Sharks’ Celebrini, Smith visit SF Giants, take batting practice at Oracle Park

SAN FRANCISCO Batting practice was optional for the Giants position players Monday following a late-night arrival back home from St Louis Still a smattering of players gathered around the cage inside Oracle Park to watch a couple other athletes take a few hacks Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith the San Jose Sharks top picks in the and drafts respectively and their two biggest young stars traded in their skates for spikes and took BP before the Giants began their homestand against the Arizona Diamondbacks Celebrini s lineage is well known in these parts the son of Warriors head trainer Rick Celebrini but did you know Smith s family tree runs deep in baseball He is the great great grandson of the former White Sox owner Charles Comiskey and also played shortstop growing up before settling on hockey The San Jose Sharks Macklin Celebrini left and Will Smith talk to Giants hitting coach behind the batting cage at Oracle Park on Monday September Evan Webeck Bay Area News Group It exhibited as Smith could almost pass as the Dodgers catcher by the same name lining a minimal pitches into the outfield with a smooth right-handed swing Celebrini stopped playing baseball when he was years old and didn t look quite as natural from the left side These guys their hand-eye coordination is ostensibly as good as it gets manager Bob Melvin declared Both players sent a couple balls to the warning track but neither will challenge Brandin Podziemski as the best cross-sport performance The Warriors guard put one over the right-field wall when he paid a visit last season The Sharks open their season Oct and training camp is already underway giving the players a convenient excuse for their lack of home-run swings We had a good day of practice and a workout so we were a little gassed coming in Smith commented No excuses though Related Articles Joey Chestnut aiming for new eating record at Giants-Dodgers championship SF Giants drop two of three to Cardinals prepare for crucial six-game homestand SF Giants winning streak snapped as Walker blows save against Cardinals For SF Giants Matos refined mechanics approach fueling hot streak SF Giants match season-high hits as Seymour notches first career win Melvin joked I m guessing these guys are low-ball hitters but the slap-shooters form on the ice didn t translate according to Smith He spent his offseason taking plenty of swings on the golf curriculum too and that was no help either It s a lot different Smith announced A lot different The players got a tour of the Giants facilities changed into team-issued workout gear and donned custom-made jerseys then took selected cuts in the indoor batting cage to prepare for their constituents spectacle Hitting coach Pat Burrell outfielder Drew Gilbert and infielder Christian Koss provided several pointers They were just trying to help us hit Smith reported We were listening the best we could I was just trying to make contact Celebrini added It s a deep fence