As Giants fans over the years, we gradually developed our own opinionated lists of the greatest we'd seen, colored inevitably by faulty memory, affection, and circumstance. The genesis of this project really began when we started updating those historic pages-- the trades page, the teams page, the player register-- with data from those early days in San Francisco, the years from 1958 through 1964, before those faulty memories of ours even developed. Guys we'd heard about but never really known as Giants, such as Toothpick Sam Jones, Stu Miller, even Felipe Alou, for example-- to give these players their due, we needed to go to the record, to baseball-reference.com and Retrosheet. And as we started doing that, naturally we started doing the same for those familiar names we thought we knew well, for Chris Speier and Jack Clark and Mike Krukow and dozens of others. And we realized a lot of our assumptions were wrong, and so began the task of setting the record straight.
Determining the greatest players in Giants history, free of personal, "well, one time I saw him do this" bias, requires an objective standard, and over the last decade or so, thanks to the work of the ineffable Bill James and the sabermetric community at large, a viable common standard has been established. For the last decade, we have used the standard of Wins Above Replacement (WAR), which has been popularized by the great Baseball-Reference site and is in common use in the analytics community. WAR attempts to measure a player's contribution, expressed in wins, as a value above the baseline, "replacement level," a shifting annual value based on league and park averages, below which a player is, presumably, subject to replacement by a candidate from Triple-A or such. WAR was originally intended, we believe, to attempt to measure the financial value of keeping a player on the team as opposed to promoting a viable replacement.
But over time we have become frustrated with the use of WAR to measure a player's overall value. While it's necessarily based on wins, which are a product of runs created and runs prevented in a park-and league-adjusted context, it does so against a moving baseline. There is no fixed 'replacement value' that holds across all teams and seasons. The one constant against which a player's value can be reliably measured, we believe, is team wins.
And this brings us to Win Shares, the method invented by Bill James, and the methodology of which is described in his book of the same name. We find in many if not most cases Win Shares and WAR track consistently from player to player. But we believe Win Shares is the more accurate measurement because it is based on a fixed constant-- team wins.
Every player on a team contributes a certain amount of Win Shares to the team's win total, and the total contributions of the team's players always add up to the team's win total. The proprietary Win Shares calculation (read the book!) assigns a value of 1/3 of a "win" to each "share;" thus the 2021 San Francsicso Giants, for example, who won 107 games, post a total of 321 Win Shares. Brandon Crawford led that team with 31, almost 10% of the total.
Like WAR, Win Shares is a cumulative statistic, it is not a rate or average. It builds up over time. It is a second-generation statistic; that is, it is itself derived from raw statistics. And it is a relative statistic; the value of a run changes from year to year and park to park, while a win is a binary constant. Win Shares ensures that a "win" in 1968 counts the same as a "win" in 2001, while acknowledging that the relative value of runs to wins is decidedly different in those two seasons.
The main reason we stayed with WAR for so long is because it is the value measurement of standard on baseball-reference.com and thus easily available, while career Win Shares is available only to subscribers on the Bill James website.
San Francisco Giants Only
Only seasons the player was in San Francisco Giants uniform are counted. Joe Morgan had MVP seasons in Cincinnati, and some fine years in Philadelphia, but only his two seasons as a Giant count here. Whatever Willie Mays or Johnny Antonelli may have done with the New York Giants is irrelevant to this evaluation; we count only what they did during their years in uniform as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
Regulars Only
We count only seasons in which the player was a regular starter, member of a regular platoon, member of the starting rotation, or a bullpen regular. While not hard and fast rules, the general indicators are something like this:
For position players, 100 games started and/or 300 plate appearances.
For starting pitchers, a solid majority of games must be starts, and the pitcher should rank among the team's top 4 (or, occasionally, 5) in games started.
For relief pitchers, he should rank among the team's top three in appearances.
We won't deny that occasionally a strong partial season might encourage us to include that season, but in the main, we are evaluating full seasons' worth of contributions, and we are only counting full seasons.
Tenure
We have a strong bias toward those who played several seasons in Giants uniform. If you look carefully you may find some one-year Giants, but in the main, we're looking for players with three or more seasons in San Francisco. A combination of fewer than three full seasons and zero total WAR is grounds for automatic elimination (sorry about that, Kuip).
Using the above criteria, we selected a total of 228 Giants regulars for consideration, from Bob Schmidt to Blake Sabol. Given that the team has played 66 seasons in San Francisco, that's a turnover rate of about three and a half players per year. (OK, why would anyone want half a player?) More seriously, it's a turnover rate of about seven regulars every two seasons. We who make our living in IT and data sciences seem to encounter data "change rates" of about 30% every time we turn around; thus it's not surprising for us to see a "change rate" of about 27% here. Take a look at the lineups yourselves over the years, and tell us whether, on average, you see seven regulars come and go in the space of two seasons.
The 228 names will all be familiar to most of you. While we expect there may be great disagreement over our ranking criteria-- not to mention the rankings themselves-- we are confident that no worthy San Francisco Giant has been excluded from evaluation.
The full list of all 228 candidates may be found at the end of this screed.
For position players:
1. Years. One point for each seasons as a regular in San Francisco.
2. Win Shares. Accumulated as a San Francisco Giant only.
3. All-Star. 5 points for each All-Star Game appearance as a Giant.
4. MVP. 25 points for winning the MVP Award, 20 points for finishing second, etc., down to 5 points for fifth in the voting. 5 points for winning Rookie of the Year.
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, OBP, or slugging.
6. Gold Glove. 5 points for winning the Gold Glove award.
7. Postseason. 15 points for a regular on a world championship team, 10 points for a regular on a NL champion, 5 points for any other postseason appearance as a regular OR as a platoon/utility player on a WS or league champion (no overlaps).
For starting pitchers:
Items (1) through (4) and Item (7), same as for position players. Additionally:
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in wins, win percentage, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, or shutouts.
6. Cy Young Award. Same scale as for MVP award.
For relief pitchers:
Items (1) through (4) and Items (6 and 7), same as for starting pitchers. Additionally:
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in games, saves, games finished, or ERA.
You may find these criteria rather familiar, especially if you're a Bill James aficionado. A lot of this is cribbed straight from James' "Hall of Fame monitor" method, first outlined in the 1986 Abstract ("Baseball's Big Honor"). What James was trying to do was not to determine who ought to be in the Hall of Fame but, by analyzing what common achievements existing Hall of Famers shared, determine who was likely to go into the Hall of Fame, assuming the same criteria remained consistent.
When pushed to defend, we fall back on our favorite old chestnut: "Don't like the standards we used? Make your own! We're just fans, like you, and there's every chance your methods will turn out to be better than ours. Go for it!"
So, in short, using the same standards that baseball has employed to determine Hall of Famers over the past eighty years, we herein rank the greatest San Francisco Giants.
Okay, what are we waiting for? On to the rankings!
4. Dick Dietz, 4 years, 76 Win Shares, 90 total points
5. Kirt Manwaring, 6 years, 58 Win Shares, 69 total points
FIRST BASE
1. Willie McCovey, 13 years, 274 Win Shares, 397 total points
2. Will Clark, 8 years, 222 Win Shares, 330 total points
3. Orlando Cepeda, 7 years, 177 Win Shares, 254 total points
4. Brandon Belt, 11 years, 164 Win Shares, 220 total points
5. J.T. Snow, 9 years, 136 Win Shares, 180 total points
SECOND BASE
1. Jeff Kent, 6 years, 162 Win Shares, 228 total points
CENTER FIELD
1. Willie Mays, 14 years, 460 Win Shares, 764 total points
2. Chili Davis, 6 years, 104 Win Shares, 125 total points
3. Brett Butler, 3 years, 74 Win Shares, 97 total points
4. Marvin Benard, 3 years, 71 Win Shares, 79 total points
Angel Pagan, 3 years, 61 Win Shares, 79 total points
RIGHT FIELD
1. Bobby Bonds, 7 years, 187 Win Shares, 259 total points
2. Jack Clark, 8 years, 164 Win Shares, 187 total points
The main reason we stayed with WAR for so long is because it is the value measurement of standard on baseball-reference.com and thus easily available, while career Win Shares is available only to subscribers on the Bill James website.
