San Francisco Giants: Who was the team’s biggest surprise in 2019?

Alex Dickerson

Written by: Melissa Dickson

With a season that amounted to a mere 77 wins, every San Francisco Giants fan is inclined to
hang onto that 19-6 month of July.

Contrasted with the rest of the 2019 season, those 19 wins seem more dream than reality. So, who started it?

My vote: Alex Dickerson.

On June 21, Dickerson made his Giants debut in Arizona. After his already impressive line-drive single in the second inning, he faced Taylor Clarke again in the third, this time with the bases loaded and two outs.

Grand slam.

A surprise? It was a shock for fans, players, and management. The Giants were struggling to score, let alone win games with such energy. The bottom line was that a somewhat dejected team had stumbled upon a gem that had been sitting in San Diego for too long.

When Dickerson was in the lineup, the team was nearly unstoppable, winning 15 out of the 20 games he played in July.

He turned into the spark that I would argue Bruce Bochy’s bench had been lacking ever since Hunter Pence put on a Texas Rangers jersey. The most iconic addition was, of course, the “Dick, Dick, Dick!” chant that jump-started soon after his debut, and stuck.

There was life in Oracle Park.

Every player had a chant and to the surprise of everyone in baseball, the Giants became the team to beat in the middle of summer. Unfortunately, it didn’t last.

Right on time, on August 1, the newly beloved Dickerson was placed on the injured list and the team quickly found themselves struggling to score runs once again.

So, which San Francisco Giants player was the biggest surprise in 2019?

Undoubtedly, it was left fielder, No. 8, Alex Dickerson.