San Francisco Giants
2012 San Francisco Giants season
Established	1883
Based in San Francisco since 1958
100px Team logo Cap insignia
Major league affiliations
National League (1883–present) West Division (1969–present)
Current uniform
275px
Retired numbers	NY, NY, 3, 4, 11, 20, 24, 27, 30, 36, 42, 44
Colors
Black, Orange, White
Name
San Francisco Giants (1958–present)
New York Giants (1885–1957) New York Gothams (1883–85)
Other nicknames
The Orange and Black, Los Gigantes, The G-Men, The Jints, The Gyros, Boys from the Bay
Ballpark
AT&T Park (2000–present) a.k.a. SBC Park (2004–05) a.k.a. Pacific Bell Park (2000–03) Candlestick Park (1960–99) a.k.a. 3Com Park at Candlestick Point (1997–99) Seals Stadium (1958–59) Polo Grounds IV (New York) (1911–57) a.k.a. Brush Stadium (1911–19) Hilltop Park (New York) (1911) Polo Grounds III (New York) (1891–1911) Polo Grounds II (New York) (1889–90) St. George Grounds (New York) (1889) Oakland Park (New Jersey) (1889) Polo Grounds I (New York) (1883–88)
Major league titles
World Series titles (6)	2010 • 1954 • 1933 • 1922 • 1921• 1905
NL Pennants (21)	2010 • 2002 • 1989 • 1962 • 1954 1951 • 1937 • 1936 • 1933 1924 • 1923 • 1922 • 1921 1917 • 1913 • 1912 • 1911 1905 • 1904 • 1889 • 1888
West Division titles (7)	2010 • 2003 • 2000 • 1997 • 1989 1987 • 1971
Wild card berths (1)	2002
Front office
Owner(s)	Ownership group led by Larry Baer, Chief Executive Officer Sue Burns, died July 2009.[1] Former Senior General Partner (largest shareholder, estimated 35–40% share)
Manager	Bruce Bochy
General Manager	Brian Sabean

The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division.

As one of the oldest baseball teams, they have won the most games of any team in the history of American baseball, and any North American professional sports team.^[2] They have won 21 National League pennants and appeared in 18 World Series competitions – both records in the National League (tied for NL pennants with the Los Angeles Dodgers and for World Series appearances with the Los Angeles Dodgers and the St. Louis Cardinals). The Giants 6 World Series Championships are also tied for second in the National League with the Dodgers (the St. Louis Cardinals have won 11). The Giants have played in the World Series an NL record 18 times, but boycotted the event in 1904. With their history, the Giants have the most Hall of Fame players in all of professional baseball.^[3] The Giants rivalry with the Dodgers is one of the greatest longest-standing rivalries and is regarded the biggest in American baseball.^[4][5]

The Giants played at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan, New York, until the close of the 1957 season, after which they moved west to California to become the San Francisco Giants. As the New York Giants, they won 14 pennants and 5 World Championships, from the era of John McGraw and Christy Mathewson to that of Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays. The Giants have won four pennants and the 2010 World Series since arriving in San Francisco.

Early days and the John McGraw era[link]

The Giants began as the second baseball club founded by millionaire tobacconist John B. Day and veteran amateur baseball player Jim Mutrie. The Gothams, as the Giants were originally known, entered the National League in 1883, while their other club, the Metropolitans (the original Mets) played in the American Association. Nearly half of the original Gotham players were members of the disbanded Troy Trojans, whose place in the National League the Gothams inherited. While the Metropolitans were initially the more successful club, Day and Mutrie began moving star players to the Gothams and the team won its first National League pennant in 1888, as well as a victory over the St. Louis Browns in an early incarnation of the World Series. They repeated as champions the next year with a pennant and World Series victory over the Brooklyn Bridegrooms.

It is said that after one particularly satisfying victory over the Philadelphia Phillies, Mutrie (who was also the team's manager) stormed into the dressing room and exclaimed, "My big fellows! My giants!" From then on, the club was known as the Giants.

