San Francisco Giants

New York Gothams/Giants History

The beginnings in New York and the John McGraw era

The San Francisco Giants were founded by John B. Day and Jim Mutrie. The New York Gothams (as the Giants were originally christened) joined the National League (NL) in 1883 because the other New York club, the Metropolitans, played in the American Association. Almost half of the players came from the Troy Trojans, who gave up their spot in the NL to the Gothams. Therefore, you can say the Trojans are the predecessor to the Gothams/Giants.

Since the Metropolitans were the more successful team at the time, Day and Mutrie bought key players for the Gothams and promptly won the National League championship in 1888. They then won an early version of the World Series against the St. Louis Browns. In 1889, this success was confirmed again, they won the World Series against the Brooklyn Bridegrooms. After a particularly spectacular victory, Jim Mutrie (he was manager of the team at the time) came storming into the booth saying, "My big fellows, my Giants!" ("My great team, my Giants!") The name Giants was born.

The Giants' stadium, the Polo Grounds, dated from this early era, and was located north of Central Park next to 5th and 6th avenues and 110th and 112th streets in New York City, in close proximity to the Harlem neighborhood. After vacating the site following the 1888 season, the Giants moved to Polo Grounds II, which was located between 155th and 159th Streets in the Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhood. They would not leave this site again until their move to San Francisco in 1958.

After Andrew Freedmann, who became known as the worst owner in the world, took over the Giants, luck changed sides. The 1902 season, the Giants' worst season to date, ended with them 53.5 games behind the champions. Freedman then hired John McGraw as player and manager. McGraw managed the Giants for three decades, leading the team to the NL title ten times and the World Series three times during that time.

The Giants' success at this time included players like Mickey Welsh, Roger Connor, Tim Keefe, Jim O'Rourke, and Monte Ward, who in 1890 founded the renegade players' union as an advocate for the players to fight unfair contracts. McGraw also molded many players into stars during these years: Christy Mathewson, "Iron Man" Joe McGinnity, Bill Terry, Jim Thorpe, Mel Ott, Casey Stengel, and Red Ames, to name a few of the players.

The Giants under McGraw missed their chance at their first modern World Series title by boycotting the 1904 finals series against the Boston Americans (now Boston Red Sox). McGraw felt the American League (AL) was just a slightly better minor league. The reason was that New York's cross-town rivals, the New York Highlanders, looked like sure winners of the AL, but they were still picked off by the Americans in the final game of the season. The Giants, however, stood by their refusal to play the AL champions. A little side anecdote: McGraw was a manager with the Highlanders (then the Baltimore Orioles) for two years before becoming Giants manager.

The Giants' owner at the time, John T. Brush, made efforts to reform the format and rules of the World Series. In 1905, the Giants won their first modern World Series title against the Philadelphia Athletics (now OaklandAthletics). In that series, Christy Mathewson shined at the time, almost single-handedly deciding the series. This was the last time the Giants prevailed in the postseason against the As.

The next few years were very frustrating for the Giants. In 1908 they were tied with the Chicago Cubs in the NL. A deciding game between the two was to decide the NL champ. Overshadowing the postgame was news that a Giants official had tried to bribe umpire Bill Klem. But Klem was honest and so refused to tamper with the game, which the Giants lost in extra innings. With this World Series the Cubs won their last title until 2016.

From 1911 to 1913, the Giants lacked luck, losing three World Series in a row: 1911 and 1913 to the A's, 1912 to the Boston Red Sox. In 1917, they lost the World Series again, this time to the Chicago White Sox (their last title until 2005). Between 1921 and 1924, the Giants appeared in four World Series, winning in 1921 and 1922 against the New York Yankees, to whom the 1923 Series was lost, and losing in 1924 to the Washington Senators (Minnesota Twins).

1930-1957 - five National League titles in 28 years

McGraw left the team in the hands of Bill Terry in 1932, who helped shape the Giants' history as a player and manager for ten years. During that time, they won three NL titles (1933, 1936 and 1937) and the World Series once (1933) against the Washington Senators.

