Top 50 San Francisco Giants
You have to go far back to look at the origin of the San Francisco Giants.
The franchise began in 1883 as the New York Gothams, changing their name to the Giants shortly after. In the pre-modern World Series era, New York won the 1888 and 1889 Pennants, and in 1905, they captured their first World Series. The Giants won the World Series again in 1921, 1922, 1933, and 1954, but like the Brooklyn Dodgers, the Giants were not going to be the top dog in NYC, and they moved to San Francisco in 1956.
Even though they had Willie Mays in tow, it would take long after he left until the turn of the century for the Giants to win another title. San Francisco won the 2010, 2012 & 2014 World Series, giving them eight in total.
This list is up to the end of the 2023 regular season.
Note: Baseball lists are based on an amalgamation of tenure, traditional statistics, advanced statistics, playoff statistics, and post-season accolades.
After playing his first years in the Majors with the Cleveland Spiders, George Davis was traded to New York in a pre-season 1893 trade that proved beneficial to the Giants. A versatile player who started multiple games at Shortstop, Third Base, and the Outfield, Davis' hitting flourished under the new rules of the pushed back Pitcher's mound. Davis batted over 300 over the next nine seasons, three of which saw him exceed .350. He collected over 100 RBIs three times, including a league-leading 135 in 1897. Like many of the other players of his era, Davis was an excellent base stealer, swiping 357…
Frankie Frisch was arguably more known for his time with his second team, the St. Louis Cardinals, but the switch-hitting infielder was a bona fide star with his first MLB Team, the New York Giants. In some statistics, he was better. Earning the nickname of the “Fordham Flash” as a four-sport star at the university mentioned above, Frisch signed with New York in 1919 without having to spend a day in the Minors. Playing at Third and eventually moving the Second Base, Frisch was a natural baseball player, providing speed, average, and defense throughout his career. A player on the rise in…
Joe McGinnity was initially called the "Iron Man" due to working in an iron foundry in the off-season. It would later become more appropriate to refer to his durability on the mound. McGinnity debuted in the Majors first with Brooklyn, where he led the league in Wins in his rookie and sophomore years. Jumping to Baltimore Orioles of the upstart American League in 1901, following his Manager John McGraw, he would do so again in 1902, when the Orioles collapsed, and McGraw took over running the New York Giants. This is where McGinnity took his nickname to its logical conclusion. The right-hander was…
Johnny Antonelli received one of the biggest bonuses ($52,000) when the Milwaukee Braves signed the high school star in 1948. It caused resentment in the Braves locker room, so much so that fellow hurler Johnny Sain pushed for Antonelli to be blackballed from the loser's share of the 1948 World Series purse. He would get his share ($571.31) when the Commissioner intervened, but Antonelli was always on the outside looking in. After spending time in the military, another Braves star, Warren Spahn, convinced management that Antonelli was expendable as they had "too many lefthanders," and he was traded to New York, where he…
From Puerto Rico, Orlando Cepeda was one of the first baseball superstars from the Caribbean Island, which continues to produce some of the best players to this day. Cepeda joined the Giants in 1958, the franchise's first year in San Francisco, and he was the first Giant star to begin his career on the West Coast. Winning the National League Rookie of the Year in a unanimous vote, Cepeda led the league in Doubles (38), smacked 25 Home Runs, and batted .312. This man was no one-year wonder, as Cepeda then went off on a six-year All-Star streak, all in seasons…
Gaylord Perry spent more time with the San Francisco Giants (ten years) than he did with any other team, but the Cooperstown resident is not one of the first Pitchers you think of when the story of the Giants is discussed. Perhaps, that is because he won his two Cy Young Awards elsewhere (Cleveland and San Diego), but it was in SF where he became a star. The spitball master did not learn that trick pitch right away. He first debuted for San Francisco in 1962, mostly coming in from the bullpen, and he did not stick in the Majors until 1964,…
Matt “The Bat” Williams impressed the scouts at UNLV so much that he was the Third Overall Pick in 1986, and a year later, he first made the Giants, but the first three years were a little on the ugly side. From 1987 to 1989, Williams was strong defensively at Third and Short but had not found his hitting, batting under .200 with 34 Home Runs in 747 Playoff Appearances. The power was there, and he was helpful in San Francisco reaching the 1989 World Series, but the improvement was still needed, and Williams rose to that challenge in 1990. Now…
The father of the eventual Home Run King, Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonds, was one hell of a baseball player himself and the first man with that surname to be an All-Star in San Francisco. Bonds debuted for the Giants in 1966, and before long, we had the prototype for the Power-Speed # statistic (which he led nine times, five as a Giant) that would come in vogue decades later. The speedy Rightfielder stole bases the same way he went deep, which was often. Bonds became the first player to have a 30 Home Run/30 Stolen Base year, and he would do so…
