SF Giants Press Clips Friday, March 3, 2017
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SF Giants Press Clips Friday, March 3, 2017 San Francisco Chronicle Hunter Pence embraces ‘social’ in social media John Shea SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Being Hunter Pence means being open to the public and inviting fans into a world extending well beyond baseball. It also means being a bit different. OK, a lot different. “I don’t really see myself as that big of a deal,” said Pence, speaking in a self-deprecating way that makes him even more of a big deal. Pence, the Giants’ quirky right fielder, is approaching his 11th big-league season and first as a married man. He said he’s the “same Hunter,” at least in how he carries himself as a ballplayer. He’s still unorthodox when he throws, swings and runs. He still has wild hair and wears his pants legs above his knees. He’s still the most positive guy in the clubhouse. He’s still an easy person to know and appreciate. His offseason marriage to Alexis Cozombolidis hasn’t changed his willingness to share his private life. In fact, he seems even more willing. 1 “A lot of people highly value their privacy, and I totally respect that,” Pence said. “We really enjoy sharing this journey and what it’s like behind the scenes. “Alexis inspired me to do a lot more on social media. She kind of pushed me. It is fun to show your personality and let fans know what’s going on, and she kind of encouraged me to let them know who I am. “She’ll say ‘Tweet that.’ Or ‘send out that picture.’ OK.” Pence is on Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat and Facebook, a far cry from many players who prefer their privacy once they walk off the field. It’s easy to understand considering they’re already in the limelight, on the Internet and spread across the nation’s sports pages. Pence uses social media, often cleverly, to communicate and motivate. Promote a charity or upcoming event. Provide a thought for the day. Or just get goofy. For example: “Suspenders are the fanny packs of suits.” And: “I think they should do a re-make of Captain Planet.” And: “My #ThursdayThought is drink coffee, hit homers, repeat.” When Pence fouled a ball off his face (as only he could) and was left with a nasty black eye, he posted a picture of himself in a Pence-ian pose with these words: “I forget that I have a black eye and scare people.” When he posted a picture of the couple’s spot-on Halloween costumes — he as Napoleon Dynamite, she as Pedro — it went viral. Did we mention he posted the video of his proposal to Alexis at Disney World? “Alexis said whenever I proposed to her, she wanted it filmed,” Pence said. “If you saw the actual proposal, I sounded like an idiot. Good thing for the editing, it made me look a lot better. 2 I did a terrible job of proposing. Even she was like, ‘What were you doing?’ Yeah, I was nervous.” Pence has taken his openness to a new level since Alexis came into his life. She’s a video aficionado, worked at the gaming outfit IGN and, like Hunter, is an open book on social media. Her video clips chronicling the couple’s unique adventures are must-see for Giants fans. “People want that,” Pence said. “I mean, it’s good for players to grow themselves, too, by building a following, by showing the world who they are, what their interests are. It’s only beneficial, really.” Is it all positive? “Mostly positive. Not all positive,” Pence said. “You can’t please everyone no matter what you do.” Is it ever a distraction? “People can claim anything’s a distraction,” Pence said. “I get tweets saying, ‘You should be hitting off the tee.’ Trust me, you can’t hit off the tee 24/7. If you make an out, you’re told, ‘You need to be practicing more.’ That’s now how it works.” Coffee tastes and video games are hot topics for Pence, who’s known to some people for his motorized scooters and Hunter Pence signs, which were the rage a few seasons back and a forum for fans to poke fun at him. Those signs became popular after Pence, with the help of his then-girlfriend Cozombolidis, posted a picture of him holding a coffee mug in a straight-out-of-“Seinfeld” diner in New York with the words: “These pretzels are making me thirsty.” Suddenly, fans around the majors were compelled to bring signs to games: 3 “Hunter Pence puts ketchup on his hot dog.” “Hunter Pence eats pizza with a fork.” “Hunter Pence can’t parallel park.” Pence used social media to solve a crime, too, notifying the public that his scooter was stolen