Joining Terry were Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell, one of the few pitchers who had the screwball in their repertoire (along with Christy Mathewson and Fernando Valenzuela). Hubbell, also known as "King Carl" or "The Meal Ticket," took out five Hall-of-Famers in a row during the All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin.

Mel Ott inherited Terry as manager, but because of the Second World War there were big problems to keep the league going. In 1948 Leo Durocher took over the helm at the Giants. This hiring led to some confusion, as Durocher had previously been a manager with the Brooklyn Dodgers (now Los Angeles Dodgers) and was convicted of illegal gambling in 1947. He was then suspended from the Dodgers and a year later was cleared to play for the Giants. He was manager until 1955 and under his leadership the Giants won the 1954 World Series against the Cleveland Indians.

Bobby Thomson - "The Shot Heard 'Round the World" (1951)

One of the greatest moments in Giants history, and perhaps one of the finest, was Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the NL title for the Giants in 1951. The game was the third and last of the three-game series and one of the most exciting rallies in MLB history for the NL title. The Giants were 13.5 games behind the Brooklyn Dodgers in August. But a final spurt that saw them win 37 of their final 44 games of the season, including 16 in a row, still caught up with the Dodgers on the final day of the regular season. The Giants had won the NL title.

Willie Mays - "The Catch" (1954)

In the first game of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds, Willie Mays made "The Catch." A dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a Vic Wertz line drive deep into center field that would have won it for the Cleveland Indians. But the catch gave the Giants, who entered the series as underdogs, four straight World Series wins.

The move to San Francisco

In search of a new stadium, the old one was starting to fall into disrepair, they considered moving to Minneapolis. But then San Francisco came into the picture. Despite objections from the Giants' stockholders, major stockholder Horace Stoneham conducted negotiations with San Francisco Mayor George Christopher. At the same time, Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley was promoting the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles. Needing another team on the West Coast, O'Malley urged Stoneham to move to San Francisco. In the summer of 1957, both teams announced their move to California. With that, the golden days of baseball came to an end in New York.

It wasn't until 1962 that the New York Yankees were joined by a second team, the newly formed New York Mets. The Mets have also played in the NL since then. The Mets adopted the orange logo of the Giants and the blue color of the Dodgers.

The managers of the New York Gothams/Giants

Year	Manager
1883	John Clapp
1884	Jim Price
1884, 1893–1894	Monte Ward
1885–1891	Jim Mutrie
1892	Pat Powers
1895, 1900–1901	George Davis
1895	Jack Doyle
1895	Harvey Watkins
1896	Arthur Irwin
1896–1898	Bill Joyce
1898	Cap Anson
1899	John Day
1899	Fred Hoey
1900	Buck Ewing
1902	Horace Fogel
1902	Heinie Smith
1902–1932	John McGraw
1932–1941	Bill Terry
1942–1948	Mel Ott
1948–1955	Leo Durocher
1956–1957	Bill Rigney

The New York Giants of 1888

The story of the San Francisco Giants

In San Francisco, the Giants could not match the success in New York for a long time. After the move, no World Series could be brought to San Francisco for decades, until the 2010 title win.

1958-1962 - Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park

The first two years in San Francisco, the Giants played at Seals Stadium. In each of those years, the rookie of the year came from the Giants: Orlando Cepeda in 1958 and Willie McCovey in 1959. In 1960, the Giants moved to Candlestick Park, located in the southeast part of the city overlooking the Bay. Candlestick Park was known for its freak weather. The fierce winds, cold weather and thick fog made for some irregular games. A highlight was the 1961 All-Star game. For nearly the entire game, the weather was perfect for a baseball game, but in the 9th inning, a storm hit. Giants relief pitcher Stu Miller was caught in a gust of wind during a pitch that blew him off his rubber, causing him to produce a balk, earning him the legend of the pitcher who was blown off his mound.

