Despite being seen as divisional has-beens in their division, the NL West, the San Francisco Giants are looking better than many expected at this very early juncture of the season.
After a recent series in Chicago against the White Sox, the Giants launched no fewer than 13 home runs into the stands at Guaranteed Rate Field. As such, the team now leads the MLB in home runs with 15 of them.
The San Francisco Giants outscored the White Sox by an aggregate score of 31-13 over the series, in which they took two games out of three. Four different Giants players now have two home runs, demonstrating the depth of the team.
"The @SFGiants hit THIRTEEN home runs this series! (MLB X Adobe)" - MLB
Although Giants fans are ecstatic, MLB fans are not so quick to praise the Giants for their solid hitting. Apparently, a good few think that there may be more to the picture than meets the eye.
With names like Melky Cabrera, Marvin Benard, and of course Barry Bonds — all exposed for steroid use during their time with the Giants — csome have clearly not forgotten the unfavorable legacy associated with the team.
Major League Baseball has already seen a drastic uptick in home runs so far this season. Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora even said that the balls "were flying out" this season. Naturally, some have pointed to "juiced ball" conspiracy theories that stipulate that the league is secretly inflating the balls to stimulate offense and increase the number of home runs hit across the entire league.
Former New York Mets star Michael Conforto has been a solid offensive addition to the Giants. The 30-year-old outfielder has four RBIs and a pair of home runs, his latest coming during the San Francisco Giants' 16-6 victory on April 6. Center fielder Mike Yastrzemski also had a strong early season, hitting .240/.296/.600 with two home runs and five RBIs.
The San Francisco Giants will need all the offense that they can get this season
While the early-season fireworks are certainly exciting for the fan base, the San Francisco Giants will need to find a way to keep the power going throughout the year. Flanked by the pitching of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the offense of the Padres, any path to a divisional title this year for the San Francisco Giants will necessarily include a lot of home runs and a lot of strikeouts.