If nobody got me, Wilmer Flores got me

Allow me to set the scene: It’s Opening Day and the conditions are perfect inside Cincinnati’s beautiful Great American Ballpark. The sights, sounds and smells of our beloved game have returned for another season. The sellout crowd were primed to see the Reds pick up their first victory of the new year against the visiting Giants.

That’s mainly because San Francisco’s offense struggled through a rough day; Cincy starter and renowned flamethrower Hunter Greene dominated the Giants over five innings, his 100mph fastball racking up eight strikeouts. The Reds bullpen had also chipped in with three scoreless frames. With the raucous Cincinnati crowd on top of them, the situation looked bleak for the Giants.

In the ninth inning, San Francisco finally began to rally. Patrick Bailey tied the game with a clutch single that scored Jung Hoo Lee. Somehow the score was now level at 3-3 and the Giants were alive.

Wilmer Flores was up next and as he stepped to the plate, 0-for-3 on the day and with runners at the corners, Giants fans didn’t really know what to expect. We had witnessed Flores play the hero many times before. Why now this uncertainty? 

That’s largely because the Venezuelan veteran had been a shadow of his former self. In 2024 Flores was limited to just 71 appearances, wracked by injuries that sapped his prodigious power and hitting ability. Flores suffered mightily and he clearly wasn’t his normal self. He was reduced to an uncharacteristic .206/.277/.318 slashline (BA/OBP/SLG) and a 72 OPS+, the lowest of his career.

As a result, Flores entered 2025 in an unfamiliar and precarious position. When Spring Training got underway, many felt his established role as the team’s primary designated hitter would be relinquished to a promising slugger like Jerar Encarnación. Encarnación had shown plenty last year to earn significant playing time and he’d enjoyed an ample spring. That was the case, right up until he fractured a bone in his left hand, ruling him out for eight weeks.

Encarnación’s cruelly timed injury had one silver lining, though. It cleared the path for Flores to return to his DH duties and receive regular at-bats once again. 

The 33-year-old has not wasted the opportunity.

Let’s return to the game, with the score still tied. Flores stepped into the box to face Reds reliever Ian Gibaut (he of Great Britain WBC fame). There are two outs, Flores quickly has two strikes on him, and the Reds are just one pitch away from taking this contest to the bottom of the ninth, where they’ll push for a memorable walk-off victory.

Gibaut tries to put Flores away but he hangs a belt-high sweeper over the heart of the plate. Gibaut might have been unaware but that’s exactly where Flores likes it. 

The swing is perfect, the contact inevitable, and the ball sails into the Cincinnati sky, destined for the left field stands. Gibaut knows it’s gone instantly; he throws his arms in defeat and disgust. Flores nonchalantly tosses his bat to the side and begins a leisurely, celebratory trot around the bases.