The 1962 World Series

In 1962, after a title run against the Dodgers that resulted in the Giants being in the playoffs and later going to the World Series, they lost to the New York Yankees 4-3. In the seventh and deciding game in San Francisco, the Giants were down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th inning. With Matty Alou on first base and two out, Willie Mays was at bat. He hit a two-base hit down the right-field line. Yankees right fielder Roger Maris picked up the ball and made a quick and good throw to the infield to prevent Matty Alou from possibly tying the game. With two players on 2nd and 3rd base, Willie McCovey now came to bat. McCovey hit a line drive right at Yankees 2nd basemen Bobby Richardson, who caught the ball right out of the air. The Giants' misfortune was that Richardson wasn't in his usual spot in the field, but instead chose the steps just before the hit that put him in the optimal position to catch the ball. The creator of Peanuts, Charles Schulz, elaborated on this move in one of his comic strips. In one scene in the strip, dated December 22, 1962, Charlie Brown and Linus are sitting together, and Charlie yells to the heavens, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" ("Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball three feet higher?"). A few weeks later, the same scene, only now Charlie yells, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just two feet higher?"

1963-1985 - Always the bridesmaid, but never the bride

Although they would not participate in another World Series until 1989, several Hall-of-Famers emerged from the team. Gaylord Perry, who threw a no-hitter in 1968, and Juan Marichal, who had a special pitching style - he took an oversized step every time. Willie McCovey won the National League MVP title in 1969 and Willie Mays hit the 600th home run of his career that same year.

Their next playoff appearance would not come until 1971. After winning the division, they lost in the NLCS to the Pittsburgh Pirates with Roberto Clemente, who would go on to win the World Series against the BaltimoreOrioles. Several Giants players would go on to glory with other teams during this time. Players like Garry Maddox, George Foster, Dave Kingman, and Gaylord Perry. But two other Rookie-of-the-Year awards also went to the Giants, to Gary Matthews Sr. in 1973 and John Montefusco in 1975.

In 1976, the Giants were on the verge of moving to Toronto, Bob Lurie the new owner, but kept the team in San Francisco. A year later, the Blue Jays were formed in Toronto. Still, fear remained among Giants fans that the team would leave town. The rest of the 1970s were unsuccessful. In no season were they better than third place in the division. This was clinched in 1978 with the help of Jack Clark and Vida Blue, they were first for most of the season, but in the end they were still caught by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1981, the Giants became the first team in the National League to hire a black manager, Frank Robinson. Robison was manager for four years, but had no success with the Giants. In 1981, they had just a .505 average, winning one more game than they lost. In 1982, the team strengthened with Joe Morgan and Reggie Smith and was in the running for the NL title with the Dodgers and Braves for a long time. Morgan was then the player who hit a home run against the Dodgers that made the Braves the NL West champions.

In 1984, the Giants hosted the All-Star Game at Candlestick Park. In 1985, the Giants lost 100 games in a season for the first and last time ever, and owner Bob Lurie hired Al Rosen as the new manager. Under Rosen's leadership, the Giants produced some promising rookies, such as Will Clark and Robby Thompson, and had many a lucky break in their additions. Players like Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Candy Maldonado and Rick Reuschel played for the Giants during that time.

From 1985 to 1992, Roger Craig was the team manager. In the first five years of his tenure, the Giants did not have a season with a negative record.

1986-1999 - Low point and resurrection

Under Craig's leadership, the Giants won 86 games in the 1986 and 1987 seasons to win the division title. However, the team lost the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The bright spot of the series was that Giants outfielder Jeffrey Leonard was named MVP of the series, despite being on the losing team.

