When the Giants host the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight in a matchup of two of the National League's best teams, Hunter Pence will be at Third and King as he has been so many times for the rivalry games. He'll be on the other side of the street before the game, though.
Pence and his wife, Alexis, are opening a pop-up coffee shop for their Pineapple Labs brand at Baseballism, a clothing store across from the ballpark. Pence will serve drinks to some Giants fans, but that'll be nothing new.
Last October, the Pences were at a restaurant in North Beach when the Dodgers got walked off by the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the World Series. He bought shots of limoncello for the restaurant in a moment that ended up going viral. On a recent episode of Giants Talk, Pence explained the full story.
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"Now that I'm not a player I have time to actually experience all the different parts of the city," he said. "I've been trying to check out all these famous places and wonderful areas and really (have) kind of the vacation experience here. A lot of times, a lot of places I go I'm like, 'If I was on vacation here this would be the best vacation ever.'
"That day we were experiencing North Beach and Little Italy and we were having dinner and we were watching the game and it was this crazy comeback. I don't remember exactly but I was like, look, if the Rays come back and win this I'm buying shots for everyone. We were just watching it on the phone through the app and all of a sudden we hear cheers and I'm like, 'Did they do it? Did they do it?' And then we see the whole play and I'm like, 'Shots for (the group)!' ... I had no idea this was going to go on the internet, it was just me making a good time and everyone loved it and apparently someone videotaped it and it got out there."
The Rays won on Brett Phillips' insane walk-off single off Kenley Jansen, briefly giving Giants fans a reason to celebrate what had the potential to be another World Series loss. The Dodgers, of course, won the series. They'll come to Oracle Park as reigning World Series champs, but not the leaders of the NL West. The Giants hold that title after a 6-2 road trip that was capped by a blowout of the Cincinnati Reds.
Pence saw the growth coming as a member of the team last season and has followed this year as a fan. He and his wife have made San Francisco their home, and Pence said he's loving seeing the passion and support away from the field.
San Francisco Giants
"It's a lot of fun. I'm a Giants fan now. It's a great honor," he said on Giants Talk. "They brought me so much joy and so much support and I have nothing but appreciation and humility towards it."