An underappreciated player in the history of the Giants when they were in New York, George Burns was a Catcher-turned-Outfielder who made ripples with his bat and glove for the Giants in the 1910s.

Burns was first called up in 1911 and was a regular in 1913, a season where he helped New York win the Pennant and established himself as a capable leadoff man.  One of four players to lead the league in Runs five times and Walks five times, Burns also led the NL in Stolen Bases twice (1914 & 1919) and would steal 334 bags in total as a Giant.  Collecting 1,541 Hits and batting .290 for New York, Burns appeared in the World Series three times, winning a title in 1921.

Following New York’s ’21 Title, Burns was traded to Cincinnati, ending his run in New York, but never in the conversation about who was the Giants' best leadoff hitter ever.

Will Clark was the main star for the San Francisco Giants in the late 80s, but despite that, we can argue that his run in the Bay Area is slightly underrated.

After a phenomenal amateur career where he won the Golden Spikes Award for Mississippi Star and competed for the United States in the 1984 Olympics, Clark was the second overall pick in the 1985 Draft.  A year later, Clark was called up by the Giants and was their regular First Baseman for the next six years; a period where he was one of the best in the game.

Clark was a special player.  A two-time Silver Slugger and one-time Gold Glove recipient, Clark was the runner-up for the MVP in 1989, the same year he led the Giants to the Pennant while winning the NLCS MVP.  When he broke out in his sophomore year (1987), he finished fifth in MVP voting and did so again the following year, where he began a five-year streak of All-Star Games.  From 1987 to 1992, Clark batted over .300 with 151 Home Runs while also playing strong defense.

After the 1993 Season, Clark left San Francisco for Texas as a Free Agent, and while he is not a Hall of Fame player, he is one of the finest First Baseman in franchise history.

The Giants chose Clark for their Wall of Fame inaugural Class in 2008, and in 2022, his #22 was retired by the team.

"Silent" Mike Tiernan played his entire baseball career at the highest level with the New York Giants (1887-99), where the Rightfielder (pardon the pun) quietly was one of the better hitters of the 1890s.

Tiernan had 10 Home Runs as a rookie (which was great for this era), and he would help the Giants win the 1888 and 1889 versions of the World Series.  Tiernan batted .335 in 1189, and he had six more .300 seasons.  His best seasons were in 1890 and 1891, where his 13 and 16 Home Runs would respectively lead the National League, and he had five .490 plus Slugging years, including a league-leading .495 in 1890.

He retired with 106 Home Runs, which, again, we have to state was a very good number for a player who never had a Major League At Bat after 1899!  Tiernan also had 1,838 career Hits and a lifetime Batting Average of .311.  Despite those accomplishments, Tiernan was never on a Hall of Fame ballot.

Tim Keefe played 14 years in Major League Baseball, the meat of which was with the New York Giants.

The righthanded Pitcher joined New York in 1885 after four years on a major level and made an immediate impact winning the ERA Title (1.58) while also topping the NL in H/9 (6.8).  He won 32 Games in 1885 but raised that 42 in 1886, again giving him a first-place finish in a major statistical category.  

1887 was not as smooth for Keefe, who missed a lot of Games when he suffered a nervous breakdown when he struck a batter in the head with a pitch.  Keefe still went 35 and 19 with a league-leading WHIP (1.114) and H/9 (8.1).  Following that stress, Keefe rebounded with his best year in Baseball.  Leading the Giants to a World Series title, he was the best Pitcher in the game, finishing first in Wins (35), ERA (1.74), FIP (1.90), WHIP (0.937), H/9 (6.6), SO/9 (5.6 and SO/BB (1.49).  We will argue it is one of the finest seasons in Giants history, and don’t we wish we had footage of it?

Keefe helped New York win another World Series in 1889, though he was less effective (28-13, 3.36 ERA).  Like many baseball players, he felt underpaid, and he helped found the Player's League and pitched for the New York franchise.  The upstart league was a failed experiment, and he rejoined the Giants of the NL, but he felt unwanted and played poorly, leading to a summer release.

Keefe had a record of 174-82 with a 2.54 ERA with the Giants.

Keefe entered the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964 as a Veteran’s Committee Selection.