SAN FRANCISCO — Batting follow was non-obligatory for the Giants’ place gamers Monday, following a late-night arrival again dwelling from St. Louis.
Nonetheless, a smattering of gamers gathered across the cage inside Oracle Park to observe a pair different athletes take some hacks.
Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, the San Jose Sharks’ prime picks within the 2024 and 2023 drafts, respectively, and their two largest younger stars, traded of their skates for spikes and took BP earlier than the Giants started their homestand in opposition to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Celebrini’s lineage is well-known in these elements, the son of Warriors head coach Rick Celebrini, however do you know Smith’s household tree runs deep in baseball? He’s the nice, nice grandson of the previous White Sox proprietor Charles Comiskey and likewise performed shortstop rising up earlier than deciding on hockey.
The San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini, left, and Will Smith speak to Giants hitting coach behind the batting cage at Oracle Park on Monday, September 8, 2025. (Evan Webeck / Bay Space Information Group)
It confirmed, as Smith may virtually go because the Dodgers catcher by the identical title, lining just a few pitches into the outfield with a easy right-handed swing. Celebrini stopped taking part in baseball when he was 7 years outdated and didn’t look fairly as pure from the left facet.
“These guys, their hand-eye (coordination) is probably as good as it gets,” supervisor Bob Melvin mentioned.
Each gamers despatched a pair balls to the warning monitor, however neither will problem Brandin Podziemski as the perfect cross-sport efficiency. (The Warriors guard put one over the right-field wall when he paid a go to final season.)
The Sharks open their season Oct. 9 and coaching camp is already underway, giving the gamers a handy excuse for his or her lack of home-run swings.
“We had a good day of practice and a workout, so we were a little gassed coming in,” Smith mentioned. “No excuses, though.”
Melvin joked, “I’m guessing these guys are low-ball hitters,” however the slap-shooters’ kind on the ice didn’t translate, based on Smith. He spent his offseason taking loads of swings on the golf course, too, and that was no assist, both.
“It’s a lot different,” Smith mentioned. “A lot different.”
The gamers obtained a tour of the Giants’ services, become team-issued exercise gear and donned custom-made jerseys, then took some cuts within the indoor batting cage to organize for his or her public spectacle. Hitting coach Pat Burrell, outfielder Drew Gilbert and infielder Christian Koss offered some pointers.
“They were just trying to help us hit,” Smith mentioned. “We were listening the best we could.”
“I was just trying to make contact,” Celebrini added. “It’s a deep fence.”
Initially Revealed: September 8, 2025 at 5:22 PM PDT
