Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
SCOTTSDALE — Mauricio Dubon was more sprinting than drifting. Avisail Garcia had pounded one to deep right center, the center-fielder Dubon craning his neck back to keep his eyes glued to what might be a home run.
He had a good feel for the Scottsdale Stadium outfield and knew when the grass turned to dirt. He jumped, extended his glove, and felt ball meet webbing.
“It was gone,” Dubon said last week. “It was gone because I felt my wrist bending on the yellow [padding at the top]. … That’s been the best catch I’ve made so far in my long outfield career.”
There is sarcasm in a long outfield career that spans all the way back to … last year. In the Giants’ exhibition-season finale on Monday, Dubon was playing center field and batting ninth in an order that very well might be the season-opening order Thursday in Seattle, when the Giants again will face a lefty.
There might not be a more changed player in Giants camp than Dubon, who entered last year’s spring training as an outfield project with little pop or patience. He entered this year’s as an established center fielder who put on about 12 pounds to try to juice up his bat and has made remarkable strides in waiting for his pitch.
He has learned so many facets of the game so quickly, it’s easy to forget that he was a lifetime middle infielder until last year. This year, he’s setting his sights higher than just having a good outfield glove.
Winning a Gold Glove is “the plan,” Dubon said over Zoom. “I always joke around with [outfield coach] Antoan [Richardson], whenever I make a good play, I always look at the patch in the glove and just point it out.”
There is a legitimate case to be made that Dubon is the most important Giants player this season. His improvements at the plate have been obvious — he had nine walks in 46 spring plate appearances entering the finale at Hohokam Stadium with the A’s — his center-field defense has been improved and he’s somehow the club’s backup shortstop. They expect to bring in another option for Triple-A, but the hole behind Brandon Crawford is glaring, and Dubon is the only one filling it at the moment. The hole behind Dubon himself is glaring; Austin Slater and Mike Yastrzemski have received plenty of center-field looks in camp, and LaMonte Wade seems playable, but none are natural center fielders.
At least not the type of natural center fielder that Dubon has suddenly become.
It hasn’t happened alone, with Dubon shouting out Richardson and assistant coach Alyssa Nakken. He doesn’t carry a card in his back packet that instructs him where to position himself for each batter, instead using his instincts and coaches to guide him. Dubon watches swings and pitch breaks and anticipates where the ball is going to go. The coaches are doing the same thing. There’s some give-and-take, and there’s some throwing out.
“I fight with Antoan all the time because he gives me a card and I just throw it right in the garbage,” Dubon said with a laugh.
The system, trash and all, has worked with an athlete who wants to achieve more than just working. He wants a Gold Glove. He wants to prove himself at the plate, with more discipline expected and a particular focus on hitting righties better. He wants all that and a better roster to translate into a playoff spot.
He referenced the simple fact that Buster Posey is back this year as reason to believe.
“We’re going to surprise a lot of people again,” the 26-year-old said. “I said [the same] last year, and we were one game out. Having Buster makes a big difference. We got new pitching, new position players, so it’s going to be a really fun year.”
