SF Giants: LaMonte Wade Jr. hopes to get ball from historic Splash Hit

A lifelong SF Giants fan returned the ball LaMonte Wade Jr. hit into McCovey Cove on Friday night, and the first baseman hopes to give it to his mom.

Marc Delucchi | Jun 3, 2023

SF Giants: LaMonte Wade Jr. hopes to get ball from historic Splash Hit /

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San Francisco Giants

While the SF Giants lost to the Orioles on Friday night, dropping their third consecutive game, first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. made history by blasting the 100th Splash Hit in Oracle Park's history. The lead-off homer was Wade's fifth career Splash Hit, bringing him into a tie with Denard Span, Mike Yastrzemski, and Joc Pederson on the Giants all-time Splash Hit leaderboard.

SF Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a solo home run against the St. Louis Cardinals on April 26, 2023. — SF Giants first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. celebrates in the dugout after hitting a home run. (2023) / John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

"They showed a video out there of all the Splash Hits that've happened," Wade mentioned after the game. "That was really cool to see that. It started off with Barry and Craw and Belt and all those guys. Yaz hitting balls in the water. I saw Pablo hit one in there, Dickerson. Just to be a part of that group means a lot. To hit the 100th one is really special."

The fan who corralled the ball in McCovey Cove was willing to give the ball back for a couple of signed balls, a signed bat, and a picture with Wade. While it's conceivable that the Giants could want the ball to add to the park's collection, it does not sound like their first baseman will be too happy if the ball stays at Oracle.

"I don't know who it goes to, but I think personally, it should go to me," Wade said. "I would like to keep it. So, I'm pretty sure we're going to have some discussions and negotiations about that, but I think it should be mine."

Wade knows exactly what he wants to do with the ball if it ends up in his possession, deliver it to his mother, Emily. It's hard to imagine the Giants will say no to that.

"I'm going to give it straight to my mom," who has developed a nice collection of souvenirs from her son's career. Wade joked that she probably already had her eye on the newest prize. "I know that's her buzzing my phone right now."

His homer on Friday night was the latest highlight from a breakout season for the SF Giants first baseman. LaMonte Wade Jr. is now hitting .271/.407/.459 with six doubles, a triple, and eight home runs on the season. He currently ranks eighth in MLB in fWAR (1.4) among qualified first baseman and has an outside shot of receiving his first selection to the All-Star Game this summer.

Published Jun 3, 2023

MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).