Playing his entire career with the New York Giants, Ross Youngs had the affable nickname of "Pep" due to his playing style, which made him popular among fans and teammates. Youngs made it to the Majors with New York late in 1917 and was penciled in as a starting Outfielder the year after. Emerging as one of the better contact hitters, Youngs strung together a seven-year streak of batting over .300, twice going over .350; though he never won a Batting or On Base Percentage Title, he was in the hunt for many and twice led the NL in Times on…
Johnny Mize was already a four-time All-Star and two-time MVP runner-up for the St. Louis Cardinals, but the New York Giants coveted the First Baseman, as their player, Babe Young, was about to serve in the military for World War II. The Giants purchased Mize's contract in 1942, and he had another good year, winning the Slugging Title (.521) and RBI Title (110) while batting .305. He was named an All-Star, but like so many, Mize had to depart for his military duty and would not return until 1946. Mize was able to come back in 1946, and though he was in…
You don’t acquire the nickname of “The Freak” as an athlete when you are undersized. Well, that is unless you are Tim Lincecum. The Golden Spikes winner from the University of Washington stood at 5" 11" and 170 pounds, and with a choir boy face, he did not look like a power pitcher, but he was not only as a Husky but for the Giants, who used a First Round Pick (10thOverall) to take him in 2006. Lincecum only needed one year to make it to the main roster, and in his sophomore year, he was named the Cy Young winner…
Art Fletcher is thought of more by baseball pundits for his time as a Coach for the New York Yankees, but as a player, he is arguably the greatest defensive player in Giants history. Holding the franchise record for Defensive bWAR (25.9) and a three-time league leader in that stat, Fletcher was also first in Assists four times. Offensively, Fletcher was no star, but he accumulated 1,311 hits, batted .275 for New York, and mastered the selfless art of being hit by pitches, leading the NL in that statistic four times. The Giants made the World Series (though lost) with Fletcher…
Hal Schumacher played his entire MLB career with the New York Giants, where he flirted with being an ace for a brief period. Schumacher debuted in 1931 but began a three-year run in 1933, where he was a massive part of New York's success. An All-Star in 1933 and 1935, Schumacher went 19-12 with a 2.16 ERA while leading the NL in H/9 (6.9), and he would help lead the Giants to a World Series win, gaining a decision in the Fall Classic. It was his only World Series Title, but not his only good year. In the year between his two…
We have to go way back for this one, as Buck Ewing joined the Giants in 1883, after A player with multiple defensive skills (he played at Catcher, Outfield, Second, and Third), Ewing began his career in the National League with Troy, where he played three seasons before the team folded, and he joined New York, the team where he became a star. Along with his defensive versatility (though he was at his best as a Catcher), Ewing was a competent hitter, batting over .300 in six of his first seven years with New York. 19th Century Baseball was not a power…
Jeff Kent was often a controversial figure, like the man he often batted ahead of (Barry Bonds), though the Giants had no idea that might be the case. He also exceeded all of their expectations, which makes the occasional headache worthwhile. The Second Baseman had not accomplished much in the Majors, and though he was an everyday player, he was not a superstar. This all changed on the West Coast, with Kent belting at least 23 Home Runs and 101 RBIs and all six of his San Francisco seasons. An All-Star from 1999 to 2001, and Silver Slugger from 2000 to 2002, Kent…
Brandon Crawford has to date played his entire career with the San Francisco Giants, a team he debuted for in 2011. Playing at Shortstop, Crawford has been excellent defensively, winning four Gold Gloves and two Wilson Defensive Awards, but he has been capable offensively too. Crawford became the sixth player to blast a Grand Slam in his first MLB Game, and the three-time All-Star has twice hit at least 20 HR in a year. Crawford led the NL in Triples in 2016, and in 2021, he had his best year in Baseball, with a 24 HR/.298 BA year, where he was…
World War II delayed Larry Jansen from achieving his Major League Baseball dream, as he did not make it until 1947 when he was 27. He went 21-5 with a 3.16 ERA and a league-leading 2.1 BB/9, and probably would have won the Rookie of the Year had not a man who had to wait to play in the Majors for a different reason, Jackie Robinson, not been around. Jansen remained a top Pitcher for New York, going to the All-Star Game in both 1950 and 1951, with the former year seeing the righthander lead the NL in WHIP (1.065) and…
From the University of Florida, Robby Thompson was taken overall in 1983 the Amateur Draft by the Giants, who made him their everyday Second Baseman three years later. It was a good rookie year for Thompson, who batted .271 and proved a competent leadoff hitter. Thompson, who would be an All-Star twice, was a decent defensive player (he won the 1993 Gold Glove) and collected at least 110 Hits in his first seven years. His best year was in 1993, where he had career-highs in Hits (154), Doubles (30), Home Runs (19), RBIs (65), and the three Slash Line components (.312/.375/.496), and…
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Sal Maglie took a long time to establish himself as a Major League Pitcher, but that was not due to a lack of skill. It took him until the age of 28 to make the big leagues, debuting for the New York Giants in 1945 after four years in their farm system. He did well, going 5-4, but he had an offer to pitch in the Mexican league for more money. Maglie took it but was subsequently banned by the Commissioner for his decision. It was a costly trip South of the Border, as the team, he signed with could not afford him…