No one ever expected the Giants to find another Barry Bonds to play left field.
But you’d think by now they might have found a left fielder who was at least around long enough to make a couple Opening Day starts in a row.
The search continues.
When the Giants open the season this afternoon at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, Heliot Ramos will be their 18th consecutive different left fielder since Bonds made his final Opening Day start in 2007.
That will tie the major league record for the longest such streak at any position. The Orioles, starting in 1937 as the St. Louis Browns through 1955, two years after moving to Baltimore, also started 19 straight Opening Days with a completely different left fielder.
The Giants’ streak began after Bonds had been their Opening Day left fielder for 14 of the previous 15 seasons. The only opener he missed during his Giants career was in 2005. He was recovering from knee surgery and Pedro Feliz became the franchise’s first Opening Day left fielder other than Bonds since Mike Felder in 1992. Other than Bonds, the last Giants left fielder to start consecutive season openers was Kevin Mitchell from 1989-91.
Since moving from New York, it was a position of Opening Day consistency before the start of the streak. From 1958 through 2007 (50 seasons), 19 different players started in left field to begin the Giants’ season. The Giants used 20 center fielders during that same stretch, and Willie Mays started 15 of those openers.
Will Ramos be in left on Opening Day in 2026? Stay tuned.
Here’s a look at the Giants’ Opening Day starters since 2007 and how it went:
2024 — Michael Conforto
How it went: A year after being the Giants’ Opening Day right fielder, Conforto was in left, batting seventh, and had three of their nine hits. He homered with two out in the top of the ninth of a 6-4 loss at San Diego.
Where he went: Conforto played in 130 games, slugging 20 homers with a .237 average, then signed a $17 million, one-year free agent deal with the Dodgers in December.
2023 — Blake Sabol
How it went: The then-25-year-old made his MLB debut, batting eighth at Yankee Stadium, and went 0 for 2 before being replaced by pinch-hitter David Villar in a 5-0 loss to the Yankees.
Where he went: The Giants had to keep the Rule 5 draft pick on the roster the entire season and he was going to open the season on the roster after tearing up the Cactus League. But with Mitch Haniger hurt, Sabol got the start. He hit 13 home runs, but mostly struggled in 110 games, and then spent most of last season in the minors. He came off the 40-man roster and was traded to the Red Sox when the Giants signed Justin Verlander in January.
2022 — Joc Pederson
How it went: In his first game with the Giants after signing a hometown discount $6 million, one-year deal, the former Palo Alto High star batted cleanup. He went 0 for 1 with a walk before he came out in the sixth inning for pinch-hitter Austin Slater, who had the walk-off double in a 6-5 extra-inning home win over the Marlins.
Where he went: Pederson’s return home couldn’t have gone much better. He hit .274 with 23 home runs and made the All-Star team. He returned in 2023 on a $19.65 million, one-year deal and was in the Opening Day lineup — at DH, where he made 72 of his 105 starts. Pederson then signed a $12.5 million, one-year deal with Arizona.
2021 — Austin Slater
How it went: Slater made the Opening Day roster four times in his eight seasons here. In his only Opening Day start, he batted leadoff and went 1 for 3 with a walk, including a solo home run in an 8-7 loss in Seattle.
Where he went: Slater played in left field on Opening Day a year later — it was just the final five innings. Slater pinch hit for Pederson in the sixth inning and won the game with his bat.
2020 — Alex Dickerson
How it went: Batting cleanup, Dickerson went 2 for 4 to open the season that had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Giants lost 8-1 to the Dodgers in L.A.
Where he went: Dickerson, who made a splash after a late-season trade from the Padres in 2019, hit .298 with 10 home runs in 52 games during the truncated season. In 2021 he played in a career-high 110 games, but primarily in a platoon/defensive replacement role — he was one of 10 different players to start in left field that season — and was released that November.
2019 — Connor Joe
How it went: After nearly a dozen left field candidates failed to establish themselves in spring training, the Giants acquired Joe from the Reds barely a week before the opener. He made his MLB debut at Petco Park and, batting sixth, went 0 for 1 with a walk before being lifted for pinch-hitter Gerardo Parra in a 2-0 loss to San Diego.
Where he went: Joe lasted just eight games with the Giants. He was 1 for 15 when he was returned to the Dodgers, who originally had selected him in the Rule 5 draft. Joe was one of 13 players the Giants started in left that season.
2018 — Hunter Pence
How it went: After starting in right field four of the previous five seasons, Pence moved over to make room for Andrew McCutcheon. Batting sixth, he had two hits in a 1-0 win over the Dodgers in L.A.
Where he went: The World Series hero battled injuries through the worst full season of his career, batting .226 and appearing in just 97 games. A year later, at the age of 36, he made the All-Star team with the Rangers.
2017 — Jarrett Parker
How it went: Parker was entering his third season with the Giants, out of options and had a blistering spring to win the job. Batting seventh, he was hitless in two at-bats before being lifted for pinch-hitter Gorkys Hernandez in a 6-5 loss in Arizona.