Comparing Win Shares against WAR yields some interesting results. For instance, among San Francisco center fielders, career Win Shares elevates Marvin Benard and Angel Pagan into the top five, displacing Garry Maddox and Dan Gladden, who, as Giants, have more career WAR. How's that for starters?
We continue to use WAR for some simple purposes, such as a criterion for eliminating players whose career value in San Francisco falls below our baseline. But we now use Win Shares for the player rankings.
Enjoy!
Selection Criteria
San Francisco Giants Only
Only seasons the player was in San Francisco Giants uniform are counted. Joe Morgan had MVP seasons in Cincinnati, and some fine years in Philadelphia, but only his two seasons as a Giant count here. Whatever Willie Mays or Johnny Antonelli may have done with the New York Giants is irrelevant to this evaluation; we count only what they did during their years in uniform as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
Regulars Only
We count only seasons in which the player was a regular starter, member of a regular platoon, member of the starting rotation, or a bullpen regular. While not hard and fast rules, the general indicators are something like this:
For position players, 100 games started and/or 300 plate appearances.
For starting pitchers, a solid majority of games must be starts, and the pitcher should rank among the team's top 4 (or, occasionally, 5) in games started.
For relief pitchers, he should rank among the team's top three in appearances.
We won't deny that occasionally a strong partial season might encourage us to include that season, but in the main, we are evaluating full seasons' worth of contributions, and we are only counting full seasons.
Tenure
We have a strong bias toward those who played several seasons in Giants uniform. If you look carefully you may find some one-year Giants, but in the main, we're looking for players with three or more seasons in San Francisco. A combination of fewer than three full seasons and zero total WAR is grounds for automatic elimination (sorry about that, Kuip).
Using the above criteria, we selected a total of 228 Giants regulars for consideration, from Bob Schmidt to Blake Sabol. Given that the team has played 66 seasons in San Francisco, that's a turnover rate of about three and a half players per year. (OK, why would anyone want half a player?) More seriously, it's a turnover rate of about seven regulars every two seasons. We who make our living in IT and data sciences seem to encounter data "change rates" of about 30% every time we turn around; thus it's not surprising for us to see a "change rate" of about 27% here. Take a look at the lineups yourselves over the years, and tell us whether, on average, you see seven regulars come and go in the space of two seasons.
The 228 names will all be familiar to most of you. While we expect there may be great disagreement over our ranking criteria-- not to mention the rankings themselves-- we are confident that no worthy San Francisco Giant has been excluded from evaluation.
The full list of all 228 candidates may be found at the end of this screed.
Evaluation Criteria
For position players:
1. Years. One point for each seasons as a regular in San Francisco.
2. Win Shares. Accumulated as a San Francisco Giant only.
3. All-Star. 5 points for each All-Star Game appearance as a Giant.
4. MVP. 25 points for winning the MVP Award, 20 points for finishing second, etc., down to 5 points for fifth in the voting. 5 points for winning Rookie of the Year.
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in average, hits, runs, RBI, home runs, OBP, or slugging.
6. Gold Glove. 5 points for winning the Gold Glove award.
7. Postseason. 15 points for a regular on a world championship team, 10 points for a regular on a NL champion, 5 points for any other postseason appearance as a regular OR as a platoon/utility player on a WS or league champion (no overlaps).
For starting pitchers:
Items (1) through (4) and Item (7), same as for position players. Additionally:
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in wins, win percentage, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, or shutouts.
6. Cy Young Award. Same scale as for MVP award.
For relief pitchers:
Items (1) through (4) and Items (6 and 7), same as for starting pitchers. Additionally:
5. Black Ink. 5 points each for leading the league in games, saves, games finished, or ERA.
You may find these criteria rather familiar, especially if you're a Bill James aficionado. A lot of this is cribbed straight from James' "Hall of Fame monitor" method, first outlined in the 1986 Abstract ("Baseball's Big Honor"). What James was trying to do was not to determine who ought to be in the Hall of Fame but, by analyzing what common achievements existing Hall of Famers shared, determine who was likely to go into the Hall of Fame, assuming the same criteria remained consistent.
When pushed to defend, we fall back on our favorite old chestnut: "Don't like the standards we used? Make your own! We're just fans, like you, and there's every chance your methods will turn out to be better than ours. Go for it!"
So, in short, using the same standards that baseball has employed to determine Hall of Famers over the past eighty years, we herein rank the greatest San Francisco Giants.
Okay, what are we waiting for? On to the rankings!
THE GREATEST PLAYERS
IN SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS HISTORY
BY POSITION
CATCHER
1. Buster Posey, 11 years, 243 Win Shares, 409 total points
2. Tom Haller, 6 years, 109 Win Shares, 130 total points
3. Bob Brenly, 6 years, 92 Win Shares, 108 total points 4. Dick Dietz, 4 years, 76 Win Shares, 90 total points
5. Kirt Manwaring, 6 years, 58 Win Shares, 69 total points
FIRST BASE
1. Willie McCovey, 13 years, 274 Win Shares, 397 total points
2. Will Clark, 8 years, 222 Win Shares, 330 total points
3. Orlando Cepeda, 7 years, 177 Win Shares, 254 total points
4. Brandon Belt, 11 years, 164 Win Shares, 220 total points
5. J.T. Snow, 9 years, 136 Win Shares, 180 total points
SECOND BASE
1. Jeff Kent, 6 years, 162 Win Shares, 228 total points
2. Robbie Thompson, 9 years, 155 Win Shares, 194 total points
3. Tito Fuentes, 6 years, 92 Win Shares, 103 total points
4. Joe Panik, 6 years, 63 Win Shares, 99 total points
5. Ray Durham, 6 years, 82 Win Shares, 93 total points
THIRD BASE
1. Matt Williams, 9 years, 159 Win Shares, 243 total points
5. Ray Durham, 6 years, 82 Win Shares, 93 total points
THIRD BASE
1. Matt Williams, 9 years, 159 Win Shares, 243 total points
2. Pablo Sandoval, 6 years, 140 Win Shares, 192 total points
3. Darrell Evans, 8 years, 158 Win Shares, 171 total points
4. Jim Ray Hart, 6 years, 142 Win Shares, 153 total points
5. Jim Davenport, 12 years, 116 Win Shares, 148 total points
SHORTSTOP
1. Brandon Crawford, 12 years, 191 Win Shares, 288 total points
1. Brandon Crawford, 12 years, 191 Win Shares, 288 total points
2. Rich Aurilia, 6 years, 124 Win Shares, 150 total points
3. Chris Speier, 7 years, 120 Win Shares, 147 total points
4. Jose Uribe, 7 years, 77 Win Shares, 99 total points
5. Omar Vizquel, 4 years, 57 Win Shares, 71 total points
LEFT FIELD
1. Barry Bonds, 14 years, 503 Win Shares, 882 total points
3. Chris Speier, 7 years, 120 Win Shares, 147 total points
4. Jose Uribe, 7 years, 77 Win Shares, 99 total points
5. Omar Vizquel, 4 years, 57 Win Shares, 71 total points
LEFT FIELD
1. Barry Bonds, 14 years, 503 Win Shares, 882 total points
2. Kevin Mitchell, 3 years, 74 Win Shares, 137 total points
3. Willie McCovey, 5 years, 89 Win Shares, 109 total points
3. Jeffrey Leonard, 7 years, 87 Win Shares, 104 total points
4. Gary Matthews, 4 years, 84 Win Shares, 93 total pointsCENTER FIELD
1. Willie Mays, 14 years, 460 Win Shares, 764 total points
2. Chili Davis, 6 years, 104 Win Shares, 125 total points
3. Brett Butler, 3 years, 74 Win Shares, 97 total points
