Pablo Sandoval's knees crumbled beneath his body, quickly folding underneath him before popping outward as his backside flattened a patch of foul-territory grass at Kauffman Stadium. In pure, unfiltered relief, his arms instinctively roared above his head, the final ball of the 2014 World Series secured in the webbing of the glove on his left hand.
That Pablo Sandoval was never seen again.
Just 26 days later, Sandoval bolted for the Boston Red Sox for a good 90 million reasons. Due to a variety of weight issues and debilitating injuries, however, that tenure was an unmitigated disaster. The Giants, blinded by nostalgia, took on the expensive outcast again this season, in the hopes of restoring a past crowd favorite. That, too, has been a failure.
In a dire campaign, Sandoval was a long shot for fans wanting something to cheer for. Instead, he now owns his own page in a relatively blank novel of Giants infamy.
It's time for the Giants to cut ties for good and finally put the Panda to rest.
A tainted legacy
Once beloved in the Bay, Sandoval was the on-field hero Giants fans clamored for. It wasn't his 2014 celebration's lasting image that enamored him to his fans, but the switch-hitting Venezuelan's offensive performances leading up to the moment.
In what now seems an eternity ago, Sandoval was named MVP of the 2012 World Series against the Detroit Tigers, finishing with an astounding 1.654 OPS in 16 at-bats. In 2014, only Hunter Pence managed a better OPS among Giants starters, though Madison Bumgarner's rare, clinching save earned him World Series MVP honors over both batters anyway.
When Giants fans recall memories of the Panda, they should consist of a World Series home-run hat trick, that final out in 2014, or even hitting for the cycle in 2011.
Not the shell of a player he is now.
He's painful to watch
Sandoval has been awful. There's no way around it.
Since rejoining the Giants, he's started 27 of the 29 games he's appeared in. But, in his 102 at-bats (three more than he had with Boston this season), he has nearly as many strikeouts (18) as he has hits (19).
His combined 47 wRC+ in 2017 between the Red Sox and Giants ties him for the fifth-worst hitter in MLB among players with at least 200 plate appearances this season. He's also been worth minus-1.0 WAR, suggesting he brings even worse value than a freely available replacement player.
Sandoval used to be exhaustively fun to watch. He's not anymore.
A lost season is excruciatingly over
The Giants hoped to compete this season, though they were already languishing in last place in the NL West by June.
Sandoval had potential as a feel-good story in a shambolic season; maybe he would keep fans in seats after the club's record sellout streak ended at 530 consecutive games in July. But, though he cost little-to-nothing on a minor-league deal, it's not even worth keeping him around. Christian Arroyo, the club's No. 1 prospect, is done for the season, but the touted infielder deserves to man the hot corner in 2018.
Sandoval, still set to earn approximately $41 million from the Red Sox until 2020, isn't likely thinking of retirement anytime soon. Only 31 years old, he's also not likely to settle for a backup role.
For that, the Giants should let this Pablo Sandoval go in order to better remember him as the Bay Area hero he once was.
(Photos courtesy Action Images)