1989

Despite 15 different starting pitchers trying their luck during the season, the team was able to win the NL title. The most important players were pitchers Rick Reuschel and Scott Garrelts and hitters Kevin Mitchell (the NL MVP) and Will Clark. Clark was the MVP of the NLCS, in which he had a .650 batting average, 8 RBIs, and hit a grand slam. In games leading up to the NLCS, the Cubs were outscored 4-1. In the bottom of the 8th inning with the bases full, Clark came to bat against Mitch Williams, who was known for his hard throwing arm. The first pitch was a strike, the second he hit for a foul ball, the third was a ball, with the score tied at 1-2 he hit two more foul balls. The sixth pitch he turned into a line drive which scored two runs for the Giants. In the top of the 9th inning, Giants pitcher Steve Bedrosian gave up another run. When Ryne Sandberg hit a ball into the infield, it was thrown out by 2nd basemen Robby Thompson to 1st basemen Will Clark for the final and deciding out. The Giants had won the NL title again after 27 years and were in the World Series.

After defeating the Cubs, they faced the Oakland Athletics, in the "Bay Bridge Series". The 1989 World Series was interrupted for ten days because an earthquake hit San Francisco on the day of Game 3 at Candlestick Park. But even the interruption didn't help, Oakland won outright 4-0.

1992

After losing the 1989 World Series, they looked for a new opportunity because of a new stadium in San Francisco, but this was unsuccessful, and so the Giants' continued existence in California was in jeopardy. After the 1992 season, Bob Lurie, who had saved the Giants from a move to Toronto in 1976, wanted to sell the team. A group of investors led by Vince Naimoli wanted to buy the team and relocate it to St. Petersburg, Florida. However, MLB blocked the plan, paving the way for the team to remain in California. An ownership group led by Peter Magowan, the former Safeway executive, bought the team.

After preventing the move, Magowan wanted to do something for fan confidence in the team. Even before he signed a new manager or introduced himself as the new owner, he signed free agent Barry Bonds from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Arguably one of the most important signings ever made by the Giants.

1993

The Barry Bonds era started with Bonds winning the third MVP title of his career. That year's stats: 46 home runs, 129 runs, 123 RBIs, .336 batting avg. all career bests. Also with his help, Dusty Baker's first year as manager turned into a very good year, with a record of 103-59 games. As a result, Baker was named Manager of the Year. Still, they finished only second in the NL West, one game behind the Atlanta Braves, who were still catching the Giants despite trailing by ten games at one point.

In their final game of the season, the Giants needed to win against the Dodgers to advance to a deciding game against the Braves, but rookie pitcher Salomón Torres gave up three runs in the first four innings and the Giants lost 12-1. After MLB decided to award one wild card per league in the 1993 season, New York Times columnist Dave Anderson wrote, striking a chord with many baseball fans: this duel was the last real title fight.

1994–1996

Those years were not good for the Giants, in part because of the 1994 player strike that killed the World Series. The strike cost Matt Williams the opportunity to break Roger Maris' old single-season home run record. Williams was on pace to hit more than 60 home runs at the time of the strike, and still had 47 games to play. In 1995 and 1996, the Giants were last in the NL West in both years, due to injuries and illness. The one bright spot during that time was Barry Bonds in the 1996 season, joining the 40-40 club with 42 home runs and 40 stolen bases. Rookie Bill Mueller with a batting avg. of .330 in 66 games also gave hope.

1997

These bad times prompted team management to hire Brian Sabean to replace Bob Quinn as general manager. Even before his hiring was announced, it was rumored in MLB circles that Sabean was already involved in the transfer of Kirk Rueter from the Montreal Expos to the Giants. His tenure began with him shocking Giants fans in his first official act as GM. He transferred Matt Williams to Cleveland in exchange for other players in what newspapers called "shopping for spare parts." In response to the criticism, he replied, "I'm not here to be an idol, I'm here to follow through on a plan." Sabean was right, as the players he traded for Williams, Jeff Kent, José Vizcaíno, Julián Tavárez and Joe Roa plus $1 million used to sign Darryl Hamilton and the subsequent signing of J.T. Snow, helped win the first NL West title of the 1990s. However, the Florida Marlins then ended the season for the Giants by going 0-3 in the first round of the playoffs to ultimately win the World Series for the first time.