4. Marvin Benard, 3 years, 71 Win Shares, 79 total points
Angel Pagan, 3 years, 61 Win Shares, 79 total points
RIGHT FIELD
1. Bobby Bonds, 7 years, 187 Win Shares, 259 total points
2. Jack Clark, 8 years, 164 Win Shares, 187 total points
3. Hunter Pence, 7 years, 94 Win Shares, 141 total points
3. Felipe Alou, 5 years, 81 Win Shares, 101 total points
5. Randy Winn, 5 years, 79 Win Shares, 84 total points
STARTING PITCHERS
1. Juan Marichal, 14 years, 260 Win Shares, 370 total points
3. Felipe Alou, 5 years, 81 Win Shares, 101 total points
5. Randy Winn, 5 years, 79 Win Shares, 84 total points
STARTING PITCHERS
1. Juan Marichal, 14 years, 260 Win Shares, 370 total points
2. Tim Lincecum, 9 years, 95 Win Shares, 224 total points
3. Madison Bumgarner, 10 years, 124 Win Shares, 219 total points
4. Gaylord Perry, 8 years, 154 Win Shares, 217 total points
5. Matt Cain, 13 years, 114 Win Shares, 172 total points
RELIEF PITCHERS
1. Sergio Romo, 9 years, 62 Win Shares, 126 total points
RELIEF PITCHERS
1. Sergio Romo, 9 years, 62 Win Shares, 126 total points
2. Gary Lavelle, 10 years, 105 Win Shares, 125 total points
3. Robb Nen, 5 years, 71 Win Shares, 123 total points
4. Rod Beck, 5 years, 71 Win Shares, 108 total points
5. Greg Minton, 9 years, 79 Win Shares, 97 total points
THE GREATEST PLAYERS
IN SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS HISTORY
1. Barry Bonds, 14 years, 503 Win Shares, 882 total points
2. Willie Mays, 14 years, 460 Win Shares, 764 total points
3. Willie McCovey, 18 years, 363 Win Shares, 506 total points
4. Buster Posey, 11 years, 243 Win Shares, 409 total points
5. Juan Marichal, 14 years, 260 Win Shares, 379 total points
6. Will Clark, 8 years, 222 Win Shares, 330 total points
7. Brandon Crawford, 12 years, 191 Win Shares, 288 total points
8. Bobby Bonds, 7 years, 187 Win Shares, 259 total points
9. Orlando Cepeda, 7 years, 177 Win Shares, 254 total points
10. Matt Williams, 9 years, 159 Win Shares, 243 total points
11. Jeff Kent, 6 years, 162 Win Shares, 228 total points
12. Tim Lincecum, 9 years, 95 Win Shares, 224 total points
13. Brandon Belt, 11 years, 164 Win Shares, 220 total points
14. Madison Bumgarner, 10 years, 124 Win Shares, 219 total points
15. Gaylord Perry, 8 years, 154 Win Shares, 217 total points
16. Robbie Thompson, 9 years, 155 Win Shares, 194 total points
17. Pablo Sandoval, 7 years, 140 Win Shares, 192 total points
18. Jack Clark, 8 years, 164 Win Shares, 187 total points
19. Kevin Mitchell, 5 years, 106 Win Shares, 186 total points
20. J.T. Snow, 9 years, 136 WAR, 180 total points
THE GREATEST PLAYERS
IN SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS HISTORY
AVERAGE WIN SHARES PER SEASON
Until 2016, the top five San Francisco Giants starting pitchers of all time were all right-handers. Not only that, the top six Giants starters were all righties, too-- Jim Barr being number six.
That all changed in 2016 as Madison Bumgarner passed both Barr and Jason Schmidt, and moved into fifth place. "Bum" has since moved into third place all-time, behind only Juan Marichal and Tim Lincecum (in total points), and Marichal and Gaylord Perry (in Win Shares). With no other Giants lefties anywhere near "Bum's" level, as something of a consolation prize, here we list the top five Giants southpaw starters since 1958.
1. Madison Bumgarner (10 seasons, 124 Win Shares, 219 total points).
2. Mike McCormick (8 seasons, 90 Win Shares, 138 total points). No doubt a surprise to many of you, as he was to us. Mac, a 1950s "bonus baby," was starting regularly in the National League at age 20. After five good seasons he was dealt away, then returned in 1967 to win 22 games and an out-of-nowhere Cy Young Award, which really boosted his totals. He added two more years after that. In this group, only Bum and Kirk Rueter had longer careers in SF.
3. Kirk Rueter (9 seasons, 66 Win Shares, 100 total points), and 4. Vida Blue (6 seasons, 63 Win Shares, 99 total points). Polar opposites-- ebullient, mercurial Vida and quiet, consistent "Woody." Vida had two seasons better than any of Rueter's; Kirk never had a season as bad as Vida's '79. We love 'em both.
5. Atlee Hammaker (4 seasons, 47 Win Shares, 66 total points) and Shawn Estes (6 seasons, 46 Win Shares, 67 total points). Two guys, one great season each, both probably remembered more for postseason struggles than anything else. Hammaker missed three full years with injuries; Estes lasted five more years after the Giants traded him away. Ron Bryant (4, 41, 65), who won 24 games in 1973 before flaming out, just missed the cut.
San Francisco fans of a certain age are sure to remember two of the greatest seasons ever by players coming off the bench-- Mike Ivie's incredible 1978 and Candy Maldonado's 1986. Both players won full-time jobs as a result, Maldonado right away and Ivie eventually, but neither worked out as expected and both left the Giants under a cloud.
This isn't about that. This is about those two seasons and others like them, or others we may have thought were like them, but weren't.
Ivie first. By midseason, the Giants were desperately trying to work him in wherever they could-- first base when Willie McCovey needed rest, and left field, which he couldn't play at all, for a few games. And pinch hitting. Good golly, pinch hitting. Without question, Ivie's 1978 was the greatest pinch-hitting season in San Francisco history, and might be the greatest of all time.
In 31 at-bats as pinch hitter, Ivie hit four home runs with a OPS of 1.358 and drove in twenty runs. Memorably, two of those pinch hits were grand-slam home runs, one of them off LA's Don Sutton before a packed Candlestick house, resulting in one of the late Lon Simmons' most frenetic in-game calls. Both those pinch-hit grand slams came during KNBR radio's promotional "Giants Payoff" inning, in which listeners whose mail-in card had been picked won prizes when the Giants got hits or scored runs. A grand slam won the contestant a new Chevrolet Chevette. Not much of a car, but hey, a free car, or, more properly, two free cars.
For the season Ivie was .308/.363/.475 with 11 homers and 55 RBI over 117 games, 76 of them starts. How longingly the Giants management must have looked at the American League, with its DH rule.
Candy Maldonado couldn't break into the LA outfield, and Al Rosen pried him loose for a third-string catcher. In the wonderful Renaissance year of 1986, Candy started out by "pulling an Ivie": in 40 pinch-hit at-bats he belted 4 homers and drove in 20 runs while batting .425 with a 1.264 OPS. Then, when Jeffrey Leonard was sidelined by injury, Candy stepped right into the starting lineup. He started 88 games in the outfield and drove in 60 runs, with 13 homers and 28 doubles, numbers similar to Leonard's. But as a sub, he batted .462 with a 1.366 OPS and five homers in 52 at-bats.
Willie McCovey, who was spelled by Mike Ivie for 54 games in 1978, had a season a lot like Ivie's back in 1962. The Giants had picked up Harvey Kuenn the previous year to share left field with "Mac," and Kuenn had 487 at-bats in '62 compared to McCovey's 229. But has anyone ever gotten more out of 229 at-bats? "Stretch" slugged .590 with 20 homers and 54 RBI. In 17 pinch-hit ABs he hit 2 homers. At home he hit 12 home runs in only 91 ABs. That's a Barry-Bonds-in-2001 pace.
Rick Leach, the former University of Michigan quarterback, joined the Giants in 1990 as a backup outfielder. After Kevin Bass was injured, Leach got into the starting lineup on July 2 with the club at 38-38, nine and a half games behind Cincinnati. With Leach batting second behind Brett Butler, the Giants went 21-11, swept Cincinnati four straight at the 'Stick, and cut the Reds' lead in half. Leach then failed a drug test and was suspended, effectively ending his career. The Giants immediately took a 9-17 nosedive and fell ten and a half back, effectively ending their season.