The Giants' original home stadium, the Polo Grounds, also dates from this early era. The first of the Polo Grounds was located north of Central Park adjacent to Fifth and Sixth Avenues and 110th and 112th Streets in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem. Upon eviction from the Polo Grounds after the 1888 season, the Giants moved uptown and renamed various fields the Polo Grounds which were located between 155th and 159th Streets in the New York City neighborhoods of Harlem and Washington Heights. The Giants played at the Polo Grounds until the end of the 1957 season, when they moved to San Francisco.

The Giants remained a powerhouse during the last half of the 1880s, culminating in their first league pennant in 1888 and another in 1889. However, in 1890, nearly all of the Giants' stars jumped to the upstart Players' League, whose New York franchise was also named the Giants. The new team even built its park next door to the National League Giants' Polo Grounds. With a decimated roster, the Giants finished a distant sixth. Attendance took a nosedive, and the financial strain affected Day's tobacco business as well. The Players' League dissolved after the season, and Day sold a minority interest to the PL Giants' principal backer, Edward Talcott. As a condition of the sale, Day had to fire Mutrie as manager. Although the Giants rebounded to third in 1891, Day was forced to sell controlling interest to Talcott at the end of the season.

Four years later, Talcott sold the Giants to Andrew Freedman, a real estate developer with ties to Tammany Hall. Freedman was one of the most detested owners in baseball history, getting into heated disputes with other owners, writers and his own players. The most famous one was with star pitcher Amos Rusie. When Freedman only offered Rusie $2,500 for 1896, Rusie sat out the entire season. Attendance fell off throughout the league due to the loss of Rusie, prompting the other owners to chip in $50,000 to get him to return for 1897. Freedman hired former owner Day as manager for part of 1899.

In 1902, after a series of disastrous moves that left the Giants 53½ games behind, Freedman signed John McGraw as a player-manager, convincing him to jump in mid-season from the Baltimore Orioles of the American League and to bring with him several Orioles' players. McGraw would go on and manage the Giants for three decades, one of the longest and most successful tenures in professional sports. McGraw's hiring was one of Freedman's last significant moves as owner of the Giants; after the season he was forced to sell his interest to John T. Brush. Under McGraw the Giants won ten National League pennants and three World Series championships.

The Giants already had their share of stars during its brief history at this point, such as Smiling Mickey Welch, Roger Connor, Tim Keefe, Jim O'Rourke and John Montgomery Ward, the player-lawyer who formed the renegade Players League in 1890 to protest unfair player contracts. McGraw would also cultivate his own crop of baseball heroes during his time with the Giants. Names such as Christy Mathewson, Iron Man Joe McGinnity, Bill Terry, Jim Thorpe, Mel Ott, Casey Stengel, and Red Ames are just a sample of the many players who honed their skills under McGraw.

The Giants under McGraw famously snubbed their first modern World Series chance in 1904—an encounter with the reigning world champion Boston Americans (now known as the "Red Sox")—because McGraw considered the new American League as little more than a minor league. His original reluctance was because the intra-city rival New York Highlanders looked like they would win the AL pennant. The Highlanders lost to Boston on the last day, but the Giants stuck by their refusal. McGraw had also managed the Highlanders in their first two seasons, when they were known as the Baltimore Orioles.

The ensuing criticism resulted in Brush leading an effort to formalize the rules and format of the World Series. The Giants won the 1905 World Series over the Philadelphia Athletics, with Christy Mathewson nearly winning the series single-handedly.

The Giants then had several frustrating years. In 1908, they finished in a tie with the Chicago Cubs and had a one-game playoff at the Polo Grounds. The game was a replay of a tied game that resulted from the Merkle Boner. They lost the rematch to the Cubs, who would go on to win their second World Series. That post-season game was further darkened by a story that someone on the Giants had attempted to bribe umpire Bill Klem. This could have been a disastrous scandal for baseball, but because Klem was honest and the Giants lost, it faded over time.

