SAN FRANCISCO — On the day Major League Baseball honors its most famous Puerto Rican, hours after the Giants celebrated the life of another icon from the island, their up-and-coming outfielder from Humaico etched his own name into the history books.
Heliot Ramos’ game-tying home run in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon wasn’t enough to secure a win against the Padres, but it was notable in its own right. When it landed, 394 feet away, the first thing it hit was water.
Ramos became the first right-handed hitter in the 25-year history of Oracle Park to splash down in McCovey Cove. Making it even more special, he said, he did it while wearing No. 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente and with Orlando Cepeda front-and-center in his mind.
“First righty ever? This a big organization. It has a lot of great legends. So for me to be the first one to do it, it’s insane to me,” Ramos said. “It’s a great day. We lost obviously, but it’s a special day because I did that (on Roberto Clemente Day).”
The home run was Ramos’ 21st of the season and snapped the longest power drought of his young career. It had been 17 games since he last left the yard, stuck in an 11-for-64 (.172) slump with 16 strikeouts and a .440 OPS since his last homer August 27.
“I was just thinking about hitting the ball out front. I know I’ve been hitting the ball hard these past couple weeks, but it’s just been tough for me, man. Mindset and all that, it’s been tough,” Ramos said. “I’ve been grinding. I’ve been fighting. So in that at-bat, I didn’t care. I just went out there and swung, got a good pitch to hit, and I knew he was throwing 100, so I gotta get ready for it.”
The feat was so rare that it was going to require unique conditions to accomplish it. Ramos’ opposite-field power, Robert Suarez’s 100.2 mph fastball and a blustery afternoon proved to be the perfect storm.
“Nice little feather for him,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Where he hits, his sweet spot is kind of out there. So, a day game plays into it a little bit. But it’s never been done before, so he’s got to feel pretty good about it.”
Giants third base coach Matt Williams high fives Heliot Ramos (21) after he hit a solo homerun into McCovey cove in the ninth inning as the San Francisco Giants played the San Diego Padres in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
Before the game, Melvin recounted his memories of watching another slugger from Puerto Rico who displayed similar qualities.
“Just the power, the opposite-field power,” Melvin said of Cepeda. “Always a smile on his face. You watch baseball games, and rarely do you see someone look like they’re actually having fun all the time. I think that’s what resonated for me with him.”
There had been 2,021 regular-season games played at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark before Ramos became the first righty to reach the water, but the task might have seemed less daunting had Cepeda played his games there instead of Candlestick Park.
“I wish he had a chance to play in this beautiful ballpark,” Tony Oliva, a fellow Hall of Famer, said in his remarks during Cepeda’s celebration of life that took place before the game.
Accomplishing the task has proven so challenging that the legend has taken on an apocryphal status. Ramos said he had never even done it in batting practice, and so it goes, neither had anyone else, though that would be hard to prove.
It did, perhaps, become to look a little more realistic this week.
San Francisco Giants’ Heliot Ramos celebrates after hitting a home run against the San Diego Padres during the ninth inning of a baseball game in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Related Articles
Willie Mays’ words at Cepeda’s celebration of life put a ribbon on emotional year for SF Giants
Melvin calls out SF Giants for ‘instructional league’ play after third straight shutout loss
After rapid rise to Triple-A, when could SF Giants see first-round pick Bryce Eldridge in the big leagues?
SF Giants mathematically eliminated from NL West in Logan Webb’s shortest start since May 5
SF Giants’ Farhan Zaidi explains how past offseasons will inform their actions this winter
Prior to this home stand, right-handed hitters had only cleared the 25-foot-tall right-field wall 74 times, but it happened three times in the span of six games. Jerar Encarnacion and Jackson Chourio, the Brewers’ 20-year-old phenom, also slugged opposite-field homers.
After Encarnacion’s on Wednesday, Ramos made his intentions known, declaring that he wanted to be the first to reach the water on the fly. According to Melvin, it has been on his mind longer than that.
“He’s been saying that for a while,” Melvin said.
Still, when it comes to slaying a dragon that has stood for 25 years, it takes more than confidence. It requires the juice, too.
“I always knew I had that oppo juice,” Ramos said. “It looks impossible, just by looking at the wall and the weather here. I was like, ‘I don’t know. But I might be able to do it.’ But I was always positive that I was going to do it — and I wanted to do it.”
