Adames becomes first Giant since Bonds to do this

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames (2) runs the bases after his solo home run against the Colorado Rockies in the first inning at Oracle Park. Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

Willy Adames becomes first Giant since Barry Bonds to do this

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Sep 28, 2025 5:40 PM ET

San Francisco Giants shortstop Willy Adames looked like a free-agency flop early in the season. Now, he's done something no Giant had done since 2004.

The Giants hosted the Colorado Rockies on the final day of the regular season on Sunday. On the first pitch in the bottom of the first inning, Adames crushed a 94 mph sinker from Rockies starting pitcher McCade Brown into centerfield for a 417-foot home run.

The moonshot was his 30th homer of the season. Adames is the first Giant to hit this mark since Barry Bonds did so in 2004. (Bonds logged 45 home runs in 147 regular-season games that season.) Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com, San Francisco was the only team without a 30-plus-home-run season during this span.

The feat caps off impressive in-season turnaround for Adames

After finishing 10th in National League MVP voting with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2024, Adames cashed in. He signed a seven-year, $182M contract with the Giants in December, the largest in team history. Initially, it looked like a mistake for San Francisco.

WILLY ADAMES DID IT!!!

He’s the first player with at least 30 home runs for the Giants in a season since Barry Bonds in 2004

The longest active drought without a 30-HR season entering today is OVER

Every other team had at least 6 such seasons from 2005-24 & at least 1 from… https://t.co/GeR7GXCtxZ
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) September 28, 2025

From April 1 to May 31, Adames had just five home runs with an abysmal .213 batting average, via StatMuse. In a story published on May 26, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly gave the Giants a D- for signing Adames in a re-grade of free agency signings.

Since then, the infielder has rebounded. According to StatMuse, he has had 24 homers with a .235 batting average since June 1. Entering Sunday's game, he had a slash line of .224/.318/.417.

And just as importantly, he's been a positive in the locker room. On Friday, Adames was honored with the Willie Mac Award, given to the team's most inspirational player.

"What you see is what you get," Giants manager Bob Melvin said before beating the Rockies, 6-3, on Friday, per MLB.com's Maria Guardado. "He's the same guy every day. He loves playing baseball. Even now, he doesn't want days off. He wants to keep playing baseball. It's enthusiasm, it's support for his teammates, it's energetic every day."

The Giants have work to do this offseason after being eliminated from playoff contention for a fourth consecutive season. However, Adames showing why he was a worthwhile investment is a win for the franchise.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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