SAN FRANCISCO -- Angel Pagan is the resident boxing expert in the Giants clubhouse, but he insists that he does not have wrestling or judo in his background. It sure didn't look that way Friday night.
Pagan watched as two fans ran on the field and disrupted play, with one of them approaching Madison Bumgarner and Buster Posey and twice nearly getting taken out. Pagan provided the finishing blow with a perfect body slam that subdued the fan until security guards could finally arrive.
"Angel's tackle of the guy was one of my top moments in baseball history, that was pretty funny," first baseman Brandon Belt said. "It's something I'll probably replay over and over again, it was hilarious."
Pagan laughed as he watched the video for the first time on a reporter's phone. He mimicked his move to call the trespasser over. Pagan pretended like he was going to accept a flower, but when the young man got close enough, he delivered the takedown.
"I was just trying to protect myself and protect my teammates," he said. "The guy was getting lose to my teammates. After I saw him getting too close to Buster, I thought one of my teammates could be in danger. I didn't want to harm him or anything. I wanted to help security.
"(He) came and I just executed."
Pagan smiled as he noted that the move looked "very explosive." He said he was just trying to "get him down as soon as possible."
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The Giants were able to laugh about the moment a couple hours after it happened. They also expressed concern. Twice in the last few weeks, fans have gotten onto the field at AT&T Park and reached players before security could arrive.
"It's just weird," Posey said. "Any time there's someone on the field, you're always uneasy."
The man, wearing a blue shirt and holding out white flowers, first approached Bumgarner. The left-hander cocked his fist back and the man ran away. "Bumgarner bowed up," Bochy said. Posey then pushed him away.
"You never know what the guys have or don't," Bumgarner explained. "You've got to do whatever you've got to do to protect yourself. It's an unfortunate situation for everyone."
It's one the Giants surely need to address internally. The last fan to rush the field caused a slide in left field that broke one security guard's leg. Friday's action went on far too long, with play disrupted for several minutes. Pagan kept his weight on the man until security guards could arrive and finally drag him off the field.
"Angel felt like he had to stop things," Bochy said. "That's Angel, he was going to help the cause."
--- Belt was said to be fine after taking a pitch off the same part of his hand he broke two years ago. Still, the Giants will have to check on him Saturday morning to see how the swelling is. With a rookie (Ty Blach) starting and Clayton Kershaw on the mound, there's a chance the Giants can go with the Posey-Trevor Brown combo. The hit-by-pitch was surely noted in the clubhouse. Posey and Rich Hill had a stare down after a strikeout and Posey was buzzed later in the game. The Giants are in too tight a spot to retaliate, but you can bet they're keeping score.
--- Here's my game story from tonight. Bumgarner picked up his 100th career win.
And if you missed it, here's my podcast with Jon Miller. You can download it on iTunes here.