Since 2000 - Downtown Baseball

2000–2004

In 2000, the Giants said goodbye to 40 years of baseball at Candlestick Park, their old home, and moved to the privately financed stadium near the city, a long-proposed move. The stadium was first called Pacific Bell Park (2000-2003), SBC Park from 2003 to 2006, and was renamed AT&T Park in February 2006. It is located right next to China Basin (better known to baseball players as McCovey Cove) at the corner of 3rd and King Streets (affectionately known by Giants fans as 24 Willie Mays Plaza). Regardless, the move marked the beginning of a new era for the Giants and their fans. While the team occupied the stadium, some saw the new stadium as one of the most baseball-friendly stadiums in MLB.

The new ball park sold out more often than the old one because it had "only" 43,000 seats, over 10,000 fewer than Candlestick Park, which has nearly 60,000 seats. In 1999, Candlestick Park had its peak attendance when about 25,300 spectators were in attendance on average per game. By AT&T Park's first year, attendance was nearly 40,500 per game. The location on the Bay also made summer games easier to bear than other MLB stadiums, as there was always a fresh breeze blowing. The spectacular view of the Bay and the city skyline also contribute to the success.

The 2000 season was over for the Giants in the NLDS, as they lost to the New York Mets 3-1. Liván Hernández was on the mound for the first game of the series, which they won. 2001 ended with two games left in the season as the Giants lost their chance at the playoffs. However, the year had one highlight, Barry Bonds set a new single-season record with 73 home runs.

In 2002, the Giants again finished second in the NL West, but made the playoffs with a wild card. In the NLDS the Atlanta Braves were beaten 3:2, the National League title was won against the St. Louis Cardinals 4:1. That season, Barry Bonds again tied two records with 198 walks and an OBP of .582 (now surpassed again by himself). In the 2002 World Series, they faced the Anaheim Angels. The Giants led 5-0 at 3-2 games into the 5th inning of Game 6, but the Angels came back to win Games 6 and 7 and the World Series. After the season, manager Dusty Baker left and went to the Chicago Cubs.

After two years in 2nd place, San Francisco finished 2003 with 100 or more wins for the third season under new manager Felipe Alou (seven total since inception in New York). Also won the NL West for the third time in seven years. The team was consistently in first place all season (only the ninth team to accomplish this feat), but a 3-1 loss to the Florida Marlins in the NLDS ended the season.

In 2004, the Giants narrowly missed the playoffs for the third time in four years, as they finished 2nd, two games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. The season ended with a grand slam home run by Steve Finley in the deciding game that made the Dodgers the division winners. Barry Bonds was able to improve on his own records once again. He finished the season with 232 walks and an OBP of .609.

2005

The most unsuccessful year so far since the move to the new stadium was marked by injuries to Barry Bonds, who missed most of the time. Closer Armando Benítez was injured for four months, pitcher Jason Schmidt was also injured several times during the season. But this was also a chance for several young players to make an impact, including pitchers Noah Lowry, Brad Hennessey, Kevin Correia, Scott Munter, Matt Cain and Jeremy Accardo, and outfielders Jason Ellison and Todd Linden. The signing of Randy Winn during the season was also important to the team. On May 25, 2005, they celebrated the induction of Juan Marichal into the Baseball Hall of Fame. A statue of Marichal was erected outside the stadium. The President of the Dominican Republic, Leonel Fernández, was present as a guest at the ceremony. In the two games that followed the ceremony, the Giants wore jerseys with the words Gigantes, the Spanish word for Giants. July 14 marked the 10,000th win in Giants history, against longtime rival the Los Angeles Dodgers. This made the Giants the first team to exceed 10,000 wins in their history. On September 28, they were eliminated from contention for the NL West title, losing to the San Diego Padres, who went on to win the division. They finished the season in third place with a record of 75-87, their first negative record since 1996, but still extended manager Felipe Alou's contract for another year.

2006

The Giants were expecting a better season than 2005, and had also entered with a good roster. On July 23, they were first in the NL West. The loss the Giants took that day against the Padres, when Armando Benítez gave up a home run in the 9th inning and they then lost in the first extra inning, was the start of a streak in which the Giants won a mere three of 19 games, with a losing streak of nine straight games. In late August, the Giants got back into the race for the NL West title and wild card. Barry Bonds found his form again after injury and knee surgery. Between August 21 and September 23, he managed a .400 batting average and 34 hits in 85 at-bats in 27 games.