The Giants experienced some hard luck in the early 1910s, losing three straight World Series starting in 1911 to the A's, the Red Sox,and the A's again(the Giants and the A's both won pennants in 1913; two seasons later, both teams finished in eighth [last] place). After losing the 1917 Series to the Chicago White Sox (the White Sox's last World Series win until 2005), the Giants played in four straight World Series in the early 1920s, winning the first two over their tenants, the Yankees, then losing to the Yankees in 1923 when Yankee Stadium opened. They also lost in 1924, when the Washington Senators won their only World Series in their history (prior to their move to Minnesota).

1930–57: Five pennants in 28 seasons[link]

McGraw handed over the team to Bill Terry in 1932, and Terry played for and managed the Giants for ten years. During this time the Giants won three pennants, defeating the Senators in the 1933 World Series and losing to the Yankees in 1936 and 1937. Aside from Terry himself, the other stars of the era were Mel Ott and Carl Hubbell. Known as "King Carl" and "The Meal Ticket", Hubbell gained fame during the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five future Hall of Famers in a row: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons, and Joe Cronin.

Mel Ott succeeded Terry as manager in 1942, but the war years proved to be difficult for the Giants. Midway during the 1948 season Brooklyn Dodgers manager Leo Durocher left the Dodgers to become manager of the Giants. This hire was not without controversy. Not only was the mid-season switch unusual, but Durocher had been accused of gambling in 1947 and subsequently suspended for the entire 1947 season by Baseball Commissioner Albert "Happy" Chandler. Durocher remained at the helm of the Giants through the 1955 season, and those eight years proved to be some of the most memorable for Giants fans, particularly because of the arrival of Willie Mays and arguably the two most famous plays in Giants' history.

1951: The "Shot Heard 'Round the World"[link]

One of the most famous episodes in Major League Baseball history, the "Shot Heard 'Round the World" is the name given to Bobby Thomson's walk-off home run that clinched the National League pennant for the Giants over their rivals, the Brooklyn Dodgers. This game was the deciding one of a three-game playoff ending one of baseball's most memorable pennant races. The Giants had been thirteen and a half games behind the league-leading Dodgers in August, but under Durocher's guidance and with the aid of a sixteen-game winning streak, caught the Dodgers to tie for the lead on the last day of the season.

Mays' catch and the 1954 Series[link]

In game one of the 1954 World Series at the Polo Grounds against the Cleveland Indians, Willie Mays made "The Catch"—a dramatic over-the-shoulder catch of a fly ball by Vic Wertz to deep center field. At the time the game was tied 2–2 in the eighth inning, with men on first and second and nobody out. Mays caught the ball 450 ft (140 m) from the plate, whirled and threw the ball to the infield, keeping the lead runner, Larry Doby, from scoring.

The underdog Giants went on to sweep the series in four straight, despite the Indians having won a then-American League record 111 games that year. The 1954 World Series title would be their last appearance in the World Series as the New York Giants, as the team moved to San Francisco just prior to the 1958 season.

Memorable New York Giants of the 1950s[link]

In addition to Bobby Thomson and Willie Mays, other memorable members of the Giants teams during the 1950s include: Hall of Fame manager Leo Durocher, coach Herman Franks, Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin, outfielder and runnerup for the 1954 NL batting championship (won by Willie Mays) Don Mueller, Hall of Fame knuckleball relief pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm, starting pitchers Larry Jansen, Sal Maglie, Jim Hearn, Marv Grissom, Dave Koslo, Don Liddle, Max Lanier, Rubén Gómez, and Johnny Antonelli, catcher Wes Westrum, catchers Ray Katt and Sal Yvars, shortstop Alvin Dark, third baseman Hank Thompson, first baseman Whitey Lockman, second basemen Davey Williams and Eddie Stanky, outfielder, pitcher Clint Hartung, Hall of Fame second baseman Red Schoendienst and utility players: Bill Rigney, Daryl Spencer, Bobby Hofman, and Dusty Rhodes among others. In the late 1950s and after the move to San Francisco two Hall of Fame First Basemen Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey joined the team.

