SAN FRANCISCO — Before his first game at home in a San Francisco Giants uniform, a relaxed Kevin Pillar spoke to reporters in the Oracle Park clubhouse. Pillar is starting in centerfield, and batting seventh in the home opener. Pillar is a CF by trade, and has played there almost exclusively throughout his career. He believes that may change in 2019.
I was able to talk to (Bruce) Bochy about it a little bit, and I think as of now he might be doing me a little bit of a courtesy of playing me in centerfield,” Pillar said. “Just trying to get my feet wet with a new organization and a lot of new teammates, but I told him I was open to moving to the corners if that’s what he sees as best for this organization. That’s something that’s going to take me a little bit of time.
“I haven’t played the corners in some time. I’d say exclusively the last five years I’ve only played centerfield. I played one game in right field in spring training just because the guy who was the backup centerfielder needed some time out there. It’s just a different game. It’s just different angles and stuff out here, and obviously me playing in this stadium for almost the first time, it’ll be more comforting for me. As we get a little bit more time and I get some more work out in the field. I’ll definitely be trying to get some more reps and trying to acclimated as quickly as possible.”
So far it’s Steven Duggar who has been pushed over, with the youngster starting in right field on Friday for the second game in a row.
