Why Duane Kuiper believes Mac Williamson ‘earned his way back' to Giants

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It's the Return of The Mac. Again. 

The Giants have called up outfielder Mac Williamson from Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic. Giants fans have been begging to see Williamson's power back in the big leagues now that he's healthy and red-hot in the minors, and their wish has been answered. 

"At some point you have to call him up or otherwise you lied to him and you can't lie to a player," Giants broadcaster Duane Kuiper said Tuesday morning on KNBR. "And the Giants were true to their word."

Williamson crushed three home runs on Monday night for the Sacramento River Cats. One of the deep flies was even estimated to go a whopping 511 feet. 

Through 23 games, the 28-year-old was hitting .378 with nine home runs and a 1.215 OPS for Sacramento. He's also improved his walk to strikeout ratio and has 11 walks to nine strikeouts in his last 10 games. 

"He has hit his way back," Kuiper said. "... His job is to force the Giants to keep him on this roster, not just for this year, but for the next five years. Or 10 years." 

"Good for him. He's earned his way back." 

[RELATED: Watch Mac Williamson hit 511-foot homer in Triple-A]

Last season, Williamson earned his way up after a swing change saw his power unleashed in Triple-A, but he suffered a concussion tripping over the left field bullpen in San Francisco and never recovered. After a disappointing spring training, he was designated for assignment and sent to Sacramento after clearing waivers. 

The Giants later confirmed the news and made a flurry of moves to get Williamson on the 40-man roster, before Tuesday's scheduled 5:40 p.m. PT first pitch against the Rockies at Coors Field. 

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