1957: The move to California[link]

The Giants' final three years in New York City were unmemorable. They stumbled to third place the year after their World Series win and attendance fell off precipitously. While seeking a new stadium to replace the crumbling Polo Grounds, the Giants began to contemplate a move from New York, initially considering Metropolitan Stadium in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, which was home to their top farm team, the Minneapolis Millers. Under the rules of the time, the Giants' ownership of the Millers gave them priority rights to a major league team in the area.

At this time, the Giants were approached by San Francisco mayor George Christopher. Despite objections from shareholders such as Joan Whitney Payson, majority owner Horace Stoneham entered into negotiations with San Francisco officials at around the same time that the Dodgers' owner Walter O'Malley was courting the city of Los Angeles. O'Malley had been told that the Dodgers would not be allowed to move to Los Angeles unless a second team moved to California as well. He pushed Stoneham toward relocation. And so it was in the summer of 1957 that both the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers announced their moves to California, and the golden age of baseball in the New York area had ended.

New York would remain a one-team town with the New York Yankees until 1962 when Joan Whitney Payson founded the New York Mets and brought National League baseball back to the city. Payson and M. Donald Grant, who became the Mets' chairman, had been the only Giants board members to vote against the Giants' move to California. The "NY" script on the Giants' caps and the orange trim on their uniforms, along with the blue background used by the Dodgers, would be adopted by the Mets – something of a compromise between the colors of both the Giants and the Dodgers.

1958: The San Francisco Giants history begins[link]

This section may be too long and excessively detailed. Please consider summarizing the material while citing sources as needed.

As with the New York years, the Giants' fortunes in San Francisco have been mixed. Though recently the club has enjoyed relatively sustained success, there have also been prolonged stretches of mediocrity, along with two instances when the club's ownership threatened to move the team away from San Francisco.

• SF GiantsLogo 58 82.png

  Giants Hat/Helmet Logo
  1958–82

• New York Giants logo 1947-1957.png

  Giants Logo
  1958–76

• San Francisco Giants logo 1977-1982.png

  Giants Logo
  1977–82

• SF GiantsLogo 83 93.png

  Giants Hat/Helmet Logo
  1983–93

• San Francisco Giants logo 1983-1993.png

  Giants Logo
  1983–93

• 

  Giants Hat/Helmet Logo
  1994–present

• San Francisco Giants logo 1994-1999.png

  Giants Logo
  1994–99

• San Francisco Giants Logo.svg

  Giants Logo
  2000–present

1958–61: Seals Stadium and Candlestick Park[link]

When the Giants moved to San Francisco, they played in Seals Stadium for their first two seasons. The stadium, which was located at 16th & Bryant St. across from the Stempel's Bakery, had been the home of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) San Francisco Seals, a minor league affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, from 1931 to 1957. In 1958, Latino hitter Orlando Cepeda won Rookie of the Year honors. In 1959, Willie McCovey won the same award.

In 1960, the Giants moved to Candlestick Park (sometimes known simply as "The 'Stick"), a stadium built on Candlestick Point in San Francisco's southeast corner overlooking San Francisco Bay. The new stadium quickly became known for its strong, swirling winds, cold temperatures, and thick evening fog that made for a formidable experience for brave fans and players. The park had a built-in radiant heating system, but it never worked. Candlestick Park's reputation was sealed in the ninth inning of the first 1961 All-Star Game when, after a day of calm conditions, the winds rose. A strong gust appeared to cause Giants relief pitcher Stu Miller to slip off the pitching rubber during his delivery, resulting in a balk (and a baseball legend that Miller was "blown off the mound").

There were also many times that Candlestick Park was covered in fog, both inside and out, coming in from the ocean seven miles to the west (through what is known as the "Alemany Gap," a type of wide gorge through which the ocean winds come without major topographical obstacles). At one time, a fog horn was played inside the stadium between innings giving Candlestick another reputation. Other times, the winds would also whirl around in the parking lot, but inside the stadium it would be calm. Even with its reputation of being cold, windy, and foggy, it stood its ground when the ground below it shook violently during the 1989 World Series. At 5:04 pm, the Loma Prieta Earthquake shook the San Francisco Bay Area during the pre-game ceremonies before Game 3. For 15 seconds the stadium rocked and there was fear that the standing light fixtures above would fall onto the crowd. However, only minor injuries were reported, and the stadium's structure was deemed safe ten days later.

