Salinas teen gets rare chance to meet idol, inspiration

Salinas High sophomore Dominic Marci, who had open heart surgery five days into his life, gets inspiration from former San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence

SALINAS – Five days into his life, Salinas High sophomore Dominic Marci had open heart surgery at Stanford Medical Center, where a pacemaker was inserted.

The procedure has been repeated over his first 16 years, as recently as Sept. 29, when Marci was given the green light to resume all baseball activities.

Marci is passionate about the sport and his inspiration has been former San Franciso Giants outfielder Hunter Pence.

“After I had my most recent surgery, I went to a coffee shop that he goes to near the stadium and asked the owner if he could get him to sign a newspaper for me,” Marci said.

When Marci returned from his checkup, he stopped by the coffee shop, where an autograph from Pence was waiting for him.

“I was like wow this is pretty cool,” Marci said.

So when Marci learned of a recent event called “Pick up Trash with Pence” in San Francisco last month, he signed himself and his father Tony up for the day to help clean up the city.

“For about two hours, we cleaned up trash in Chinatown and North Beach,” Marci said. “There were about 10 groups spread out throughout the city.”

The final hour, however, is where Marci had a moment that was as good as seeing a baseball land in McCovey Cove, as Pence came over, introduced himself and began picking up trash with the group.

“It was pretty cool when he came up,” Marci said. “I had to introduce myself. From that moment, he called me by my first name. After the event, I got a picture with him and his wife.”

This was not the first photo Marci had taken with Pence, as his grandmother Dolores Caprara Billman took a picture of the two in 2018 on her grandson’s 13th birthday outside Oracle Park.

“We dearly love Hunter Pence,” Caprara Billman said. “We’re big Giants fans. He’s been such an inspiration for Dominic with how he played the game, and what he continues to do off the field.”

Pictures and autographs are keepsakes. What Marci will treasure was the opportunity to stand next to his idol and ask questions and pick his brain about baseball and life in general.

“This time I got to spend time and talk to him,” Marci said. “Even my dad said this was better than a game because we got to visit with him. He was really chill.’’

Marci has tried to model his game after Pence, who helped the Giants to World Series titles in 2012 and 2014, even playing the same position in the outfield in youth leagues.

“When I talked about baseball, I told him my position,” Marci said. “He said ‘nice.’ He offered a lot of encouragement. He has this upbeat personality. He is really down to earth.”

As Pence did during his playing days with the Giants, Marci said he rode up to his group in an electric scooter the team gave him, spending nearly an hour with them gathering trash.

“He asked me what I do in my daily life,” Marci said. “I talked to him about some video games I play. I told Hunter I have been playing baseball since I was 5.”

Having played Little League and Pony League baseball, Marci was not able to play at Salinas last year as a freshman because of the pandemic, as the Salinas Union High School District allowed just varsity sports in the spring.

He will look to land a roster spot this season with the Cowboys’ junior varsity team.

“I’ve always had the joy of playing baseball,” Marci said. “I am mainly a right-handed pull hitter. But I have been working out this winter, trying to hit to all fields.”

In other words, the 5-foot-8 Marci continues to try and emulate his game after Pence, who retired in 2020 with the Giants and remains in the community.

One of the highlights of the event came when Marci returned home and saw himself on Pence’s Twitter account when the two were talking.

“There were photos of Dominic and Hunter together on his Twitter feed,” beamed Marci’s grandmother Caprara Billman. “Dominic is a fighter. He doesn’t look it. But he’s a tough kid. He can handle any situation handed to him. Hunter inspires him. What a special moment.”