Where he went: Parker opened the season 0 for 13 and was back in Triple-A by the end of April. He returned later in the season and hit .262 over the final two months, but was released just before the end of spring training in 2018.
2016 — Angel Pagán
How it went: After starting in center the previous four openers, Pagán batted ninth and was 1 for 4 with a walk in a 12-3 win in Milwaukee.
Where he went: Pagán, whose defense was slipping, moved to left for the first time since 2010 when the Giants brought in Denard Span to play center. He got off to a hot start and hit .277 with 12 home runs in 129 games and then tested the free agent market. Pagán didn’t receive the deal he wanted, so he instead retired at the age of 34.
2015 — Nori Aoki
How it went: Six months after facing the Giants in the World Series with the Royals, Aoki batted leadoff and went 2 for 5 and scored a run in a 5-4 win in Arizona.
Where he went: Aoki hit .287 with five home runs in 93 games, but his season was cut short by a broken leg and a concussion — both injuries the result of being hit with pitches. The Giants didn’t pick up his option and he played two more seasons in the majors.
2014 — Michael Morse
How it went: Brought in as a free agent, Morse batted sixth and went 1 for 3 with a walk in a 9-8 win in Arizona.
Where he went: Morse was signed for $6 million to be the starting left fielder and hit .279 with 16 homers, but also played first base after Brandon Belt injured his thumb. Morse missed the final month of the season and the start of the playoffs recovering from a strained oblique, but hit a tying home run against the Cardinals in the eighth inning of the NLCS that set up Travis Ishikawa’s pennant-clinching heroics an inning later. Morse went 4 for 16 in the World Series against the Royals, driving in the go-ahead run in Game 7. He signed a $16 million, two-year free agent deal with the Marlins two months later.
2013 — Andres Torres
How it went: One season after being traded to the Mets for Pagán, Torres batted seventh against Clayton Kershaw and went 0 for 3 in a 4-0 loss at Dodger Stadium.
Where he went: Torres, who platooned with Gregor Blanco, hit .250 in 105 games in left and center, but he missed the final two months with a left Achilles strain and never played again in the majors.
2012 — Aubrey Huff
How it went: After starting at first base and right field the previous two openers, respectively, Huff batted fifth and went 1 for 4 in a 5-4 loss at Arizona.
Where he went: Huff was in left after rookie Brandon Belt won the first base job and he played in just 52 games, mostly as a pinch hitter. He hit .192 with one home run, missing time to a variety of ailments including anxiety issues and knee injuries, including a sprain he suffered coming over the dugout rail to celebrate Matt Cain’s perfect game. He had one hit in 10 at-bats during the World Series run and never played again after the Giants opted for a $2 million buyout.
2011 — Pat Burrell
How it went: After resurrecting his career when he arrived midseason in 2010 — and helping the Giants end their World Series drought — the former Bellarmine College Prep star batted fifth and hit a home run off Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton in the ninth inning in a 2-1 loss at Dodger Stadium.
Where he went: After a solid start, Burrell lost the left field job to Cody Ross. He hit .230 with six more home runs in 92 games and was sidelined for nearly six weeks with a foot injury. He started in left on the final day of the regular season in his last MLB game.
2010 — Mark DeRosa
How it went: The veteran slugger was brought in on a $12 million, two-year deal and went 1 for 3 with a home run in a 5-2 win at Houston.
Where he went: DeRosa homered in his third at-bat in a Giants uniform and never had another in 176 more with the team over two injury-riddled seasons. He was on the roster on Opening Day 2011, but never played an inning in the outfield that season.
2009 — Fred Lewis
How it went: Batting third, the Giants’ former second-round draft pick went 1 for 4 with a walk in a 10-6 home win over the Brewers.
Where he went: After establishing himself the previous season, including becoming the only left-handed batter to get four hits against Randy Johnson in a game, the sky seemed to be the limit for Lewis. He hit .258 in 122 games, but ended the season 2 for 22 (.091), failed to make the Opening Day roster in 2010 and was traded to Toronto.
2008 — Dave Roberts
How it went: The former Red Sox World Series hero led off the Giants’ season with a single to center. Two pitches later he was thrown out trying to steal second base, and the Giants managed just four more hits in a 5-0 road loss to the Dodgers.
Where he went: Roberts was the Giants’ starter in center field the previous season, but moved to left when Bonds retired and Aaron Rowand arrived. He hit just .224 and because of injuries played in just 52 games in what became his final season in the majors.
2007 — Barry Bonds
How it went: Batting third for his 14th and final Opening Day with the Giants, Bonds went 1 for 3 in a 7-0 home loss to the Padres. Bonds added to his MLB record with another walk, and also stole a base.
Where he went: Bonds, who’d turn 42 in his final season and appear in the All-Star Game, hit 28 home runs in 126 games and also led the league with 132 walks and a .480 on-base percentage.