1962 World Series[link]

In 1962, after another memorable pennant chase with the Dodgers which resulted in a playoff series which the Giants won, the Giants brought a World Series to San Francisco. However, the Giants lost the series four games to three to the New York Yankees. The seventh game went to the bottom of the ninth inning, with the Yankees ahead 1–0. With Matty Alou on first base and two outs, Willie Mays sliced a double down the right field line. Right fielder Roger Maris, quickly got to the ball and rifled a throw to the infield, preventing Alou from scoring the tying run (he only reached 3rd base).

With the speedy Mays on second, any base hit by the next batter, Willie McCovey, would likely win the series for the Giants. McCovey hit a screaming line drive that was snared by second baseman Bobby Richardson, bringing the Series to a sudden end. Earlier in the inning, a failed sacrifice bunt by Felipe Alou had ultimately resulted in his brother Matty not scoring on Mays' double. In addition, Richardson was not originally positioned to catch the drive – he only moved there (three steps to the left) in reaction to a foul smash by McCovey on the previous pitch.

Giants fan (and resident of nearby Santa Rosa) Charles Schulz made a reference to the real world in one of his Peanuts strips soon afterward. In the first three panels of the strip of December 22, Charlie Brown and Linus are sitting on a porch step, looking glum. In the last panel, Charlie cries to the heavens, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" Some weeks later, the same scene appears. This time, Charlie cries, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just two feet higher?"

1963–84: Always a bridesmaid, never the bride[link]

Although the Giants did not play in another World Series until 1989, the teams of the 1960s continued to be pennant contenders thanks to several future Hall-of-Famers. These included Gaylord Perry, who pitched a no-hitter with the Giants in 1968; Juan Marichal, a pitcher with a memorable high-kicking delivery; McCovey, who won the National League MVP award in 1969, and Mays, who hit his 600th career home run in 1969. A Giants highlight came in 1963 when Jesús Alou joined the team, and along with Felipe and Matty formed the first all-brother outfield in Major League history. In 1967 the Giants had their first Cy Young Award winner in Mike McCormick.

The Giants' next appearance in the postseason came in 1971. After winning their division, they were easily defeated in the League Championship Series by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente, who then went on to beat the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series.

In 1972 the field at Candlestick Park was converted from grass to Astroturf.

During this decade, the Giants gave up many players who became successful elsewhere. Some of them included Garry Maddox, George Foster, Dave Kingman, and Gaylord Perry. However, the Giants did produce two more Rookie of the Year winners (Gary Matthews Sr. in 1973 and John Montefusco in 1975).

In 1976, Bob Lurie bought the team, saving it from being moved to Toronto.^[6] Toronto was awarded an expansion team called the Blue Jays, but San Francisco baseball fans' worries about losing their beloved Giants had not completely gone away just yet. The rest of the 1970s was a generally disappointing time for the Giants, as they finished no higher than third place in any season. That third place season was 1978. They had a young star in the likes of Jack Clark, along with veteran first baseman Willie McCovey, second baseman Bill Madlock (whom the Giants had acquired from the Chicago Cubs,) shortstops Johnnie LeMaster and Roger Metzger, and third baseman Darrell Evans. Veteran pitchers Vida Blue, John Montefusco, Ed Halicki, and Bob Knepper rounded out the starting rotation with Vida Blue leading the way with eighteen victories. The most memorable moment of that 1978 season occurred on May 28, 1978, when pinch hitter Mike Ivie, acquired from the San Diego Padres during the offseason for Darrel Thomas, hit a towering grand slam off of Dodgers pitching ace Don Sutton in front of Candlestick Park's highest paid attendance of 58,545. They were atop of the NL West for most of the season, but the Dodgers heated up to eventually win the West and the NL Pennant.

