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San Francisco GiantsCategory:Baseball teams\n 
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California. They are in the Western Division of the National League.
- Founded: either 1879 or 1883. The Troy Haymakers (or sometimes Trojans) were expelled from the National League after the 1882 season. New York had been without a club since 1878, when its club had been expelled; John B. Day was awarded the New York franchise, and so bought up the defunct Troy club.\n:Formerly known as: New York Gothams (1883-1884), New York Giants (1885-1957), moved to San Francisco in 1958.\n:Home ballpark: SBC Park (formerly known as Pacific Bell Park (2000-2003))\n:Uniform colors: Black, Orange, and French Vanilla (off-white)\n:Logo design: The word "GIANTS" superimposed over a baseball. Alternatively, a script "G", or an intertwined "SF".\n:Wild Card titles won (1): 2002\n:Division titles won (6): 1971, 1987, 1989, 1997, 2000, 2003\n:National League pennants won (20): 1888, 1889, 1904, 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1933, 1936, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1962, 1989, 2002\n:World Series championships won (5): 1905, 1921, 1922, 1933, 1954
Franchise history\nEarly Success\n(1880s; Temple Cup in 1894)
The Worst Owner in the World\n(Andrew Freedman, abrasive and meddling -- the George Steinbrenner of his time -- 1890s)
is McGraw"">"The team is McGraw"\n(1903-1932, and on through the 30s as an influence)
The Shot Heard 'Round The World\n(1951) One of the more famous episodes in major league baseball history, "The Shot Heard 'Round The World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's home run that clinched the National League pennant for the Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the third of a three-game playoff series that was called after one of baseball's more memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers, but under the guidance of manager Leo Durocher the Giants caught up to tie the Dodgers for the lead on the last day of the season.
The game is also remembered for Russ Hodges' commentary for WMCA Radio. Hodges calls the winning home run:
"Bobby Thomson up there swinging...He's had two out of three, a single and a double, and Billy Cox is playing him right on the third base line...One out, last of the ninth...Branca pitches and Bobby takes a strike call on the inside corner...Bobby hitting at .292...He's had a single and a double and drove in the Giants' first run with a long fly to center...Brooklyn leads it 4-2...Hartung down the line at third not taking any chances...Lockman without too big a lead at second, but he'll be running like the wind if Thomson hits one...Branca throws...There's a long drive...It's gonna be...I believe...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT! THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT!...BOBBY THOMSON HITS INTO THE LOWER DECK OF THE LEFT FIELD STANDS!...THE GIANTS WIN THE PENNANT AND THEY'RE GOING CRAZY! THEY'RE GOING CRAZY!...YAAAYHO-O-O!!!"
The Catch\n(1954) In Game 1 of the World Series, Willie Mays makes "The Catch" -- a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a line drive to deep center field which would otherwise have given Cleveland the lead.
West Coast\n(1958 to present)
The Giants have played in three World Series since moving to San Francisco, but have yet to win one. In 1962, they lost 4 games to 3 to the New York Yankees. In 1989, they faced the Oakland Athletics in the "Bay Bridge Series." The series is perhaps best remembered for when the ground shook on October 17, 1989 before game 3 at Candlestick Park. The 7.1-magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake caused a ten-day delay in the series. Oakland went on to sweep San Francisco 4 games to none.
The Giants reached the World Series again in 2002 as the wild card team. As underdogs, they defeated the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS 3 games to 2, and the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS 4 games to 1, to stake claim to their first NL pennant since 1989. The Giants faced their wild card counter-parts from the American League, the Anaheim Angels. The Giants took a 3-2 lead in the series and were up 5-0 in the seventh inning of Game 6, just eight outs away from their first championship since moving to San Francisco. The Angels rallied to win the game and defeated Livan Hernandez in game seven to win their first World Series in franchise history.
In 2003, the Giants recorded 100 victories for the seventh time in franchise history and the third in San Francisco. With their 100-61 record, the Giants spent the entire season in first place in the NL West. They became just the ninth wire-to-wire winner of a division or pennant in baseball history. The previous three were Baltimore in 1997, Cleveland in 1998, and Seattle in 2001. They lost to the wild card Florida Marlins 3 games to 1 in the 2003 National League Division Series.
Players of note\nBaseball Hall of Famers\n*Dave Bancroft\n*Jake Beckley\n*Roger Bresnahan\n*Dan Brouthers\n*Jesse Burkett \n*Steve Carlton\n*Orlando Cepeda \n*Roger Connor \n*George Davis \n*Buck Ewing \n*Frankie Frisch \n*Burleigh Grimes \n*Gabby Hartnett \n*Rogers Hornsby \n*Waite Hoyt \n*Carl Hubbell \n*Monte Irvin \n*Travis Jackson \n*Tim Keefe \n*Willie Keeler \n*George Kelly\n*King Kelly \n*Tony Lazzeri \n*Freddie Lindstrom \n*Ernie Lombardi \n*Juan Marichal \n*Rube Marquard \n*Christy Mathewson \n*Willie Mays \n*Willie McCovey \n*Joe McGinnity \n*John McGraw \n*Bill McKechnie \n*Joe Medwick \n*Johnny Mize \n*Joe Morgan \n*Jim O'Rourke \n*Mel Ott \n*Gaylord Perry \n*Edd Roush\n*Amos Rusie \n*Red Schoendienst\n*Duke Snider\n*Warren Spahn\n*Casey Stengel\n*Bill Terry \n*(John) Monte Ward \n*Mickey Welch \n*Hoyt Wilhelm \n*Hack Wilson \n*Ross Youngs
Current stars\n*Felipe Alou (Manager)\n*Barry Bonds\n*Marquis Grissom\n*Jason Schmidt
Not to be forgotten\n*Rod Beck\n*Bobby Bonds\n*Will Clark\n*Dave Dravecky\n*Jeff Kent (NL MVP, 2000)\n*Mike Krukow\n*Gary Matthews\n*Mike McCormick (pitcher; NL Cy Young Award winner)\n*John Montefusco\n*Bobby Thomson\n*Matt Williams
Retired numbers\n*3 Bill Terry\n*4 Mel Ott\n*11 Carl Hubbell\n*24 Willie Mays\n*27 Juan Marichal\n*30 Orlando Cepeda\n*44 Willie McCovey\n*42 Jackie Robinson (retired throughout baseball)\n*John McGraw\n*Christy Mathewson - he played in the era prior to jersey numbers, but his jersey is retired on the outfield wall
External links\n*San Francisco Giants official web site
Books\n*Hynd, Noel (1988). The Giants of the Polo Grounds: the glorious times of baseball's New York Giants. New York: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-23790-1. |
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