from outside the Epic Roasthouse on the Embarcadero. Pence, who got his scooter back — he thanked Batkid — wound up having his wedding reception at Epic with this theme: “Game of Thrones Meets Harry Potter.” The wedding day was so epic that the Giants signed an outfielder as a result. General manager Bobby Evans invited fellow wedding guest Michael Morse to try prolonging his career. He’s in camp as a non-roster player. The Pence-Morse bromance continues. “It’s awesome,” Pence said. “He looks incredible. He’s got that presence, personality, charisma, leadership, the X factor with the bat. He brings that world-class power to the plate. It’s nice to have lurking.” Pence, who turns 34 in April, has a new goal for 2017. Not to play every game as he did in 2013 and 2014, but to stay healthy all season. He says now that playing every game “was detrimental to me. I think if you take a day here or there, it refreshes you and helps you out a lot.” Injuries limited Pence to 52 games in 2015 and 106 last season. He’s no longer stubborn about demanding to be in every day. He’s about staying healthy and getting max production when he does play. He’s also about letting the public know all about it. Life goes on. And it goes on for all to see. 4 John Shea is The San Francisco Chronicle’s national baseball writer. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @JohnSheaHey Pence’s social media channels Twitter: @hunterpence Instagram: @hunterpence Snap Chat: hpiece8 Facebook: www.facebook.com/hunterpence8 San Francisco Chronicle Cueto on his way to Giants camp, will skip WBC first round Henry Schulman SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Johnny Cueto is coming to the desert, and the Giants could not be happier. The No. 2 starter finally secured a passport and a visa for his ailing father, and the two were expected to fly to Arizona late Thursday or Friday morning. When they arrive, Cueto will have more than a month to prepare for his first regular-season start, which should be sufficient. “Oh yeah, no problem,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “Especially the way he’s been throwing. We had him on a program. In a way it’s similar to last spring, and that worked out well.” Had Cueto reported on time nearly three weeks ago, he would have headed to Florida for the World Baseball Classic on Sunday. But the Giants understand he will skip the first round of the tournament, with decisions on subsequent rounds to come. Cueto has faced hitters at the Giants’ academy in the Dominican Republic and might not need much time before he appears in a Cactus League game, although Bochy might have him throw batting practice first. General manager Bobby Evans shed more light on Cueto’s delayed arrival. Cueto phoned Evans before the Feb. 13 report date and said he wanted to bring his father to Arizona as Domingo Cueto ’s primary caregiver. Giants officials in the Dominican attempted to fast-track a U.S. visa for the elder Cueto only to learn his passport had expired. 5 Domingo Cueto needed to renew the passport in person, which was difficult given his physical condition. Once that happened, the Giants helped the pitcher secure his father’s visa. But that can take two weeks even if accelerated. Cueto’s arrival should enliven the camp at a time when things can drag. “We’re all excited to see Johnny,” pitcher Matt Moore said. “He’s a very big part of what’s going on around here. He’s got good energy. Hopefully everything is all right with him.” WBC boys: Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford are leaving for the WBC on Monday. Both have work to do. Posey missed his second consecutive game with a stiff neck. Bochy said Posey felt much better than Wednesday and wants to catch Friday’s game against the A’s. So far, Posey has totaled just nine defensive innings and batted four times. Bochy hopes Posey can catch six or seven innings Friday and again Sunday. “He said his legs feel as good as they ever have in spring training,” Bochy said. “My biggest concern is, we’d like to send him off with his timing at the plate, but he’s only had four at-bats.” Crawford has been playing, but an 0-for-3 Thursday left him 1-for-11 on the spring. He said he cannot be concerned with results, despite the looming international competition, because finding his timing is more important. “Once I get out there it will be pretty easy to get in game mode,” Crawford said. “You want everything to be a little more season-ready because you want to do well in the WBC.