In time for the 1979 season, Candlestick was converted back to grass.

In 1981, the Giants became the first National League team to hire a black manager, Frank Robinson. However, Robinson's tenure lasted less than four years and was generally unsuccessful. In that tenure, the Giants finished a game over .500 in the strike-shortened 1981 season. The next season, the Giants acquired veterans Joe Morgan and Reggie Smith. They were in the midst of a three-team pennant race with the Dodgers and Braves. Morgan hit a homer against the Dodgers on the final day of the season to make sure Atlanta won the NL West.

In 1984, the Giants hosted the All-Star Game at Candlestick Park.^[7]

1985–89: Nadir and resurrection[link]

The 1985 Giants lost 100 games (the most in franchise history), and owner Bob Lurie responded by hiring Al Rosen as general manager. Under Rosen's tenure, the Giants promoted promising rookies such as Will Clark and Robby Thompson, and made canny trades to acquire such players as Kevin Mitchell, Dave Dravecky, Candy Maldonado, and Rick Reuschel.

New manager Roger Craig served from 1985 to 1992. In Craig's first five full seasons with the Giants, the team never finished with a losing record.

Under Roger Craig's leadership (and his unique motto, "Humm Baby") the Giants won 83 games in 1986 and won the National League Western Division title in 1987. The team lost the 1987 National League Championship Series to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. The one bright spot in that defeat was Giants outfielder Jeffrey Leonard, who was named the series MVP in a losing effort. In Leonard's own faltering words, the prize money ($50,000) meant nothing to him. He would have given anything to be going up north to play the Minnesota Twins in the 1987 World Series.

1989: The "Thrill", World Series and the Earthquake[link]

Although the team used fifteen different starting pitchers, the 1989 Giants won the National League pennant. They were led by pitchers Rick Reuschel (1989 National League All-Star Game Starter) and Scott Garrelts (the 1989 National League ERA champion) and sluggers Kevin Mitchell (the 1989 National League MVP) and Will Clark.

The Giants beat the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series, four games to one. In Game 5, eventual 1989 NLCS MVP Will Clark (who hit .650, drove in eight runs, including a grand slam off Greg Maddux in Game 1) came through in the clutch with a bases-loaded single off of the hard-throwing Mitch Williams to break a 1–1 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning. In the top of the 9th inning, Steve Bedrosian was shaky as he gave up a run. But ultimately, Bedrosian was able to get Ryne Sandberg to ground-out for out #3. Fittingly, the hero of Game 5, Will Clark caught the final out from second baseman Robby Thompson. For the first time in twenty-seven years, the San Francisco Giants were the champions of the National League.

After taking care of the Cubs, the Giants faced the Oakland Athletics in the "Bay Bridge Series". The series is best remembered because the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989, disrupted the planned Game 3 of the series at Candlestick Park. After a ten-day delay in the series, Oakland finished up its sweep of San Francisco. The Giants never would hold a lead in any of the 4 games and never even managed to send the tying run to the plate in their last at-bat.

1992: Farewell San Francisco?[link]

Will Clark preparing to bat for the Giants at Candlestick Park in 1992. That year, the Giants came close to relocation, with an empty stadium ready to be filled in Tampa.

Following the 1989 World Series defeat to the Oakland A's, a local ballot initiative to fund a new stadium in San Francisco failed, threatening the franchise's future in the city. After the 1992 season, owner Bob Lurie, who had previously saved the franchise from moving to Toronto in 1976, put the team up for sale. A group of investors from St. Petersburg led by Vince Naimoli reached an agreement to purchase the team and move them to the Tampa Bay Area, but National League owners voted against the acquisition.^[8] Wally Haas, the owner of the Oakland Athletics at the time, agreed to grant the Giants exclusive rights to the South Bay so the Giants could explore all potential local sites for a new stadium and at least help to keep the team in the Bay Area. The team was instead sold to an ownership group including managing general partner Peter Magowan, the former CEO of Safeway, Harmon Burns, and his wife, Sue.

