Maldonado won the Giants’ right-field job in 1986 with a .425 average as a pinch hitter, winning team MVP honors and hitting 18 homers despite not cracking the starting lineup until August. He followed with his best season in 1987, hitting .292 with 20 HR and 85 RBI for the NL West champs, but the free-swinging Puerto Rican native struggled over the next two seasons, before a resurgent 1990 where he knocked in a career-high 95 RBI. Maldonado bounced around the majors during the 1990’s playing in a reserve role, except for the 1992 season, where started in left field for the division-champion Toronto Blue Jays.