The Giants' pitching staff was among the best in the National League at the time, and they had a very good closer in Mike Stanton, who was signed in mid-July. However, they lost eight of nine games in the last away series, the pitchers allowed a total of 93 runs (during the 19 games in August they gave up only 86 runs), the Giants were "officially eliminated" on September 25. They finished the season with three home losses to the Dodgers, who clinched their playoff spot in San Francisco, which of course Giants fans didn't like (this was the first time this had happened). The day after the season ended, Giants management said they would not renew Felipe Alou's contract, but wanted to keep him on in a consulting role.

2007

Without pitcher Jason Schmidt, who went to the Dodgers for $15 million a year, and with a new manager, Bruce Bochy, who came from the San Diego Padres, MLB began 2007. Catcher Mike Matheny and pitcher Tim Worell resigned due to injury problems. During the winter offseason, they retooled heavily. Players Barry Bonds, Steve Kline, Ray Durham and Pedro Feliz extended their contracts with the Giants. New additions to the squad included ex-Giants players Rich Aurilia, Bengie Molina, Ryan Klesko and Dave Roberts. But the most spectacular transfer was the signing of pitcher Barry Zito, who moved from one side of the Bay to the other (from Oakland to San Francisco) for a sum of $126 million for seven years with an option for one more year. This is the highest-paying pitcher's contract in MLB history. In early January, pitcher Russ Ortiz returned to San Francisco. In 2007, San Francisco hosted the MLB All-Star Game, the second most important baseball event of the season, after the World Series.

But aside from the All-Star Game, the only other highlight of the season would be Barry Bonds' home run record: on August 7, 2007, in a game against the Washington Nationals, Bonds hit his 756th home run, surpassing Hank Aaron's record set in 1976. Other than that, it was a disappointing season, finishing with a record of 71-91 games. The last time they were this bad was at the end of the 1996 season. One of the reasons was blamed on the bullpen pitchers' weakness in getting games over the hump. They lost 15 of 21 games that went into extra innings. Also, more was expected from the starting pitchers.

2010

In the 2010 season, the Giants rallied from a deep deficit to overtake the division-leading San Diego Padres and win their first division title in seven years. In the postseason, a 3-1 Division Series win over the Atlanta Braves and a 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the Championship Series helped the Giants reach the World Series for the 18th time. In the final series, the Giants beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 to win their first World Series in 56 years.

2012

Regular Season

The regular season was marked by a battle with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the division title. While the Giants spent most of the first half of the season in second place in the West Division, they were able to reach the top of the standings for the first time at the end of June, although this was also due to a period of weakness on the part of the Dodgers. From then on, the two teams began a neck-and-neck race for the top spot in the standings. After the Giants won three consecutive away games in Los Angeles in August, they didn't give up the lead until the end of the season.

In the home game against the Houston Astros on June 13, Matt Cain pitched the first Perfect Game in Giants history.

Melky Cabrera was MVP of the All-Star Game after hitting a hit off Justin Verlander in the first inning and the game-winning home run in the fourth. Later in the season, Cabrera was suspended for 50 games for drug use.

Hunter Pence of the Phillies and Marco Scutaro of the Colorado Rockies were still signed at the trade deadline.

Postseason

In the National League Division Series (NLDS), the Giants faced the Cincinnati Reds, against whom they fell behind 2-0 games at home in AT&T Park. However, San Francisco rallied from the deficit in the next two away games to force a decisive fifth game, which they won. This makes the Giants the first team ever to come back from a 2-0 deficit in the NLDS to win the next three away games to win the series.

The Giants also initially fell behind in the National League title series against St. Louis. After four games it was 3:1 for the Cardinals. Then, as in the round before, they managed to win three games in a row and win the series.

