San Francisco
Giants, professional baseball team and one of five teams in the West
Division of the National League (NL). The Giants play at Pacific
Bell Park. The team played in New York City until 1958 and was
originally called the Gothams, after one of that city’s many
nicknames. The Giants wear uniforms of orange, black, and white.
Founded in 1883, the Giants organization is one of the oldest in
major league baseball. Also one of the most celebrated, the
organization holds a major league record with 47 members in the
Baseball Hall of Fame. Seven future Hall of Fame members played for
the 1924 pennant-winning club, including the entire infield.
Over the decades, Giants greats have included outfielders Bobby and
Barry Bonds, Willie Mays, and Mel Ott; infielders Orlando Cepeda,
Willie McCovey, Johnny Mize, and Bill Terry; and pitchers Carl
Hubbell, Juan Marichal, Christy Mathewson, and Gaylord Perry. Led by
such legendary managers as Leo Durocher and John McGraw, the
franchise has won five World Series championships, the last being in
1954.
With a talented bench, the Giants soon became contenders for the NL
pennant and captured NL titles and world championships in 1888 and
1889. Over the next few years, however, the Giants lost a majority
of their players to rival leagues, and they finished at or near the
bottom of the NL from 1890 to 1893. After a world championship
victory in 1894, the team returned to the cellar for the next ten
years. In 1902 the Giants hired John McGraw as manager and two years
later won a franchise-record 106 games. The Giants were so talented
that they refused to play Boston for the 1904 world championship
because they considered the American League (AL) champions unworthy
opponents. The next year the World Series became the official
playoff between AL and NL champions, and the Giants defeated the
Philadelphia Athletics. Under McGraw, who managed the team until
1932, the Giants won three World Series titles and ten NL pennants.
When the Giants finished the 1932 season in last place, tensions
erupted between McGraw and his players. McGraw named the slugging
first baseman and 1930 league MVP Bill Terry to take over as
player-manager in 1933. Terry guided the Giants to a World Series
victory that year with help from home-run hitting outfielder Mel Ott
and league-leading pitcher Carl Hubbell, both part of the talented
team built by McGraw. In 1936 and 1937 Terry again led the Giants to
pennant victories, but the team fell in the World Series before the
new dominant power in major league baseball—the New York Yankees.
The Giants franchise failed to make a playoff appearance during the
1940s. In 1948 manager Leo Durocher defected to the Giants from the
rival Brooklyn Dodgers and made the New York franchise a pennant
contender once again. The team captured the pennant in 1951 before
losing to the Yankees in the World Series. The Giants returned to
the top in 1954, taking the World Series in a four-game upset with a
team that featured center-fielder Willie Mays, one of baseball’s
greatest all-around talents. The highlight of the series was a
running, back-to-the-plate catch by Mays of a fly ball hit by Vic
Wertz of the Cleveland Indians.
After 1954 a stretch of poor finishes caused hometown support for
the Giants to dwindle. Faced with smaller crowds and a losing
franchise, team owner Horace Stoneham moved the team west to San
Francisco in 1958.
During the 1980s and early 1990s the Giants again rose to NL pennant
contention. First baseman Will Clark helped the team win two Western
Division crowns in 1987 and 1989. Manager Roger Craig received the
manager of the year award in 1987 and responded by leading the
Giants to a pennant in 1989. The pennant victory set the stage for a
showdown with the rival Oakland Athletics from across the San
Francisco Bay. Before the first pitch of game three, a major
earthquake struck the San Francisco area, but after a ten-day delay
the Series continued, resulting in a four-game sweep by Oakland. In
1993 superstar outfielder Barry Bonds and manager Dusty Baker joined
the team. Throughout the 1990s the Giants contended annually for the
National League West division title.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
1905 - d. Philadelphia in 5 games
1921 - d. NY Giants in 8 games
1922 - d. NY Giants in 5 games
1954 - d. Cleveland in 4 games
NL Pennants - 1888, 1889, 1904, 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917,
1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1962, 1989,
2002
TOP MANAGERS
John McGraw managed
the Giants from 1902-1932 and finished with a 2604-1801 record, 10
NL Pennants and 2 World Series Championships.
Billy Terry managed from 1932-1941 and finished with an
823-661 record.
Dusty Baker has served as manager since 1993 and had a
655-577 record at the start of the 2001 season. He was named manager
of the Year in 1993, 1997 and 2000.
MVPS
Carl Hubbell (1933, 1936)
Willie Mays (1954, 1965)
Willie McCovey (1969)
Kevin Mitchell (1989)
Barry Bonds (1993, 2001)
Jeff Kent (2000)
CY YOUNG
Mike McCormick (1967)
ROOKIE OF YEAR
Willie Mays (1951)
Orlando Cepeda (1958)
Willie McCovey (1959)
Gary Matthews (1973)
John Montefusco (1975)
RETIRED NUMBERS
Christy Mathewson (P)
John McGraw (Mgr)
3 - Bill Terry (1B)
4 - Mel Ott (OF)
11 - Carl Hubbell (P)
24 - Willie Mays (OF)
27 - Juan Marichal (P)
30 - Orlando Cepeda (1B)
44 - Willie McCovey (1B) |