Memory jogs us to remember F.P. Santangelo, another journeyman outfielder, who got some starts in 1999 when both Barry Bonds and Marvin Benard battled injuries. We remember the versatile Santangelo-- who played six different positions that year-- as a "breath of fresh air." And indeed he was. Mostly batting leadoff in place of Benard, Santangelo got on base: a .401 OBP with 45 walks in 272 PAs, which resulted in 49 runs scored in only 58 games. Dusty Baker couldn't see the value, so Benard, whose .359 OBP wasn't leadoff-worthy (but certainly wasn't bad), returned to the lineup, and the top spot, as soon as he was healthy.
Andres Galarraga started 36 games at first base for the Giants in 2001, mostly against left-handers as J.T. Snow struggled with his abandonment of switch-hitting. "The Big Cat" went .288/.351/.513 and by all accounts lifted everyone's spirits with his positive attitude.
The following year, the Giants were desperate for a center fielder and grabbed veteran Kenny Lofton at midseason. Batting leadoff, Lofton scored 30 runs in 46 games, still had decent range in center, and delivered the hit that won the NLCS and sent the Giants to the 2002 World Series. OK, granted; he was a midseason pickup, not a player coming off the bench. But his role was the same-- a fill-in at a position that needed immediate help, and got it.
Along with a dizzying series of concussions and other injuries, the Giants' 2015 season is remembered for two players who stepped into the breach. Veteran Marlon Byrd replaced injured Nori Aoki in left field and drove in 31 runs in 39 games, exactly what the club had asked him to do. Youngster Kelby Tomlinson replaced Joe Panik at second, and went .303/.358/.404 in 46 starts, scoring 23 runs, driving in 20, and earning the nickname "Clark Kent."
Of all these worthies, Mike Ivie in 1978 delivered the most Win Shares at 14. McCovey in 1962 was at 12, Lofton in 2002 was 9 (in 46 games!), and Maldonado earned 12 in 1986. Chris Stewart, who replaced Buster Posey at catcher in 2011 after that nightmarish injury, delivered 3 Win Shares-- all of it on defense. Santangelo (10), Galarraga (8), Tomlinson and Leach (6), and Byrd (5) round out the rest of the group.
Two players who are less than fondly remembered in San Francisco are Carlos Beltran, who finished the 2011 season with the Giants, and Melky Cabrera, who opened the 2012 season here. Neither of those players count as "off the bench," but we'll briefly note their contributions anyway. The defending champion Giants tumbled out of contention almost from the moment Beltran arrived; does it do anyone any good to note he put up a .323/.369/.551 and finished with 7 Win Shares in only 44 games? Cabrera, as we noted elsewhere, was having a MVP-quality season (25 Win Shares in 117 games) when he failed a midseason drug test and was suspended, which hurt the 2012 Giants not one bit.
Perhaps we should have included them in the following segment, but we didn't.
While we have already admitted our bias toward players who spend more than a few years with the Giants, here we take time to note those relative few who wrote their name large for one year, and then moved, or were moved, on.
Aubrey Huff, 2010: 28 Win Shares
What a great year this was: .290/.385/.506, 83 walks against 91 Ks, and 7 stolen bases without being caught once. Add in the Giants' first-ever ring and this is definitely the best one-year wonder the team has ever had-- although Huff hung around for two more un-wonderful years and thus missed the average-per-season cut.
Reggie Sanders, 2002: 14 Win Shares
Yeah, we were a bit surprised, too. Numbers good across the board, defensive as well as offensive. A little surprising they didn't try harder to sign him for 2003.
We also have a few Giants pitchers who fit the bill. No one really uses them any more, but back in the day most teams depended on what we called "swingmen." These were guys who started some, but less than half the time, and relieved regularly the rest of the time. They were flexible, and they got a lot of work.
In the Giants' case, as late as 1970 the team had two, maybe three, only occasionally as many as four, starting pitchers on a regular rotation. In 1958, their first season in San Francisco, three guys-- Johnny Antonelli, Ruben Gomez, and rookie Mike McCormick-- started 92 of the team's 154 games. Four other guys (including Stu Miller) started the rest, but most of their appearances were in relief. In 1965, Juan Marichal and Bob Shaw took their regular turns, accounting for 70 starts out of 162; five other guys, including Ron Herbel and Bobby Bolin, started the rest. But only 34 of Herbel and Bolin's 92 appearances that year were starts. As late as 1970, the field was wide open behind Marichal and Gaylord Perry; a group of five swingmen such as Rich Robertson and Frank Reberger started 88 games.
Of all these guys, only one made a measurable contribution as both starter and reliever, and that would be Bobby Bolin. He was a fine pitcher, there's no doubt about that. After nine years with the Giants he was stupidly traded away in December 1969; he went on to pitch four more years in the A.L., though not as well.
In 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1969, Bolin was primarily a starter; 98 of his 138 appearances were starts, and he posted ERAs of 3.25, 2.89, 1.99 (!) and 4.43, with a overall record of 34-31.
Used primarily as a reliever (1961-1963, 1965, 1967) he was good, too; in '63 he struck out 8.8 men per 9 innings with a 2.4 K/W; his best year was 1965 when he went 14-6, 2.76 with a 1.0 WHIP, primarily in relief.
Overall Bolin contributed 46 Win Shares in 4 years as a starter; compare with Jack Sanford's 74 in 7 years or Mike McCormick's 90 in 8. As reliever he earned 35 Win Shares in 5 years, which is about average. Why the team didn't just make him a full-time starter after 1964 is a mystery. Ray Sadecki, for instance, contributed 36 Win Shares in his four-year stint.
While not exactly reviving the "swingman," Roger Craig in his early years with the Giants became famous, or notorious, for switching guys between starting and relieving from year to year. Scott Garrelts was a starter in 1986, 1989, and 1990; he had been the team's closer in 1985, and would be again in 1987 and 1988. Mark Davis, a reliever in 1986, went back to the rotation in 1987 and then was traded. Don Robinson arrived as a reliever in 1987 but made his mark as a starter from 1988-1991. Then we have the short-lived but infamous "Mike LaCoss-as-closer" experiment from early 1989, which occasioned the desperation trade for Steve Bedrosian.
Garrelts and Davis contributed in both roles. Davis arrived on the scene in 1983, making 20 starts. He started 27 more in 1984, then spent 1985 and 1986 in the bullpen, where he appeared in 144 games but saved only 11 working ahead of Garrelts. Craig perhaps believed Davis was wasted in relief and made him a starter for '87. He was 4-5, 4.71 when traded.
As both starter and reliever, Davis made a small impact: 10 Win Shares in 3 years as starter, 13 in two years as reliever. His greatest value to the Giants remains the players he brought in trade.
Garrelts had a bigger footprint. He arrived as a reliever in 1984, and saved 48 games over the next four years, including 1986 when Craig jerked him back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Made a full-time starter in 1989, he had his greatest season: 14-5, 2.29, 1.0 WHIP, 20th in MVP voting. He fell off drastically in 1990, walking 70 men in 182 innings while his strikeout total fell to 80 and his WHIP increased by 50%. Clearly he was pitching hurt, because he never recovered after that season.
As a starter, Garrelts contributed 22 Win Shares in his two-plus years. As a reliever, he added 48 in 4 years. His best season was as a starter in 1989; 15 Win Shares.
"Aaaand now... the starting lineup, in that land beyond time... for OUR San Francisco Giiiiiiiaaaaannnnts...
"Leading off, and playing right field... the premier power/speed player of his day, and perhaps any day... the first real '40-40' man in major league history... Bobby Bonds!
"Batting second and playing left field... we know him as the game's all-time and single-season home run champion, the only seven-time MVP, the greatest pure hitter since Williams... son of Bobby, godson of Willie... love him or hate him, you can't ignore him. Barry Bonds!
"Batting third... in center field... the man who needs no introduction... the game's greatest all-around player... 'Say Hey'... it's Willie Mays!
"And batting fourth... the greatest first baseman ever to play in the National League... our beloved 'Stretch'... Willie McCovey!
"Batting fifth... at third base... with power at the plate and a Gold Glove in the field... a class act all the way... Matt Williams!
