#20 Best of 2013: Tanaka’s Debut

From now, until New Year’s Eve, we’ll be counting down the best plays of 2013 from the San Francisco Giants. We’ll move through the season, starting with earlier in and season, and moving down to the last month of baseball. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy the best parts of the 2013 Giants season with us, while we count down some of our favorite plays.

View the full list here as it’s available: #SFGiants 25 Best Plays of 2013

July 9, 2013; San Francisco, CA, USA; San Francisco Giants left fielder Kensuke Tanaka (37) acknowledges the crowd after recording his first MLB hit on a single during the fifth inning against the New York Mets at AT

Since we’re talking about rookie’s major league debuts, we can’t over look Kensuke Tankaka and his big league debut.

"At the top of the second inning, Kensuke Tanaka (playing left field for only the 10th time since 2006) robbed a home run from Andrew Brown by catching a long fly ball to left field. As you can see from the gif below, it was almost a home run. After this spectacular catch, Duane Kuiper answered with “Tanaka! Welcome to AT&T Park!!”"

In the end though, the Giants lost the game and spoiled Tanaka’s debut.

"Barry Zito had his worst outing at AT&T (regular season) since August of 2012 (coincidentally also against the NY Mets). He pitched six innings, allowed 7 H, 5 ER, 4 BBs, 5 SOs, 1 HR and a 4.62 ERA."