Freddy Sanchez did not have a long career with the Giants, just 196 games over three seasons before shoulder and back injuries forced him into retiring at 33. Also, his name is not the first to pop into mind when recalling the 2010 title team.

But the second baseman had a huge impact, particularly at season’s end, when he dominated at the plate. From Aug. 12 on, he hit .362 with 12 doubles, five homers and a .935 OPS.

Shoulder and back injuries forced Sanchez out of the game a year later. Now 43, he lives in the Phoenix area with wife Alissa and sons Evan and Ryan (and a daughter on the way).

He spoke to The Chronicle by phone about his role in the 2010 championship and low-profile life after baseball. The questions and answers were edited for brevity and clarity.

How are you and your family holding up during the crisis?

The best we can, like everybody, trying to stay home, stay healthy, stay safe. It’s crazy, but my wife is pregnant. We have two boys. We kind of felt, let’s talk about having a girl. Last year, we lost a baby. It was a girl. Now she’s going to be due in early August, late July, and it’s a girl. We’re excited about that. But with her being pregnant, we’ve got to take precautions. We’re trying to stay in as much as we can.

I have my 14-year-old and my 12-year-old. The oldest is going to be 15 this month. The boys are doing online schooling and trying to keep busy that way. My oldest is into baseball, so we go into the cage, shoot hoops. My youngest is into the computer. He’s just getting into the teenage years, so he’s self-isolating in his room.

You haven’t gotten back into baseball since you retired. You wanted to watch your boys grow up?

At those ages, I wanted to be around. When I played, I was gone a lot. I coach my son’s baseball teams. I’ve been doing that. It’s almost like a full-time job. I help out at one of the local high schools around here. I’m still involved in baseball, just not the part where I’m traveling and things like that.

Injuries forced you to retire at 33. Did it take a while to get over the sadness of not being able to play a full career?

It was definitely very hard. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t. I didn’t watch baseball for several years. The only reason I had some of the games on TV was so my youngest could watch. It was tough not being able to go out on my own terms. It still hurts me knowing I couldn’t produce in San Francisco the way I wanted to over a longer period. Not only the fans. I felt I let (Brian) Sabean and the whole organization down by not being able to get healthy and play. That stung for a long time.

The thing that settles me down a little bit when I feel sad is that I left everything out on the field. My last game in San Francisco was when I hurt my shoulder. I made every attempt to come back. I rehabbed so hard. It just wasn’t meant to be.

It definitely stung for several years. It does even now, a little bit.

Even though you didn’t have a long career in San Francisco, you were part of the city’s first World Series championship, which meant so much to so many people. Did it take you a while to understand the meaning of that?

I don’t know if I really, to the fullest, quite understand that. To this day, it gives me chills. I will see San Francisco fans and they all come up to me and shake my hand and say thank you. I look back at all the great teams and great players in San Francisco. We did it for all those players and past teams.

You missed the first part of 2010 after offseason knee and shoulder surgeries. Did you wonder if you would even be able to help the team that season?

I had no doubts in my mind that I was going to be able to help the team do some special things.

Was there something special about that 2010 team that the fans might not think about as they look back?

For me, it was the clubhouse. We had so many different personalities. The clubhouse culture was truly one I’d never been a part of. We had veterans, young guys, crazy personalities, funny personalities, quiet guys, but we all came together for one goal. It was so awesome.

You made a huge contribution toward the end of a division race that you won on the final day. You hit .371 over your final 31 games. Did you feel you got into a zone?

I always hated that term, because I felt that just as quickly as you can say you’re in a zone, you’d be out of it. I just felt good. Something just clicked. I’d been hitting OK, and then I remember struggling for a little bit. I remember talking to Pat Burrell. He gave me a little bit of hitting advice I never heard before. People always tell you to start (your swing) a little earlier. He told me to start a little later (to be quicker to the ball).

That was a piece of advice I’d never gotten before. It always stuck with me. We had a series at home against Cincinnati. In the first game, I went 4-for-5. After that, I felt great.

I don’t know if it’s because I’d never been to the postseason before, or wanted to do it so bad.

You didn’t have a great Division Series against the Braves, but you had one of the biggest hits, a single off Craig Kimbrel with two outs in the ninth inning of Game 3 in Atlanta to help the Giants take a 2-1 lead in the series. Do you remember every detail of that encounter?

To this day, I feel like that was one of the biggest at-bats in my career. I’ll never forget it. His fastball was rising in that game. He had one of the hardest-to-hit fastballs I’ve ever seen. He threw me fastballs, fastballs. I was down 0-2 before I could even blink.

I remember telling myself I had to battle. There were two out. If I make an out, we lose. I didn’t want to be the last out. I wasn’t on his fastball. I was fouling some off to stay alive. Then he threw me an offspeed pitch. I’m thinking, “Oh, man, I’ve got to put this in play.” I was fortunate enough to throw my bat out there and poke the ball into center field. It was so good to be able to come through in that moment.

You had a good NLCS against the Phillies, then did something in Game 1 of the World Series against the Rangers that had not been done. You doubled in each of your first three World Series at-bats among four hits in the Giants’ victory.

I regret not going for two on the fourth one, too. I hit it to (right fielder) Vladimir Guerrero. I’d seen Vladdy his whole career. He had one of the best arms in the game, and I didn’t want to be one of his victims. I wish now I could have tested him right there. It could have been four.

It’s something I look at as a nice piece of history right there.

Do you remember what went through your mind when Brian Wilson fired that fastball past Nelson Cruz for the last out of the World Series?

Usually after we won, I found my shortstop and we would shake hands after. I remember, OK, I’ve got to find Edgar (Renteria). Then it was time to go crazy.

What do you remember about the victory parade and ceremony?

I just remember a sea of black and orange, just the sea of people in the streets. You don’t know what to expect until you’re actually going through the city on the trolley and seeing everybody knowing that they’re there and what we accomplished. They were a huge part of it. The fans were everything.

Do you keep in touch with any of your 2010 teammates?

Not regularly. You know me. I try to keep to myself and not bother those guys. Ish (Travis Ishikawa) lives out here. I see him a little bit. He’s come over a couple of times and we’ve hit. For a while, I was the only one not playing anymore. I never wanted to bug those guys.

Editor’s note On the 10th anniversary of the 2010 World Series championship season, the first in San Francisco, The Chronicle is reminiscing with 10 key players from that team.

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Henry Schulman covers the Giants for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: hschulman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hankschulman