"Batting sixth and playing second base... the man who drove in over 100 runs all six years he played in San Francisco... Mister Consistency... Jeff Kent!
"Batting seventh... the 2010 Rookie of the Year and 2012 MVP... a three-time world champion... catcher Buster Posey!
"Batting eighth... the key player on the infield that won two world championships... the kid who grew up a Giants fan.... shortstop Brandon Crawford!
"Batting ninth, and warming up on the mound... the six-time twenty-game winner, the Hall of Famer, the legendary 'Dominican Dandy' himself... Juan Antonio Sanchez Maaaaariiiiiichaaaaal!
"And introducing the rest of the Giants' greats... Will Clark, Jack Clark, Orlando Cepeda, Robbie Thompson-- and down in the bullpen, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Gary Lavelle and Robb Nen!
"Let's hear it for the greatest San Francisco Giants of all time!"
2016
Denard Span
Jeff Samardzija
Johnny Cueto
Matt Moore
Will Smith
2017
Sam Dyson
AVERAGE WIN SHARES PER SEASON
1. Barry Bonds, 36
2. Willie Mays, 33
3. Will Clark, 28
4. Bobby Bonds, 27
Jeff Kent, 27
6. Brett Butler, 25
Orlando Cepeda, 25
8. Jim Ray Hart, 24
Marvin Benard, 24
10. Joe Morgan, 22
Buster Posey, 22
12. Kevin Mitchell, 21
Gary Matthews, 21
Bobby Murcer, 21
Joc Pederson, 21
Jack Clark, 21
Aubrey Huff, 21
Mike Ivie, 21
19. Willie McCovey, 20
Pablo Sandoval, 20
Pat Burrell, 20
Darrell Evans, 20
LEFT-HANDED STARTING PITCHERS
Until 2016, the top five San Francisco Giants starting pitchers of all time were all right-handers. Not only that, the top six Giants starters were all righties, too-- Jim Barr being number six.
That all changed in 2016 as Madison Bumgarner passed both Barr and Jason Schmidt, and moved into fifth place. "Bum" has since moved into third place all-time, behind only Juan Marichal and Tim Lincecum (in total points), and Marichal and Gaylord Perry (in Win Shares). With no other Giants lefties anywhere near "Bum's" level, as something of a consolation prize, here we list the top five Giants southpaw starters since 1958.
1. Madison Bumgarner (10 seasons, 124 Win Shares, 219 total points).
2. Mike McCormick (8 seasons, 90 Win Shares, 138 total points). No doubt a surprise to many of you, as he was to us. Mac, a 1950s "bonus baby," was starting regularly in the National League at age 20. After five good seasons he was dealt away, then returned in 1967 to win 22 games and an out-of-nowhere Cy Young Award, which really boosted his totals. He added two more years after that. In this group, only Bum and Kirk Rueter had longer careers in SF.
3. Kirk Rueter (9 seasons, 66 Win Shares, 100 total points), and 4. Vida Blue (6 seasons, 63 Win Shares, 99 total points). Polar opposites-- ebullient, mercurial Vida and quiet, consistent "Woody." Vida had two seasons better than any of Rueter's; Kirk never had a season as bad as Vida's '79. We love 'em both.
5. Atlee Hammaker (4 seasons, 47 Win Shares, 66 total points) and Shawn Estes (6 seasons, 46 Win Shares, 67 total points). Two guys, one great season each, both probably remembered more for postseason struggles than anything else. Hammaker missed three full years with injuries; Estes lasted five more years after the Giants traded him away. Ron Bryant (4, 41, 65), who won 24 games in 1973 before flaming out, just missed the cut.
GREAT SEASONS OFF THE BENCH
San Francisco fans of a certain age are sure to remember two of the greatest seasons ever by players coming off the bench-- Mike Ivie's incredible 1978 and Candy Maldonado's 1986. Both players won full-time jobs as a result, Maldonado right away and Ivie eventually, but neither worked out as expected and both left the Giants under a cloud.
This isn't about that. This is about those two seasons and others like them, or others we may have thought were like them, but weren't.
Ivie first. By midseason, the Giants were desperately trying to work him in wherever they could-- first base when Willie McCovey needed rest, and left field, which he couldn't play at all, for a few games. And pinch hitting. Good golly, pinch hitting. Without question, Ivie's 1978 was the greatest pinch-hitting season in San Francisco history, and might be the greatest of all time.
In 31 at-bats as pinch hitter, Ivie hit four home runs with a OPS of 1.358 and drove in twenty runs. Memorably, two of those pinch hits were grand-slam home runs, one of them off LA's Don Sutton before a packed Candlestick house, resulting in one of the late Lon Simmons' most frenetic in-game calls. Both those pinch-hit grand slams came during KNBR radio's promotional "Giants Payoff" inning, in which listeners whose mail-in card had been picked won prizes when the Giants got hits or scored runs. A grand slam won the contestant a new Chevrolet Chevette. Not much of a car, but hey, a free car, or, more properly, two free cars.
For the season Ivie was .308/.363/.475 with 11 homers and 55 RBI over 117 games, 76 of them starts. How longingly the Giants management must have looked at the American League, with its DH rule.
Candy Maldonado couldn't break into the LA outfield, and Al Rosen pried him loose for a third-string catcher. In the wonderful Renaissance year of 1986, Candy started out by "pulling an Ivie": in 40 pinch-hit at-bats he belted 4 homers and drove in 20 runs while batting .425 with a 1.264 OPS. Then, when Jeffrey Leonard was sidelined by injury, Candy stepped right into the starting lineup. He started 88 games in the outfield and drove in 60 runs, with 13 homers and 28 doubles, numbers similar to Leonard's. But as a sub, he batted .462 with a 1.366 OPS and five homers in 52 at-bats.
Willie McCovey, who was spelled by Mike Ivie for 54 games in 1978, had a season a lot like Ivie's back in 1962. The Giants had picked up Harvey Kuenn the previous year to share left field with "Mac," and Kuenn had 487 at-bats in '62 compared to McCovey's 229. But has anyone ever gotten more out of 229 at-bats? "Stretch" slugged .590 with 20 homers and 54 RBI. In 17 pinch-hit ABs he hit 2 homers. At home he hit 12 home runs in only 91 ABs. That's a Barry-Bonds-in-2001 pace.
Rick Leach, the former University of Michigan quarterback, joined the Giants in 1990 as a backup outfielder. After Kevin Bass was injured, Leach got into the starting lineup on July 2 with the club at 38-38, nine and a half games behind Cincinnati. With Leach batting second behind Brett Butler, the Giants went 21-11, swept Cincinnati four straight at the 'Stick, and cut the Reds' lead in half. Leach then failed a drug test and was suspended, effectively ending his career. The Giants immediately took a 9-17 nosedive and fell ten and a half back, effectively ending their season.
Memory jogs us to remember F.P. Santangelo, another journeyman outfielder, who got some starts in 1999 when both Barry Bonds and Marvin Benard battled injuries. We remember the versatile Santangelo-- who played six different positions that year-- as a "breath of fresh air." And indeed he was. Mostly batting leadoff in place of Benard, Santangelo got on base: a .401 OBP with 45 walks in 272 PAs, which resulted in 49 runs scored in only 58 games. Dusty Baker couldn't see the value, so Benard, whose .359 OBP wasn't leadoff-worthy (but certainly wasn't bad), returned to the lineup, and the top spot, as soon as he was healthy.
Andres Galarraga started 36 games at first base for the Giants in 2001, mostly against left-handers as J.T. Snow struggled with his abandonment of switch-hitting. "The Big Cat" went .288/.351/.513 and by all accounts lifted everyone's spirits with his positive attitude.
The following year, the Giants were desperate for a center fielder and grabbed veteran Kenny Lofton at midseason. Batting leadoff, Lofton scored 30 runs in 46 games, still had decent range in center, and delivered the hit that won the NLCS and sent the Giants to the 2002 World Series. OK, granted; he was a midseason pickup, not a player coming off the bench. But his role was the same-- a fill-in at a position that needed immediate help, and got it.
