Pablo Sandoval was coming off his third World Series win in five years with the team that signed him as an amateur free agent, a team that presumably included many of his friends plus a good baseball situation. From the outside, it would have seemed like an upset if the fan-favorite third baseman hadn’t returned to the team known for a penchant for keeping its own free agents.
And yet, he now says he never gave real consideration to returning.
In an interview with Bleacher Report’s Scott Miller, Sandoval reveals that leaving the Giants was “not hard at all.”
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“If you want me around, you make the effort to push and get me back.”
Sandoval says that the failed talks for a contract extension last spring were the last straw for him and the Giants.
“I knew early in spring training last year I was going to leave,” Sandoval said. “They didn’t respect my agent. Contract talks, everything. The way [Giants general manager] Brian Sabean talked to my agent.”
Sandoval says the Giants offered him more money in free agency, but that wasn’t enough to change his mind.
“The Giants made a good offer, but I didn’t want to take it,” he said. “I got five years (and $95 million) from Boston. I left money on the table in San Francisco.
“It is not about money. It is about how you treat the player.”
Sandoval also claims he won’t miss many members of the Giants team and organization.
“Only [Giants manager Bruce] Bochy,” Sandoval said when asked who he’ll miss. “I love Boch. He’s like my dad. He’s the only guy that I miss. And Hunter Pence. Just those guys.”
Consider yourself burned, everyone else on the Giants. Apparently Sandoval won’t miss any of his teammates except Pence, or any of his coaches but Bochy. That’s cold, Panda.
Many were wary of Sandoval in free agency, considering his weight issues and free-swinging approach, and though it wasn’t advisable to give him a long-term deal. That may have been the Giants’ approach, and that might have been what offended Sandoval.
We don’t know exactly what the Giants did to “disrespect” Sandoval, but it appears to have a lot to do with his agent and how he was treated in meetings with the team.
In any case, his new team, the Red Sox, is happy to have him. Sandoval should be a key piece of the turnaround effort in Boston, as they hope to follow up another last-place finish with a World Series championship, again.
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