Pablo Emilio Juan Pedro Sandoval Jr. (born August 11, 1986) is a Venezuelan professional baseball third baseman for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has played in Major League Baseball for the Giants and the Boston Red Sox. He stands 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighs 268 pounds (122 kg). He previously played portions of three seasons for the Boston Red Sox and seven seasons for the San Francisco Giants. Nicknamed "Kung Fu Panda", Sandoval is a two-time All-Star and has won three World Series championships with the Giants. Sandoval hit three home runs in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, becoming the fourth person to hit three home runs in a World Series game, and was named the World Series Most Valuable Player (MVP). During the offseason, he plays for the Navegantes del Magallanes of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.\n', '

Sandoval was born in Venezuela. He grew up an avid baseball fan, playing the game with his older brother and following the careers of Omar Vizquel and Andrés Galarraga. In 2002, Sandoval was signed by the San Francisco Giants. He worked his way through the minor leagues and debuted with the Giants in 2008, batting .345 in 41 games. Capable of playing first base, third base, and catcher, Sandoval became the Giants\' starting third baseman in 2009, ceasing to catch that year and playing first base only occasionally. In 2009, Sandoval finished second in All-Star Final Vote balloting, batting .330 with 25 home runs and 90 runs batted in (RBI) in his first full season in the majors. However, Sandoval struggled in 2010 and was benched during the playoffs for the 2010 World Series, which the Giants won. He lost weight before 2011 and hit .315 with 23 home runs in 117 games. Injuries limited him to 108 games in 2012, but he was selected to his second-straight All-Star Game. Then, in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series, he joined Babe Ruth, Reggie Jackson, and Albert Pujols as the only players to hit three home runs in a World Series Game. For his contributions, Sandoval was named the World Series Most Valuable Player as the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers. In 2013, he appeared in 141 games, batting .278 with 14 home runs and 79 RBI.\n', '

A free agent after the 2014 season, Sandoval signed a five-year contract with the Red Sox that offseason. Due to poor performance, the Red Sox released him in 2017. He then re-signed with the Giants but the Red Sox are responsible for his salary through the end of the 2019 season.\n', '

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