SAN DIEGO — The San Francisco Giants learned something about themselves every day in an encouraging season.

In their 162nd and final game Sunday afternoon, they learned that Kung Fu Pandas don’t always land on their feet. But they don’t stay down for long, either.
In a year that featured Jonathan Sanchez’s no-hitter and Randy Johnson’s 300th victory, Pablo Sandoval left the Giants with two more enduring images. He flipped over the dugout rail while making a spectacular catch of a foul pop in the seventh inning, then he skipped around the bases with both arms raised after crushing a solo home run in the 10th.
Sandoval’s 444-foot monster shot made the difference in a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park.
The Giants finished 88-74, a 16-game improvement over the previous season. Only two teams — the Seattle Mariners (plus-24) and Colorado Rockies (plus-18) made a bigger year-to-year jump in the standings.
They couldn’t have flipped the script from four losing seasons without Sandoval, their 23-year-old ball of energy whose final swing allowed him to finish second in the National League with a .330 average while hitting 25 home runs and driving in 90 runs.
“I can’t believe it, you know?” said Sandoval, who only broke his silver rosary on his head-over-heels catch. “Every time I went to my house from the ballpark I say, ’Thank God for giving me the chance to play baseball every day.’ I’m excited to be in the big leagues and to do well.”
Sandoval finished 12 points behind Florida’s Hanley Ramirez for the NL batting title but nudged ahead of likely league MVP Albert Pujols on the final day.
Not including Barry Bonds, Sandoval became just the second Giant in seven seasons to hit 25 homers. Ray Durham hit 26 in 2006.
Sandoval also led the team with 52 walks, which goes a long way toward explaining why the Giants finished seven games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West and four behind the Rockies for the wild card.
It was the lowest team-leading total since 1984, when Bob Brenly and Joel Youngblood tied with 48 walks.
The Giants lineup needs a lot of fixing this winter, but Sandoval has emerged as a bona-fide star.
“That’s not a surprise with Pablo, the year he had,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “We know he can hit. The thing that was more impressive was how well he played at third base. He exceeded our expectations with the job he did there.”
Bochy said winning on Sandoval’s home run was one of many fitting ends Sunday. He pointed to Sanchez’s solid work into the sixth inning, Randy Johnson’s final strikeout, Brian Wilson recording the save and Jeremy Affeldt earning the victory with two scoreless innings.
Affeldt finished with a 1.73 ERA — the lowest among NL relievers.
“What a year he had,” Bochy said.
The Padres tried to ruin Johnson’s farewell seventh inning, scoring the tying run after Eli Whiteside’s passed ball allowed Nick Hundley, who led off the inning, to reach on a strikeout. The Padres loaded the bases after a bunt single, a sacrifice and a hit batter.
When Sandoval fell into the dugout while catching David Eckstein’s foul pop, umpires directed the runners to advance one base because of a ground rule.
But Johnson preserved the tie by striking out Adrian Gonzalez — the 4,875th of his career.
Bochy held private meetings after the game with Sandoval and Juan Uribe to express his appreciation for a well-played season. He delivered the same message to the team before the game.
“We had a pretty good year,” said Bochy, who listed the Giants’ NL-best 52-29 home record as the club’s standout accomplishment. “They did a great job rebounding all year. We had tough losses, tough little streaks, but they bounced back.”
Nobody had more bounce than Sandoval.
“It was a good thump, I know that,” Bochy said of Sandoval’s dugout catch. “Probably four or five on the Richter (scale). But he’s so tough. He got back up and went back out there.”
After the game, former Giant Kevin Mitchell stopped by the clubhouse and told Sandoval to keep working hard. Sandoval pledged to arrive in spring training in the best shape of his life.
“You better get ready for next year!” he yelled.