San Francisco Giants Chairman Gives Reasoning For Lack Of Big Free Agents

The past few off seasons for the San Francisco Giants have left a lot of questions as to why they have't landed a big fish in free agency. They've pursued and lost out on players like Bryce Harper, Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani, and it seems to be becoming a bit of a pattern.

After losing on Ohtani this past offseason, the reason as to why the Giants were losing out on so many players became a huge topic. Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Rowdy Telez made comments about the city of San Francisco, saying "for me, the city, man, it's just bad."

Giants legend Buster Posey and President of Baseball Operations both spoke on the situation as well. While both expressed their love for the city, they did say that there seemed to be a sentiment among free agents and the "uneasiness" surrounding San Francisco. The extent to which that is true can only be told by those free agents the Giants have pursued.

However, the team's Chairman, Greg Johnson, thinks there is another explanation. It's not the city, it's the ballpark.

In a conversation with The Athletic's Tim Kawakami on his podcast, Johnson explained that it's his belief that Oracle Park is the reason why they haven't been able to land the big superstar they've been trying so hard for.

"We didn’t get them, but remember our park is not viewed as one of the easy parks to hit home runs in so to go get a Bryce Harper or Ohtani or Judge for that matter, I think we’re the fifth-hardest park to hit home runs in Major League Baseball so that makes it a little more difficult to go out there and get the home run hitter," Johnson told Kawakami.

Logically, it makes sense. Oracle Park has always been viewed as a pitchers park. Since 2022, Oracle Park ranks last in Statcast Park Factors for home runs. In right field, you have to blast one over Levi's Landing. Triple's Alley is advantageous to hitters should one fall in the gap, but to get one over the fence is something only Barry Bonds seemed to do with regularity.

That being said, Oracle Park doesn't magically zap away a hitter's power potential. Take Aaron Judge, for example. The Giants were supposedly one of his biggest suitors in free agency, just a year after breaking the AL home run record. If you put Judge in a Giants uniform during that historic 62 home run season, playing half of his games at Oracle, he would still be projected to hit 59 home runs.

Is it a record breaker? No. But it's still a lot of home runs.

Johnson went on to say, "At the end of the day, it’s really more about the ballpark and home runs and ease of hitting home runs and going after those big players."

The real reason as to why the Giants haven't been able to land a big free agent is still not clear. It could be one reason or the other, and it may be both. When you look into the numbers and how many home runs are being hit now, it makes sense that Oracle Park may be the reason that free agents are steering away.