Along with a dizzying series of concussions and other injuries, the Giants' 2015 season is remembered for two players who stepped into the breach. Veteran Marlon Byrd replaced injured Nori Aoki in left field and drove in 31 runs in 39 games, exactly what the club had asked him to do. Youngster Kelby Tomlinson replaced Joe Panik at second, and went .303/.358/.404 in 46 starts, scoring 23 runs, driving in 20, and earning the nickname "Clark Kent."
Of all these worthies, Mike Ivie in 1978 delivered the most Win Shares at 14. McCovey in 1962 was at 12, Lofton in 2002 was 9 (in 46 games!), and Maldonado earned 12 in 1986. Chris Stewart, who replaced Buster Posey at catcher in 2011 after that nightmarish injury, delivered 3 Win Shares-- all of it on defense. Santangelo (10), Galarraga (8), Tomlinson and Leach (6), and Byrd (5) round out the rest of the group.
Two players who are less than fondly remembered in San Francisco are Carlos Beltran, who finished the 2011 season with the Giants, and Melky Cabrera, who opened the 2012 season here. Neither of those players count as "off the bench," but we'll briefly note their contributions anyway. The defending champion Giants tumbled out of contention almost from the moment Beltran arrived; does it do anyone any good to note he put up a .323/.369/.551 and finished with 7 Win Shares in only 44 games? Cabrera, as we noted elsewhere, was having a MVP-quality season (25 Win Shares in 117 games) when he failed a midseason drug test and was suspended, which hurt the 2012 Giants not one bit.
Perhaps we should have included them in the following segment, but we didn't.
ONE-YEAR WONDERS
While we have already admitted our bias toward players who spend more than a few years with the Giants, here we take time to note those relative few who wrote their name large for one year, and then moved, or were moved, on.
Aubrey Huff, 2010: 28 Win Shares
What a great year this was: .290/.385/.506, 83 walks against 91 Ks, and 7 stolen bases without being caught once. Add in the Giants' first-ever ring and this is definitely the best one-year wonder the team has ever had-- although Huff hung around for two more un-wonderful years and thus missed the average-per-season cut.
Matt Duffy, 2015: 22 Win Shares
One of our closest and dearest family members called this one in spring training 2015, and said beloved was deeply upset when "Duffman" was traded in 2016. Playing four positions and settling in at third, Duffy's offensive and defensive numbers both were positive. He ht .295 with 28 doubles, 6 triples and 12 homers; his 245 total bases were second to Buster Posey's. Of course, his injury-plagued 2016 led to the trade, and he's been trying to revive his career ever since.
One of our closest and dearest family members called this one in spring training 2015, and said beloved was deeply upset when "Duffman" was traded in 2016. Playing four positions and settling in at third, Duffy's offensive and defensive numbers both were positive. He ht .295 with 28 doubles, 6 triples and 12 homers; his 245 total bases were second to Buster Posey's. Of course, his injury-plagued 2016 led to the trade, and he's been trying to revive his career ever since.
Joc Pederson and Carlos Rodon, 2022: 21 and 15 Win Shares
The only two Giants representatives in the All-Star Game were among the few highlights of a terribly disappointing season following the team's record 107 wins the year before. Rodon was among the league's best starters, just missing the league lead in strikeouts, and Pederson was outstanding in only 433 PA's.
Pat Burrell, 2010: 20 Win Shares
18 homers and a .509 SLG in 96 games, after wasting a month in Tampa. As good a mid-season pickup as you're ever going to see. Like Huff, his return engagement the following year wasn't memorable, but that first ring sure is.
Bob Shaw, 1965: 19 Win Shares
Shaw came over in the Felipe Alou trade in 1964, and Alvin Dark assigned him to the bullpen. Herman Franks gave him 33 starts in '65, and Shaw, 32, went 16-9, 2.46, pitching 235 innings. Shaw and Juan Marichal ate up over a third of the team's innings by themselves, and their two-man rotation came within two games of the NL pennant. Shaw struck out only 148 men in his 235 innings. We'd suspect, if we had the numbers, that his ground-ball and double-play ratios were very high; one of his top similarity scores is with Bill Swift. In any case, he was sure effective, and the following spring Horace Stoneham sold him to the New York Mets, where he went 11-10, 3.92 (for a team that lost 95 games) and finished 28th in the MVP voting.
Von Joshua, 1975: 19 Win Shares
Where'd this come from? Off the waiver wire, is how it turned out. Good defense and .318 with ten triples for a .500 team that was almost moved to Toronto, and a year later the new ownership sold him, yes, sold him, to Milwaukee. Why? Well, he never had another season like this one, so maybe somebody knew something.
Shaw came over in the Felipe Alou trade in 1964, and Alvin Dark assigned him to the bullpen. Herman Franks gave him 33 starts in '65, and Shaw, 32, went 16-9, 2.46, pitching 235 innings. Shaw and Juan Marichal ate up over a third of the team's innings by themselves, and their two-man rotation came within two games of the NL pennant. Shaw struck out only 148 men in his 235 innings. We'd suspect, if we had the numbers, that his ground-ball and double-play ratios were very high; one of his top similarity scores is with Bill Swift. In any case, he was sure effective, and the following spring Horace Stoneham sold him to the New York Mets, where he went 11-10, 3.92 (for a team that lost 95 games) and finished 28th in the MVP voting.
Von Joshua, 1975: 19 Win Shares
Where'd this come from? Off the waiver wire, is how it turned out. Good defense and .318 with ten triples for a .500 team that was almost moved to Toronto, and a year later the new ownership sold him, yes, sold him, to Milwaukee. Why? Well, he never had another season like this one, so maybe somebody knew something.
Jose Cruz jnr, 2003: 17 Win Shares
Shoot, he might still be out there if he hadn't dropped that confounded fly ball.
Shoot, he might still be out there if he hadn't dropped that confounded fly ball.
Kevin Pillar, 2019: 16 Win Shares
For a guy who swung at everything, he did fine, playing terrific defense and hitting a career high 21 homers. It landed him a fat contract with Boston in the offseason and the Giants wisely let him walk.
Reggie Sanders, 2002: 14 Win Shares
Yeah, we were a bit surprised, too. Numbers good across the board, defensive as well as offensive. A little surprising they didn't try harder to sign him for 2003.
Mike Morse, 2013: 13 Win Shares
When healthy, he was a monster: 32 doubles and 16 homers in two-thirds of a season, and, of course, two of the biggest hits in San Francisco postseason history.
When healthy, he was a monster: 32 doubles and 16 homers in two-thirds of a season, and, of course, two of the biggest hits in San Francisco postseason history.
Doyle Alexander, 1981: 11 Win Shares
Remember, it was the strike season and he only started 24 games. The Giants never should have traded him; he had plenty of gas left in the tank and pitched well for Toronto's first division-winner in 1985, and we got bupkus back in trade.
SINGLE SEASON
It will surprise none of you to hear that the greatest single season in Giants history was turned in by Barry Bonds in 2001-- unless it was Barry Bonds in 2002. In those seasons he put up 54 and 49 Win Shares, respectively. It's a choice between 73 homers and a .370 average, and we believe the latter was the more remarkable achievement, especially coming one year after the former. There is no two-season performance like it in major league history. Bonds also had 47 in 1993, 48 in 2004, and "only" 38 in 2003. Those are his five MVP seasons in Giants uniform.
After Barry, the Giants' highest single-season Win Shares total is 44 by Will Clark in 1989, truly a remarkable season (and that doesn't count his brilliant postseason).
Willie Mays put up seven seasons of 35-plus Win Shares in San Francisco with a peak of 43 in 1965. That same season, 1965, saw Juan Marichal put up 30 Win Shares, though he lost 13 games against 22 wins. The "Dominican Dandy's" zenith was 33 Win Shares the following year when he went 25-6 with a 2.23.
Tim Lincecum's 25 Win Shares in his first Cy Young season of 2008 is the highest by any Giants pitcher since Marichal in 1966. Jason Schmidt had put up 23 in 2003, the previous high. No one has come close since.
