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The San Francisco Giants still have high hopes of contending for a World Series trophy despite having failed to reach the heights they reached in 2021 over the past two seasons. Sure, their 2024 campaign may not have ended on the best note, having lost to the San Diego Padres 6-4 on Opening Day, but left fielder Michael Conforto’s confidence remains sky-high — after all, it is an even year, and Giants fans, of all people, would know the magic that comes with a year that ends in an even number.
Conforto, despite batting seventh in the order, had a big night, claiming a hit in three of his four at-bats, including a home run, while crossing the plate three times to represent the Giants’ only consistent option at the plate all night long. With this blazing start to the season, the 31-year old left fielder is gunning for a Barry Bonds-owned franchise record that hasn’t been in touched in 17 years.
“There’s one other thing that hasn’t happened since Barry: That’s a 30-homer season,” Conforto said despite the Giants’ loss to the Padres, according to Susan Slusser of The Athletic.
Michael Conforto does have the talent to hit 30 long balls in 2024 for the Giants. After all, he did finish with 33 home runs back in the 2019 season. But that may be too lofty of a goal for him to pursue given where he is in his career.
Can Michael Conforto reach 30 home runs in 2024?
Michael Conforto’s best asset on the plate is his plate discipline and his batting eye; his walk rate has remained mostly steady throughout his career, not falling below 8.8 percent, which he posted in his rookie campaign. He added power to his game beginning in 2017, when he smacked 27 home runs in 440 plate appearances, which he then carried over in the subsequent seasons (28 and 33 in 2018 and 2019, respectively).
However, Conforto hasn’t carried over that level of production into the 2020s. He posted the worst slugging percentage of his career in his last year with the New York Mets in 2021, and then shoulder surgery sidelined him for the entirety of 2022. With the Giants, Conforto hasn’t regained his power production, hitting 15 dingers in 470 plate appearances last year.
His strong effort on Opening Day lends credence to the idea that he could be in for a monster year. Perhaps being another year removed from his shoulder surgery would do him a world of good. But the trajectory of his career over the past few years makes that goal of reaching the 30-home run mark a difficult one.
Giants’ history of left fielders, post-Barry Bonds
According to Slusser, the Giants have started different left fielders in each of the past 17 Opening Days after Barry Bonds left the team following the 2007 season.
These are the players the Giants counted on as their starting left fielders to begin the 2008-2024 seasons, in order: Dave Roberts, Fred Lewis, Mark DeRosa, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Gregor Blanco, Nori Aoki, Angel Pagan, Jarrett Parker, Hunter Pence, Connor Joe, Alex Dickerson, Austin Slater, Joc Pederson, Blake Sabol, and finally, Michael Conforto.
The lack of consistency for the Giants at the position is startling (this is without going into the issue of whether or not the Giants should have brought Barry Bonds back in 2008). But Conforto can definitely make the position his for the long run if he channels the form he had from 2017 to 2019.
More must-reads:
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