Pablo Sandoval

Pablo Sandoval
San Francisco Giants – No. 48
Infielder
Born: August 11, 1986 (1986-08-11) Puerto Cabello, Venezuela
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 14, 2008 for the San Francisco Giants
Career statistics (through August 23, 2011)
Batting average	.314
Home runs	64
Runs batted in	247
Teams
San Francisco Giants (2008–present)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2010) All Star selection (2011) Hit for the cycle (September 15th, 2011) NL Player of the Week (2011)

Pablo E. Sandoval (born August 11, 1986), nicknamed Kung Fu Panda, is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. Sandoval is a 5'11", 237 pound switch hitter. He was born left handed, but did not want to have to play outfield all of his career. He therefore taught himself to throw right handed as well. He can still throw with both hands, but throws right handed during games.

Minor leagues

Signed as an undrafted free agent in 2002, Sandoval began his professional career as a catcher in 2004 with the AZL Giants, hitting .266 with no home runs and 26 RBIs in 177 at bats.

In 2005, he was used almost entirely as a third baseman while playing for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. He hit .330 with three home runs and 50 RBIs. His batting average slumped in 2006 to .265. He had one home run and 49 RBIs with the Augusta GreenJackets that year, splitting time between first and third base. In 2007, he played for the San Jose Giants, hitting .287 with 11 homers and 52 RBIs. That season, he was used as a catcher and first baseman.

In 2008, he spent time with two minor league teams, the Single-A San Jose Giants and the Double-A Connecticut Defenders, before being called up to the majors. In 273 at bats for San Jose, he hit .359 with 12 home runs and 59 RBIs. In 175 at bats with Connecticut, he hit .337 with 8 homers and 37 RBIs. In total, he hit .350 with 20 home runs and 96 RBIs in 2008.

Major leagues

Sandoval was called up to the Majors on August 13, 2008. He debuted the next day, August 14, going 0-for-3. In his first MLB plate appearance, he hit a sacrifice fly for an RBI. He got his first hit in the second inning of his next game, August 16, on his way to going 3-for-5. In 41 games in 2008, he hit .345 with 3 home runs and 24 RBI, striking out only 14 times in 154 at-bats. He hit his first MLB home run on August 27 off of Livan Hernandez of the Colorado Rockies.

On defense, the Giants have used him as a catcher for pitcher Barry Zito, who gave Sandoval the nickname Kung Fu Panda. He received the nickname after a play on September 19, 2008, where he scored a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers by jumping over the tag of catcher Danny Ardoin, scoring from second base on a single by Bengie Molina.

In 2009 spring training, he batted .457, leading all batters with 80 or more at bats. On May 12, 2009, Sandoval hit his first walk-off home run to beat the Washington Nationals 9–7. In 2008, he had 145 at bats, he batted .345, while hitting into only 6 double-plays. After 73 games played, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Scott Ostler wrote that Sandoval had made the most impressive transition from the Giants farm system since 1986 when Will Clark and Robby Thompson were rookies.

Sandoval's first days in the majors were marked by a tendency to free swing. Giants hitting coach Carney Lansford noted that Sandoval contributed to the team's drawing the fewest walks in the National League at a time when the overall number of walks throughout baseball had increased. "As much as I try to get him to be disciplined, it's like caging a lion. He leaves the dugout ready to swing the bat. I literally tell him before every at-bat, 'Swing at a strike." Sandoval himself characterized his approach as: "See ball, swing." In July 2009, he was named a Sprint Final Vote candidate for the 80th annual All-Star Game for the final roster spot on the National League team. He was beat out by Shane Victorino of the Philadelphia Phillies on the last day of voting.

On July 6, 2009, Sandoval hit his first career grand slam at home at AT&T Park against the visiting Florida Marlins.

On July 30, 2009, Sandoval hit his first home run into McCovey Cove on Willie McCovey's 50th anniversary of his MLB Debut with McCovey in attendance. At the time of the home run, McCovey was being interviewed by Giants commentators Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow on the Giant's flagship station CSN Bay Area. Sandoval also made Giants history for most hits by a Giants switch-hitter in a single season with 189 in 2009.

Sandoval finished the 2009 season with the second-highest batting average among NL hitters, at .330, and finished seventh in NL MVP voting.

Sandoval, however, saw a sophomore slump in 2010, with a .268 batting average, 13 home runs, and 63 RBI. Sandoval hired Triple Threat Performance of Tempe, AZ to help him lose weight over the offseason and to help improve his performance. By the time that Spring Training started he had lost a reported 38 pounds. In his first three 2011 Spring Training games, Sandoval connected for 2 home runs.

Entering 2011, the Giants made a publicized campaign called "Operation Panda," which was aimed at getting Sandoval into better shape during the offseason and shedding the extra pounds. "Operation Panda" worked masterfully, with the third baseman losing 30-plus pounds, and more importantly, it led to results on the field for Sandoval. After a subpar 2010 season, Sandoval returned to 2009 form. He got off to a good start in 2011 but however suffered a broken hamate bone in late April and missed 4–6 weeks. On July 10th, 2011, Sandoval was selected to the National League All-Star team. In his first All-Star at bat, Sandoval hit an RBI ground-rule double and NL won 2011 MLB All-Star Game.

On September 15, 2011, Sandoval hit for the cycle at Colorado against pitcher Jhoulys Chacin. He had (in order) a two-run HR in the 1st, single in the 2nd, double in the 5th and a triple in the 6th. On September 19, 2011, Sandoval earned his first career "NL Player of the Week" Award. In 2011, Sandoval hit .315 with 23 home runs and 70 RBI's, which is a significant improvement from 2010. He only had 462 at-bats which is a lot less than his other at-bat season totals in 2009, and 2010.

Personal

Sandoval was born in Puerto Cabello, Carabobo, Venezuela. Sandoval is a devout Roman Catholic, and blesses himself after each base hit. He attributes his success to his faith, saying it is important to be “seizing the opportunities offered in life by God and the need to fight tirelessly, not to survive but to excel.”

External links

• Official website
• Pablo Sandoval on Twitter
• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)