SAN FRANCISCO _ A Giants season that defied all expectations, nearly all of them in catastrophic and disappointing ways, concluded in a manner that nobody could have foreseen in those heady spring afternoons in Scottsdale.
Pablo Sandoval came through contrition and launched a baseball into the right field arcade, snapping a tie in the ninth inning and sending the Giants to a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park.
Maybe next year, all the rest will be forgiven, too.
Sandoval spurned the Giants as a free agent two years ago and then returned with his Panda tail between his legs after the Boston Red Sox released him. Can there be any doubt he will be a part of the Giants franchise moving forward?
A few innings prior to that, Hunter Pence rolled in the grass, winced in an expression of pain, and pulled a pearled baseball from his glove.
The Giants concluded arguably the most disappointing, most frustrating, most soul-shredding season in their six decades in San Francisco on Sunday. Pence gave maximum effort to the very end while helping them avoid their 99th loss.
They will need that kind of spirit and resiliency no matter what the front office does to augment a roster that broke down in so many places this year. The Giants went 64-98. They finished with the worst record in the major leagues for the first time since 1984, and just the second time since 1902.
They will select second overall behind the Detroit Tigers in next June's draft _ and there will be considerable pressure with that pick. The only time the Giants drafted as high as second overall, they took Will Clark.
They would've had the first overall choice if not for Sandoval's drive off Padres right-hander Phil Maton, and a victory over the team that had been designed to finish last in the NL West.
The Giants weren't supposed to tank this season. A year ago, they held baseball's best record at the All-Star break and then backed into the playoffs before Madison Bumgarner punched them past the New York Mets in the NL wild-card game. When the Giants reported to Scottsdale more than six months ago, expectations were high for a return to October baseball.
Instead, they finished the season with a win against a team, the Padres, that was built to lose. The Giants lost the season series to every single NL West rival. They even went 7-12 against the Padres while finishing 40 games behind the division champion Los Angeles Dodgers _ their largest deficit to end a season since 1943.
So here's something that deserves fan appreciation: the Giants are done playing baseball in 2017.
No more sitting through long innings. No more getting outmuscled by opponents with louder lineups. No more blown saves, on those rare occasions when they had a lead to protect.
The Giants hit 128 home runs, the fewest in the major leagues. That is not unique. They hit the fewest home runs in 2012, which ended with a World Series parade on the steps of City Hall.
But their balsa wood bats looked more out of place than ever amid the context of a record-setting summer for home runs. And their lack of athleticism didn't give them another channel to score runs.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy picked an ironic set of words, then, to describe what went wrong:
"Touch 'em all," Bochy said last week. "Pitching, defense, didn't swing the bats well, injuries. It all played a part."
The Giants' lack of power put them at an extreme disadvantage on the road, where they won just three road series out of 26, and none after the end of June.
Posey doubled and walked in two at-bats before exiting on a double switch with a .320 average, his highest since he won the batting title as part of his 2012 NL MVP campaign. But Posey also finished with 12 home runs and just 67 RBIs, his fewest in a full season in his career.
It caused so much consternation last year when Posey hit just three home runs after the All-Star break. This year, he hit two.
In a season when 117 players hit at least 20 home runs, none of them were Giants. Brandon Belt, who hasn't played since Aug. 4 because of a concussion, led them with 18.
The pitching was not nearly substantial enough to support such a lean yield.
Johnny Cueto did not have the palpable urgency of a pitcher looking to opt out of his contract and become a free agent this winter. He pitched five innings and allowed 12 hits, one short of his career high, and only left a tie game because the Giants had rallied for three runs in the fourth.
And the outfield defense was a major issue all season. Giants opponents hit 58 triples this season, the most since 1977, and that is not merely a function of the pitchers. The 58th and final triple came off the bat of Padres pitcher Luis Perdomo on Sunday after left fielder Jarrett Parker had trouble digging it out of the left field corner.
But Pence ended his disappointing season with the ball in his glove. He made a full-extension dive to take a hit away from Hunter Renfroe in the seventh inning, and limped back to the dugout while receiving a loud ovation. Gorkys Hernandez pinch-hit for Pence in the bottom of the inning.
And Sandoval ensured what had already become a plain assumption: he will be on the roster again next year, and the Panda hats might multiply in the stands.
After Sandoval's home run sent the Giants romping onto the field, the players remained to address the crowd and give one last serenade to Matt Cain. The retiring former ace broke down as he thanked his family, coaches, teammates and fans.
"The coolest thing about baseball is it allows us to make great memories with friends, families, and a lot of those memories you remember exactly where you've been and what you were doing," Buster Posey told fans. "And we've got a guy retiring who has been a part of those memories in all our lives."
Perhaps the Giants can begin rebuilding those memories next season.
"We promise you," said Bochy to the crowd. "We will be relentless in our quest to get things turned around for the 2018 season."
