2012 Pablo Sandoval Bobblehead

The San Francisco Giants just released a picture via Twitter of the Pablo Sandoval bobblehead they will be giving away to the first 25,000 fans on August 26th of this year.

Although this is most likely to represent the Panda diving to his left for a grounder, it reminds me of the two occasions last year when Pablo ran down and dove to tag out runners on the base path retreating to 2nd from 3rd.

The 1st was tagging out Chris Iannetta of the Rockies on April 19th 2011. This moment has since been immortalized by Topps on Pablo’s 2012 baseball card.

The 2nd one which most reminds me of the bobblehead (because he is wearing a home uniform) was tagging out Michael Cuddyer of the Twins on June 23rd 2011 for the final out in the 9th inning.

When you watch both these videos you really get a sense of just how mobile and fast Pablo was last year. Regardless of whether it is diving for a grounder or tagging a runner, I am glad to see that the Giants chose an example of the Panda in the field for his bobblehead. Fielding has been a major offseason focus once again coming into this season for Pablo and he deserves recognition. I think his prowess in the field will set him apart from other NL third basemen for years to come and should lead to a much deserved Gold Glove in the near future.

by Raul Rekow Jr.
raulrekowjr@sfpandablog.com