Rafael Devers and Matt Chapman, seen in the 2025 season finale, aim to lead the Giants out of their four-season run of mediocrity.
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The Oracle Park video boards welcome new Giants manager Tony Vitello before his introductory news conference on Oct. 30.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
The San Francisco Giants are opening a new chapter in their history. It’s such a big deal that they’re opening it twice: first with “Opening Night” on Wednesday evening, when they host the New York Yankees in the first stand-alone game of the season and then, two days later, a more traditional daytime Opening Day, with all the expected pomp and festivities taking place in the Friday sunshine.
That was one of the talking points at the team’s annual open house, when the Giants showed off what’s new with the team, the ballpark, the menu and the real estate development across the cove.
March is a time for baseball optimism, and the Giants have plenty of it. They have a new manager in Tony Vitello, who they believe will bring new energy. They have new food items, like a loaded grilled cheese sandwich. And they have hopes that they will get back to the 3 million mark in attendance, something they haven’t seen since before the pandemic.
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Last season they experienced a significant increase in attendance, from 2.6 million to 2.9 million. Giants CEO Larry Baer attributes that in part to a “Buster bump,” thanks to excitement over Buster Posey assuming the role of president of baseball operations, and also to a strategic change, getting away from platoons and relying more on everyday players.
“I think it was style of play and also the personalities,” said Baer.
The Giants saw an attendance boost last season, from 2.6 million to 2.9 million, and in 2026 they hope to surpass the 3 million mark — a figure they haven’t seen since before the pandemic.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
So what’s new? Well, Opening Night will air on Netflix, the first time the streaming platform will present a baseball game. So please help your parents or grandparents — or anyone else who will be flummoxed by where to find the game — plan accordingly.
Also new: Airwallex will be the sponsored uniform patch. The team has to hope the online payment platform will be a more innocuous sponsor than their last tech patch sponsor, robotaxi company Cruise. That sponsorship was announced in August 2023; two months later a Cruise car killed a pedestrian, the company eventually lost its funding, and the uniform patch was replaced by Chevrolet.
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The oddest new thing? The Giants have a partnership with Chick-fil-A, which will brand the foul poles. While Chick-fil-A has stores in the Bay Area, it has none within the city limits of San Francisco, and it is still widely associated with funding anti-LBGTQ organizations, sparking boycotts and controversy more than a decade ago. The corporation has since backed off its official funding of hate groups, but this is still an odd embrace by the franchise that has made Pride celebrations a big part of its community outreach.
The coolest thing that’s new for the Giants is the elevation of the popular Gigantes jersey and the franchise’s wider embrace of Latino culture and heritage. The team will wear the jerseys for every Saturday home game, including the first one on March 28. Those games will be designated Fiesta Gigantes, with festivities and mariachi music — something the Dodgers have included at games for years.
The sharp new jersey and cap were designed by local artist Jesse Hernandez. At the open house, they were modeled by former closer Sergio Romo, who will be the official Gigantes ambassador.
“This is a huge thing and I’m proud to be a part of it,” said Romo, who always brought his own Latino flair to the ballpark, taking the mound to the rollicking “El Mechon.” “This is a representation of Latino culture, and it’s cool to be recognized on a more consistent basis. There’s going to be so many people” rocking the jersey.
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Giants shortstop Willy Adames models the new Gigantes jersey that San Francisco players will wear this season for every Saturday home game.
San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
Romo said it’s important, in the anti-immigration climate that festers today, to be visible and celebrated.
“In the broader scheme of things, this is us making some noise and being fully accepted and with a sense of being visible,” he said. “We’ve been accepted prior to this, but I think this gives us an identity that makes us feel so much bigger and prouder.”
What isn’t new, in the 69th season of San Francisco Giants baseball, is the team’s marketing slogan. The Giants are sticking, for the fourth season in a row, with “Nothing Like It,” a flat, uninspiring phrase that puts the emphasis on nothing, as in what’s missing. In this case that would be any MLB experience by the new manager, who’s sure to be a huge part of the team’s marketing and image.
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The phrase is also misleading. There actually has been something like Giants baseball in every recent season: the season before. The Giants have been a .500 (or slightly under) team for the past four seasons, stuck in a loop of mediocrity. That’s something they’re hoping to change, but it’s going to take a lot more than loaded grilled cheese sandwiches.
The fans have come back. The ballpark remains beautiful. The food is great. The mariachi music will be fun. Can the Giants get the most important thing right, and figure out how to win more than they lose?