In addition to the anticipated move to downtown San Francisco, the Giants' ownership also made a major personnel move to solidify fan support. Before even hiring a new General Manager or officially being approved as the new owners, Magowan signed superstar free agent Barry Bonds (a move which MLB initially blocked until some terms were negotiated to protect Lurie and Bonds in case the sale failed).^{[citation needed]}

1993: "The last pure pennant race"[link]

The Barry Bonds era began auspiciously as Bonds put up the numbers for the third MVP of his career: 46 homers, 129 runs and 123 RBI, (.336 BA, .458 OBP, .677 SLG, for a total of 1.135 OPS), all career highs. Matt Williams was very good (38 HR, 110 RBI, .294 BA), with Robby Thompson and Will Clark (in his last season with the Giants) providing offensive support. John Burkett and Bill Swift both had 20+ wins, and closer Rod Beck was dominant with 48 saves and a 2.16 ERA.^[9] All this led the Giants to a 103–59 record in Dusty Baker's first year as manager, which earned him the Manager of the Year award.

But despite the Giants' great record, the Atlanta Braves — fueled by solid seasons from David Justice, Ron Gant, Deion Sanders and their midseason acquisition of Fred McGriff from the San Diego Padres — came back from a ten-game deficit to the Giants to win the NL West by a single game.^[10] The Braves also had 20+ wins from both Tom Glavine and Cy Young Award winner Greg Maddux.

Desperately needing a win against the Dodgers in the final game of the year to force a one-game playoff with the Braves in San Francisco, the controversial choice of Giants rookie pitcher Salomon Torres proved disastrous as he gave up three runs in the first four innings and the Giants went on to lose the game 12–1. After MLB's establishment of the three-division–Wild Card playoff format following the 1993 season, New York Times sports columnist Dave Anderson captured the feeling of many baseball purists regarding the thrilling (and for Giants fans, heartbreaking) winner-take-all outcome as the "last pure pennant race."

1994–96 seasons[link]

The period of 1994 to 1996 was not good for the Giants, punctuated by the strike that canceled the rest of the 1994 baseball season and the World Series. The strike denied Matt Williams a chance to beat Roger Maris's single season home run record—he had 43 HR in 115 team games, and was thus on pace for 60 when the strike hit with 47 games left to play (Bonds had 37, on pace for 52). But the rest of the team was bad, with no other player having even 10 home runs or even 40 RBI that late into the season.^[11]

The Giants came in last place in both 1995 and 1996, as key injuries and slumps hurt them. 1995 had a strange feeling about it, with fans unsure if they would come back after the strike-shortened 1994 season (something that would keep attendances notably lower for a few more years, probably until the HR chase of 1998). Bonds continued to be the team's driving force, posting fantastic numbers, with the highest WAR among position players in the National League (33 HR, 104 RBI, 109 R and 120 BB in 144 games). Matt Williams and Glenallen Hill were the only other Giants with 20+ HR, and the rest of the team had mediocre offensive numbers. The pitching staff was bad, with only Mark Leiter having 10 wins (10–12, 3.82 ERA). Rod Beck had 33 saves, but a 4.45 ERA and a 5–6 record, including nine blown saves.^[12]

Candlestick Park

1996 was highlighted by Barry Bonds joining the 40–40 club (42 HR, 40 SB, with 129 RBI, 151 BB and .308 BA). Rookie Bill Mueller also provided hope for the future of the club with a .330 average (66 hits in 200 AB over 55 games). Matt Williams and Glenallen Hill provided offensive support. Pitching-wise, the team was not very good. Only Mark Gardner had more than 10 wins (12–7, 4.42 ERA), and Rod Beck had 35 saves, a 3.34 ERA and nine losses on his record.^[13] The low point came in late June when the Giants lost 10 straight games en route to a 68–94 record.

