SAN FRANCISCO >> On the day Major League Baseball honors its most famous Puerto Rican, hours after the Giants celebrated the life of another icon from the island, their up-and-coming outfielder from Humacao etched his own name into the history books.

Heliot Ramos’ game-tying home run in the ninth inning Sunday afternoon wasn’t enough to secure a win against the Padres, but it was notable in its own right. When it landed, 394 feet away, the first thing it hit was water.

Ramos became the first right-handed hitter in the 25-year history of Oracle Park to splash down in McCovey Cove. Making it even more special, he said, he did it while wearing No. 21 in honor of Roberto Clemente after arriving to the park wearing a stylish white fedora, a nod to Orlando Cepeda.

“First righty ever? This is a big organization. It has a lot of great legends. So for me to be the first one to do it, it’s insane to me,” Ramos said. “It’s a great day. We lost obviously, but it’s a special day because I did that (on Roberto Clemente Day).”The home run was Ramos’ 21st of the season and snapped the longest power drought of his young career. It had been 17 games since he last left the yard, stuck in an 11-for-64 (.172) slump with 16 strikeouts and a .440 OPS since his last homer Aug. 27.

“I was just thinking about hitting the ball out front. I know I’ve been hitting the ball hard these past couple weeks, but it’s just been tough for me, man. Mindset and all that, it’s been tough,” Ramos said. “I’ve been grinding. I’ve been fighting. So in that at-bat, I didn’t care. I just went out there and swung, got a good pitch to hit, and I knew he was throwing 100, so I gotta get ready for it.”

The feat was so difficult that it was going to require unique conditions. Ramos’ opposite-field power, Robert Suarez’s 100.2 mph fastball and a blustery afternoon proved to be the perfect storm.

Before the game, Melvin recounted his memories of watching another slugger from Puerto Rico who displayed similar qualities.

“Just the power, the opposite-field power,” Melvin said of Cepeda. “Always a smile on his face. You watch baseball games, and rarely do you see someone look like they’re actually having fun all the time. I think that’s what resonated for me with him.”

There had been 1,975 regular-season games played at the Giants’ waterfront ballpark before Ramos became the first righty to reach the water, but the task might have seemed less daunting had Cepeda played his games there instead of Candlestick Park.