A sweep in the World Series against the Detroit Tigers clinched the Giants' seventh major league title. Pablo Sandoval was named World Series MVP after hitting three home runs in the first game.

2013

In the MLB season, the Giants were unable to build on their performance from the previous year and finished the regular season tied for third in the NL West with San Diego. The gap to the division winner L.A. Dodgers was 16 games at the end. The most successful offensive player of the season was right fielder Hunter Pence, who recorded 99 RBIs and 27 home runs in the regular season. The Giants' outstanding pitcher was Santiago Casilla, who had a winning percentage of almost 78% and a 2.16 ERA.

2014

From the beginning of the 2014 season, the Giants dominated their division and at one point already had a 9½ game lead over the competition. But in the middle of the season, the successes failed to materialize and the Dodgers were able to pass them in the standings and had a 6-game lead at the end of the regular season. The Giants made the playoffs thanks to the Wild Card rule, despite winning fewer than 90 games.

In the Wild Card game, the Giants faced the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Central Division, who had exactly the same number of wins in the regular season as San Francisco. The basis of the success in Pittsburgh was the strong starting pitcher of the Giants Madison Bumgarner, who could throw all nine innings without an opponent run. The offense scored eight runs and the Giants won the game clearly with 8:0.

In the 2014 NLDS, the team faced the Washington Nationals, who had very clearly won the East Division and entered the series as favorites. But the Giants won the first two away games in Washington, game 1 thanks to strong pitcher Jake Peavy with 3:2 runs and game 2 in a marathon game over 18 innings with 2-1. The game lasted 6 hours and 23 minutes and was the longest play-off game in MLB history both in terms of playing time and number of innings played. The game was decided in the 18th inning by a solo home run by Brandon Belt. Game 3, the first at AT&T Park, was then won by the Nationals by 4-1 runs before the Giants clinched the series with a 3-2 win in Game 4.

The 2014 NLCS against the St. Louis Cardinals featured very even games. All five games ended with 3 or less runs. The Giants won Game 1 away from home 3-0, but lost Game 2 in St. Louis by a close score of 4-5. The next three games at home were all close wins, giving the Giants a 4-1 victory after 5 games.

Opponents in the 2014 World Series were the Kansas City Royals, who had won the American League and also qualified for the playoffs only by earning a wild-card spot. As in the other rounds, the Giants had to play away from home first and again won Game 1. The Royals evened the series with a 7-2 win in Game 2 and went in front in the series thanks to a win in San Francisco in Game 3. The Giants evened the score again with a win in Game 4, and in turn were able to turn the series around by taking Game 5 by an even 5-0 score. In Game 6, now back in Kansas City, the Giants were already down 7-0 after 2 innings and lost by a wide margin of 10-0. In the deciding Game 7, things were again much tighter. The score was tied 2-2 after two innings before the Giants were able to go up 3-2 at the start of the fourth inning. By the end of the game, neither team had scored a run and the Giants had won the World Series for the eighth time.

2015

As in previous years, the Giants were once again defeated by the Dodgers in the 2015 divisional season. At the end of the regular season, the Giants had 84 wins and 78 losses and were 8 games behind the Dodgers. The Giants also did not make the playoffs in 2015 via the Wild Card spots, as the Cubs and Pirates from the Central Division were much more successful.

The managers of the San Francisco Giants

Year	Manager
1958–1960, 1976	Bill Rigney
1960	Tom Sheehan
1961–1964	Alvin Dark
1965–1968	Herman Franks
1969–1970	Clyde King
1970–1974	Charlie Fox
1974–1975	Wes Westrum
1977–1979	Joe Altobelli
1979–1980	Dave Bristol
1981–1984	Frank Robinson
1984	Danny Ozark
1985	Jim Davenport
1985–1992	Roger Craig
1993–2002	Dusty Baker
2003–2006	Felipe Alou
since 2007	Bruce Bochy

Successes

2012 World Series Champions Flag at AT&T Park


Madison Bumgarner, MVP of the World Series 2014