A few notes... Jeff Kent's 37 Win Shares in his MVP season of 2000 was indeed the best in the league, five ahead of teammate Bonds... Will Clark's 44 in 1989 were six more than MVP teammate Kevin Mitchell... Rich Aurilia's epochal 2001 season stands at 33, by far the best of any Giants shortstop... Willie McCovey's 1969 MVP year was 39 Win Shares, his best.... Of the recent Giants, Buster Posey's 38 Win Shares in 2012 is tops... The subtle strength of the Bruce Bochy Giants is revealed by that injury-riddled 2015 team, where the top four players (Posey, Bumgarner, Crawford, Duffy) averaged 22 Win Shares... The 2021 team leaders (Crawford, Posey, Belt, Gausman) averaged 21... By that standard, the 1966 Giants may have been the strongest of all. Their top five-- Marichal, Mays, McCovey, Gaylord Perry, and Jim Ray Hart-- averaged over 30 Win Shares, which is MVP territory.
MULTI-POSITION PLAYERS
Two of the Giants' most colorful players made major contributions to the team at two different positions: Willie McCovey and Kevin Mitchell. We'll start with "Mitch" since his is the easier story to tell.
Originally a shortstop (yes, it's true), Mitchell was holding down third for San Diego when the Giants traded for him in 1987. He responded with a breakout year: .306./.376/.530 with 142 total bases in 69 games; he may have been the real difference-maker for that pennant-winning team. Average down, power steady the next year, but his range at third reached the microscopic level and the Giants determined to put him in left. That, of course, resulted in his MVP season and a good followup year in '90 before ennui set in.
Mitch's left-field totals swamp his third-base totals, 89-35; in Win Shares it's LF 74, 3B 32. Winning the MVP and the home run, RBI, and slugging titles in 1989 made a big difference, of course. His overall contribution at third is 'way back in the pack-- about even with Chris Brown, for whom he was traded-- but as a left fielder he ranks second in San Francisco history.
In the late fifties the Giants had one of the greatest concentrations of talent at one position in the history of the game: Orlando Cepeda, Bill White, and Willie McCovey, all on the same team at the same time, all young, all with tremendous potential. Two future Hall of Famers plus a five-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glover, two-time world champion, and National League president, all at first base. "Who's on first," indeed.
In 1959, Cepeda was the star and reigning Rookie of the Year; White was the odd man out and he was traded before the season began. McCovey broke in spectacularly four months later; how many other teams have had the Rookie of the Year two seasons in a row at the same position?
In retrospect, it's clear the Giants should have been more forceful in persuading Cepeda to stay in left field from 1960 on, with McCovey taking over first base. Much has already been made over Cepeda's selfishness regarding that situation; we won't rehash it here. The result of it all was that for three years, McCovey was a player without a position, and for three after that he was a left fielder. He had a great year in left in 1963: .280/.350/.566 with a league-leading 44 homers. But 275 games in the outfield also led to repeated leg and foot injuries that would dog him throughout his career.
In 1965, with Cepeda injured, "Mac" took over at first and remained there for the rest of his career. 395 of his 521 homers were hit from 1965 on, and he won the 1969 MVP at first as well as the Comeback Player award in 1977 at age 39.
As a left fielder, despite everything, McCovey still ranks as the third-greatest of all time in San Francisco, with 89 Win Shares and and 97 total points. Only Barry Bonds and Kevin Mitchell outrank him. But at first base, "Big Mac" sets the gold standard with 274 Win Shares and 309 total points. Number two, Will Clark, is well behind.
Originally a shortstop (yes, it's true), Mitchell was holding down third for San Diego when the Giants traded for him in 1987. He responded with a breakout year: .306./.376/.530 with 142 total bases in 69 games; he may have been the real difference-maker for that pennant-winning team. Average down, power steady the next year, but his range at third reached the microscopic level and the Giants determined to put him in left. That, of course, resulted in his MVP season and a good followup year in '90 before ennui set in.
Mitch's left-field totals swamp his third-base totals, 89-35; in Win Shares it's LF 74, 3B 32. Winning the MVP and the home run, RBI, and slugging titles in 1989 made a big difference, of course. His overall contribution at third is 'way back in the pack-- about even with Chris Brown, for whom he was traded-- but as a left fielder he ranks second in San Francisco history.
In the late fifties the Giants had one of the greatest concentrations of talent at one position in the history of the game: Orlando Cepeda, Bill White, and Willie McCovey, all on the same team at the same time, all young, all with tremendous potential. Two future Hall of Famers plus a five-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glover, two-time world champion, and National League president, all at first base. "Who's on first," indeed.
In 1959, Cepeda was the star and reigning Rookie of the Year; White was the odd man out and he was traded before the season began. McCovey broke in spectacularly four months later; how many other teams have had the Rookie of the Year two seasons in a row at the same position?
In retrospect, it's clear the Giants should have been more forceful in persuading Cepeda to stay in left field from 1960 on, with McCovey taking over first base. Much has already been made over Cepeda's selfishness regarding that situation; we won't rehash it here. The result of it all was that for three years, McCovey was a player without a position, and for three after that he was a left fielder. He had a great year in left in 1963: .280/.350/.566 with a league-leading 44 homers. But 275 games in the outfield also led to repeated leg and foot injuries that would dog him throughout his career.
In 1965, with Cepeda injured, "Mac" took over at first and remained there for the rest of his career. 395 of his 521 homers were hit from 1965 on, and he won the 1969 MVP at first as well as the Comeback Player award in 1977 at age 39.
As a left fielder, despite everything, McCovey still ranks as the third-greatest of all time in San Francisco, with 89 Win Shares and and 97 total points. Only Barry Bonds and Kevin Mitchell outrank him. But at first base, "Big Mac" sets the gold standard with 274 Win Shares and 309 total points. Number two, Will Clark, is well behind.
We also have a few Giants pitchers who fit the bill. No one really uses them any more, but back in the day most teams depended on what we called "swingmen." These were guys who started some, but less than half the time, and relieved regularly the rest of the time. They were flexible, and they got a lot of work.
In the Giants' case, as late as 1970 the team had two, maybe three, only occasionally as many as four, starting pitchers on a regular rotation. In 1958, their first season in San Francisco, three guys-- Johnny Antonelli, Ruben Gomez, and rookie Mike McCormick-- started 92 of the team's 154 games. Four other guys (including Stu Miller) started the rest, but most of their appearances were in relief. In 1965, Juan Marichal and Bob Shaw took their regular turns, accounting for 70 starts out of 162; five other guys, including Ron Herbel and Bobby Bolin, started the rest. But only 34 of Herbel and Bolin's 92 appearances that year were starts. As late as 1970, the field was wide open behind Marichal and Gaylord Perry; a group of five swingmen such as Rich Robertson and Frank Reberger started 88 games.
Of all these guys, only one made a measurable contribution as both starter and reliever, and that would be Bobby Bolin. He was a fine pitcher, there's no doubt about that. After nine years with the Giants he was stupidly traded away in December 1969; he went on to pitch four more years in the A.L., though not as well.
In 1964, 1966, 1968, and 1969, Bolin was primarily a starter; 98 of his 138 appearances were starts, and he posted ERAs of 3.25, 2.89, 1.99 (!) and 4.43, with a overall record of 34-31.
Used primarily as a reliever (1961-1963, 1965, 1967) he was good, too; in '63 he struck out 8.8 men per 9 innings with a 2.4 K/W; his best year was 1965 when he went 14-6, 2.76 with a 1.0 WHIP, primarily in relief.
Overall Bolin contributed 46 Win Shares in 4 years as a starter; compare with Jack Sanford's 74 in 7 years or Mike McCormick's 90 in 8. As reliever he earned 35 Win Shares in 5 years, which is about average. Why the team didn't just make him a full-time starter after 1964 is a mystery. Ray Sadecki, for instance, contributed 36 Win Shares in his four-year stint.
While not exactly reviving the "swingman," Roger Craig in his early years with the Giants became famous, or notorious, for switching guys between starting and relieving from year to year. Scott Garrelts was a starter in 1986, 1989, and 1990; he had been the team's closer in 1985, and would be again in 1987 and 1988. Mark Davis, a reliever in 1986, went back to the rotation in 1987 and then was traded. Don Robinson arrived as a reliever in 1987 but made his mark as a starter from 1988-1991. Then we have the short-lived but infamous "Mike LaCoss-as-closer" experiment from early 1989, which occasioned the desperation trade for Steve Bedrosian.
