PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, NOVEMBER 27, 2020
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Dave Zalubowski/Associated Press
Joe Panik has played for three teams over his seven-year big league career. He was also one of
the key members of the San Francisco Giants squad that won the World Series in 2014.
#8 Joe Panik
BY MATT RAWLINGS
Of the Keizertimes
At #8 on the Keizertimes
list of the greatest Volcanoes
players of all time is Joe Pan-
ik. Panik has won a Gold
Glove, a World Series ring,
and appeared in an All-Star
Game over his seven-year
career.
Panik grew up in New
York and played college
baseball at St. John’s Uni-
versity in New York City. In
his freshman season, Panik
played in the fi rst ever base-
ball game at Citi Field, home
of the New York Mets, on
March 29, 2009.
After a successful sopho-
more season in 2010, Panik
played collegiate summer
ball for the Yarmouth–Den-
nis Red Sox of the Cape
Cod Baseball League, where
he batted .297 and was
named to the East Division
All-Star Team — Panik also
received the league’s sports-
manship award.
The following season,
Panik proved to be one of
the top players in all of col-
lege baseball. Panik compiled
a .398 batting average with
19 doubles, 10 home runs
and 57 RBIs. He also had the
10th best on-base percentage
(OBP) in the country (.509).
Panik was recognized as an
All-American and was a fi -
nalist for the Brooks Wallace
Award, given to the nation’s
best shortstop.
Panik was drafted in the
fi rst round (29th overall) by
the San Francisco Giants
in the 2011 Major League
Baseball (MLB) Draft. He
debuted with the Volcanoes
later that summer and had
one of the best seasons in
franchise history.
Panik was named the
Northwest League’s Most
Valuable Player (MVP) for
the 2011 season after leading
the league with a .341 bat-
ting average, 49 runs scored,
54 RBIs and a .401 OBP.
After he was invited to
spring training with the Gi-
ants in 2012, Panik played his
second year with the orga-
nization in advanced A-ball
with the San Jose Giants,
where he batted .297 with
27 doubles, seven home runs
and 76 RBIs in 130 games.
Panik was promoted
to Double-A in 2013 and
spent the season with the
Richmond Flying Squirrels,
which is when he made the
move from shortstop to sec-
ond base. He batted .257 and
had 27 doubles to go along
with his four homers and 58
RBIs.
In 2014, Panik began the
year in Triple-A with the
Fresno Grizzlies, but on June
21, 2014, Panik was called
up to join the Giants — he
drew a walk in his fi rst MLB
at-bat.
On Aug. 22, 2014, Panik
had one of the best games of
his career with four base hits,
and his fi rst career homer,
against Doug Fister of the
Washington Nationals, in the
Giants 10-3 victory.
Panik appeared in 73
games for the Giants in 2014.
In 269 at-bats, he hit .305
with 10 doubles and a pair
of triples. He fi nished sixth
in National League (NL)
Rookie of the Year voting.
The Giants rewarded Pan-
ik’s stellar play with a spot on
the squad’s playoff roster.
In his fi rst postseason
game, Panik went 3-for-5 in
the Giants 8-0 victory over
the Pittsburgh Pirates in the
National League Wild Card
game.
In game four of the Na-
tional League Division Series
(NLDS) against the Nation-
als, Panik went 2-for-4 with
an RBI and a run scored as
the Giants won the game
3-2 and advanced to the Na-
tional League Championship
Series (NLCS).
Panik came through for
the Giants again in game fi ve
of the NLCS against the St.
Louis Cardinals, blasting a
two-run homer in the bot-
tom of the third off Adam
Wainwright. The Giants
clinched the series with a
6-3 victory and advanced to
their third World Series in
fi ve years.
At the plate, Panik went
6-of-27 with a pair of dou-
bles, a triple and three RBIs
in the 2014 World Series
against the Kansas City Roy-
als. However, the rookie sec-
ond baseman made his mark
on the series thanks to a re-
markable play with his glove
in game seven.
With the game tied 2-2
in the bottom of the third,
the Royals had a runner on
fi rst and one out when slug-
ger Eric Hosmer stepped
to the dish. Hosmer drove
a sharp grounder up the
Volcanoes
players
of all time
middle that appeared it was
heading to the outfi eld for
a base hit. However, Panik
made a full-extended diving
snag and fl ipped to shortstop
Brandon Crawford — who is
also a former Volcano player
— for the force-out. Craw-
ford then hurled the ball to
fi rst in time to get Hosmer
for the 4-6-3 double play.
Hosmer was originally
called safe on the play, but
after a three minute replay
review, the umpiring crew
overruled the original call
— it was the fi rst overturned
call in World Series history
via replay review.
The Giants went on to
clinch their third title of the
Please see PANIK, Page A8
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