SF Giants' sweet LaMonte Wade Jr. tribute has a very depressing undertone

On Monday night at Oracle Park, the SF Giants took on the Houston Astros and gave a very nice tribute to former Giant LaMonte Wade Jr.

It was a nice gesture for a guy who was very well-liked during his time in San Francisco, but there was also a very depressing undertone.

Wade’s peak with the Giants was his first year in San Francisco back in 2021. That’s when he earned the moniker “Late Night LaMonte” for his clutch hits late in games during the magical season which helped propel the team to a franchise-record 107 wins.

That was five years ago now. It’s been five years since the Giants were actually a good baseball team and made the playoffs. It’s wild to think it’s been that long but seeing him with a different team really just hammers that home.

Perhaps what makes it hit even harder is the fact that the Giants went from that 2021 peak to four straight seasons of abject mediocrity. There were good stretches of baseball from 2022 to 2025 that made you think, ‘Hey, this team could make the playoffs.’ Yet, 2026 has been a disaster pretty much from the start.

At no point other than spring training did this team seem capable of making a playoff run or even finishing above .500, a feat the Giants have not accomplished since…you guessed it, 2021.

Wade was with the Giants last year, as crazy as that seems

It’s also wild to think that Wade was with the Giants just last season. He was their Opening Day first baseman against the Cincinnati Reds and lasted with the team despite a really dreadful slump until June when the Giants pulled the plug and brought in Dominic Smith before making an even bigger move by landing Rafael Devers later that month.

Wade has bounced around from team to team since the Giants let him go but he has done alright in Houston. His .215 batting average isn’t much to look at but he’s drawing a lot of walks which he excelled at in San Francisco as well. His OBP is .348 which is respectable and true to form he drew a walk and scored in extra innings on Monday night when he entered the game as a pinch hitter.

It’s nice to see him playing well with another team, but he is a physical reminder of just how long it’s been since the Giants had that magical 2021 season. After the 2026 campaign it feels like the Giants are further away from making it back to the playoffs than they have been in a while but that 2021 miracle came out of nowhere so maybe they’re due for another random great season.

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