Garrelts and Davis contributed in both roles. Davis arrived on the scene in 1983, making 20 starts. He started 27 more in 1984, then spent 1985 and 1986 in the bullpen, where he appeared in 144 games but saved only 11 working ahead of Garrelts. Craig perhaps believed Davis was wasted in relief and made him a starter for '87. He was 4-5, 4.71 when traded.
As both starter and reliever, Davis made a small impact: 10 Win Shares in 3 years as starter, 13 in two years as reliever. His greatest value to the Giants remains the players he brought in trade.
Garrelts had a bigger footprint. He arrived as a reliever in 1984, and saved 48 games over the next four years, including 1986 when Craig jerked him back and forth between the rotation and the bullpen. Made a full-time starter in 1989, he had his greatest season: 14-5, 2.29, 1.0 WHIP, 20th in MVP voting. He fell off drastically in 1990, walking 70 men in 182 innings while his strikeout total fell to 80 and his WHIP increased by 50%. Clearly he was pitching hurt, because he never recovered after that season.
As a starter, Garrelts contributed 22 Win Shares in his two-plus years. As a reliever, he added 48 in 4 years. His best season was as a starter in 1989; 15 Win Shares.
THE STARTING LINEUP
"Aaaand now... the starting lineup, in that land beyond time... for OUR San Francisco Giiiiiiiaaaaannnnts...
"Leading off, and playing right field... the premier power/speed player of his day, and perhaps any day... the first real '40-40' man in major league history... Bobby Bonds!
"Batting second and playing left field... we know him as the game's all-time and single-season home run champion, the only seven-time MVP, the greatest pure hitter since Williams... son of Bobby, godson of Willie... love him or hate him, you can't ignore him. Barry Bonds!
"And batting fourth... the greatest first baseman ever to play in the National League... our beloved 'Stretch'... Willie McCovey!
"Batting sixth and playing second base... the man who drove in over 100 runs all six years he played in San Francisco... Mister Consistency... Jeff Kent!
"Batting seventh... the 2010 Rookie of the Year and 2012 MVP... a three-time world champion... catcher Buster Posey!
"Batting eighth... the key player on the infield that won two world championships... the kid who grew up a Giants fan.... shortstop Brandon Crawford!
"Batting ninth, and warming up on the mound... the six-time twenty-game winner, the Hall of Famer, the legendary 'Dominican Dandy' himself... Juan Antonio Sanchez Maaaaariiiiiichaaaaal!
"And introducing the rest of the Giants' greats... Will Clark, Jack Clark, Orlando Cepeda, Robbie Thompson-- and down in the bullpen, Madison Bumgarner, Tim Lincecum, Gary Lavelle and Robb Nen!
"Let's hear it for the greatest San Francisco Giants of all time!"
THE MASTER LIST
1958
Bob Schmidt
Bob Schmidt
Jim Davenport
Johnny Antonelli
Mike McCormick
Orlando Cepeda
Ruben Gomez
Willie Kirkland
Willie Mays
Stu Miller
Stu Miller
1959
Jack Sanford
Jack Sanford
Sam Jones
Willie McCovey
1960
Bill O'Dell
Felipe Alou
Juan Marichal
1961
Jose Pagan
Ed Bailey
Ed Bailey
Harvey Kuenn
Jim Duffalo
Chuck Hiller
Bob Bolin
Chuck Hiller
Bob Bolin
1962
Billy Pierce
Don Larsen
Don Larsen
Tom Haller
1963
Frank Linzy
Gaylord Perry
Matty Alou
Ron Herbel
1964
Bob Hendley
Jesus Alou
Jim Ray Hart
Masanori Murakami
Bob Shaw
Hal Lanier
Hal Lanier
1965
Tito Fuentes
Ken Henderson
Ken Henderson
1966
Joe Gibbon
Lindy McDaniel
Ray Sadecki
1968
Bobby Bonds
Dick Dietz
Ron Hunt
1969
Don McMahon
Don McMahon
1970
Al Gallagher
Ron Bryant
1971
Chris Speier
Dave Kingman
1972
Dave Rader
Garry Maddox
Jim Barr
Randy Moffitt
Randy Moffitt
1973
Elias Sosa
Gary Matthews
1974
Gary Lavelle
Mike Caldwell
1975
Bobby Murcer
Ed Halicki
John Montefusco
Von Joshua
1976
Darrell Evans
Larry Herndon
Marc Hill
1977
Bill Madlock
Bob Knepper
Jack Clark
Johnnie LeMaster
1978
Mike Ivie
Vida Blue
1979
Al Holland
Greg Minton
Greg Minton
Bill North
Ed Whitson
1980
1980
Milt May
1981
Doyle Alexander
Joe Morgan
1982
Atlee Hammaker
Bill Laskey
Chili Davis
Jeffrey Leonard
Bob Brenly
Bob Brenly
1983
Mark Davis
Mike Krukow
1984
Dan Gladden
Manny Trillo
1985
Chris Brown
Dave LaPoint
Jim Gott
Jose Uribe
Scott Garrelts
1986
Candy Maldonado
Kelly Downs
Mike LaCoss
Robbie Thompson
Will Clark
1987
Craig Lefferts
Dave Dravecky
Don Robinson
Kevin Mitchell
Rick Reuschel
1988
Brett Butler
Terry Mulholland
Matt Williams
1989
Steve Bedrosian
Terry Kennedy
Jeff Brantley
1990
John Burkett
Trevor Wilson
1991
Bud Black
Darren Lewis
Dave Righetti
Kirt Manwaring
Willie McGee
1992
Bill Swift
Bryan Hickerson
Dave Burba
Mike Jackson
Rod Beck
Royce Clayton
1993
Barry Bonds
1994
Mark Portugal
Mark Portugal
William Van Landingham
1995
Glenallen Hill
Mark Leiter
1996
Stan Javier
Bill Mueller
Kirk Rueter
Mark Gardner
Marvin Benard
Shawn Estes
1997
Darryl Hamilton
J.T. Snow
Jeff Kent
Julian Tavarez
Rich Aurilia
Russ Ortiz
John Johnstone
John Johnstone
Rich Rodriguez
1998
Brent Mayne
Ellis Burks
Robb Nen
Felix Rodriguez
Chad Zerbe
Felix Rodriguez
Chad Zerbe
1999
Joe Nathan
Livan Hernandez
2000
Scott Eyre
2001
Benito Santiago
Jason Schmidt
Pedro Feliz
Tim Worrell
Jason Christiansen
Jason Christiansen
2002
Reggie Sanders
2003
Dustin Hermanson
Jerome Williams
Jose Cruz
Marquis Grissom
Ray Durham
2004
Brad Hennessey
Brett Tomko
Noah Lowry
2005
Armando Benitez
Matt Cain
Moises Alou
Omar Vizquel
Randy Winn
2006
Matt Morris
2007
Barry Zito
Bengie Molina
Brian Wilson
Fred Lewis
Pablo Sandoval
Tim Lincecum
Nate Schierholtz
Nate Schierholtz
2008
Aaron Rowand
Jonathan Sanchez
Sergio Romo
2009
Edgar Renteria
Freddy Sanchez
Jeremy Affeldt
Juan Uribe
2010
Andres Torres
Aubrey Huff
Buster Posey
Cody Ross
Madison Bumgarner
Pat Burrell
Ramon Ramirez
Javier Lopez
Javier Lopez
Santiago Casilla
2011
Gregor Blanco
Ryan Vogelsong
2012
Angel Pagan
Brandon Belt
Brandon Crawford
Hunter Pence
Marco Scutaro
Yusmeiro Petit
George Kontos
George Kontos
2014
Hunter Strickland
Jake Peavy
Joe Panik
Mike Morse
Tim Hudson
2015
Matt Duffy
2016
Denard Span
Jeff Samardzija
Johnny Cueto
Matt Moore
Will Smith
2017
Sam Dyson
2018
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