1997–1999: Rebuilding[link]

1997[link]

After three consecutive losing seasons, the Giants named Brian Sabean as their new general manager in 1997, replacing Bob Quinn. (Sabean may have been acting as GM prior to the announcement, as he was rumored to have engineered the deal to get Kirk Rueter from the Montreal Expos). His tenure began with great controversy. In his first official trade as GM, he shocked Giants fans by trading Matt Williams to Cleveland for what newspapers referred to as a 'bunch of spare parts', with the negative reaction being great enough for him to have to publicly explain: "I didn't get to this point by being an idiot... I'm sitting here telling you there is a plan."

Sabean was proven right, as the players he acquired in the Williams trade—Jeff Kent, Jose Vizcaino, Julian Tavarez, and Joe Roa (plus the $1 million in cash that enabled them to sign Darryl Hamilton)—and a subsequent trade for J.T. Snow were major contributors in leading the Giants to win their first NL West division title of the decade in 1997. Snow, Kent, and Bonds each had over 100 RBI, and pitcher Shawn Estes' 19 wins led the team. Rod Beck had 37 saves.^[14]

The 1997 baseball season also saw the introduction of interleague play. The Giants faced the four American League West teams that year: Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Anaheim Angels and the Oakland A's, while compiling a 10–6 record.^[15]

The Wild-card winning Florida Marlins ended the Giants' season with a 3–0 sweep in the first round of the playoffs, as the Marlins marched on their way to their first World Series championship.

1998[link]

In 1998, the Giants were fueled by good seasons from Jeff Kent and Barry Bonds, both with 30+ HR and 100+ RBI. Also having good seasons were pitchers Kirk Reuter (16–9 W-L record, 4.36 ERA), Mark Gardner (13–6, 4.33) and newly acquired Orel Hershiser (11–10, 4.41).^[16] New closer Robb Nen had 40 saves. The Giants tied for the NL Wild card but lost a one-game playoff against the Chicago Cubs (at Wrigley Field, Chicago).

1999[link]

The next year, (1999), saw the Giants finish second in the NL West with an 86–76 record. Barry Bonds's production dropped as he hit .262, his lowest average in a decade. He did however hit 34 home runs while missing more than one-third of the season due to injury, and other team regulars put up very good numbers in support. These included J.T. Snow, Jeff Kent, Rich Aurilia, and Ellis Burks, all who had 20+ HR and 80+ RBI. Marvin Benard also had a career year in center field with 16 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a career and team high 27 stolen bases. The pitching staff was paced by Russ Ortiz (18–9, 3.81) and Kirk Reuter (15–10, 5.41).^[17]

With the knowledge that their days in Candlestick Park were coming to an end, the 1999 season ended with a series of promotions and tributes. After the final game of the season, a defeat to the Los Angeles Dodgers, home plate was ceremoniously removed and taken by CHP helicopter to the new grounds where the downtown stadium was being built.

2000–01: Downtown Baseball Begins[link]

In 2000, after forty years at Candlestick Park, the Giants bid a bittersweet farewell to their old home and privately financed a downtown stadium, a long-advocated move. AT&T Park (originally Pacific Bell Park and later SBC Park) sits on the shores of China Basin (often referred to as McCovey Cove by Giants fans) at the corner of 3rd and King Streets (with an official address of 24 Willie Mays Plaza to honor the long-time Giant). Regardless of anything that might happen on the field of play, this move represented an entirely new era for the Giants and their fans. Whereas the team used to occupy a stadium that was a throwback to the era of suburban, multi-purpose, concrete "cookie-cutter" stadiums that so many teams moved to during the 1960s and 1970s, their new home is regarded as one of the better venues in all of professional sports. Even so, as part of the intense rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers, some Dodger fans derisively refer to AT&T Park as "The Phone Booth," owing to its current and former names (Pac Bell Park, SBC Park).

AT&T Park

The Giants routinely sell out this nearly 43,000-seat stadium, whereas it was not uncommon for them to have a paid attendance of less than 10,000 in Candlestick's nearly 60,000 seating capacity, although by the 1999 season the Giants managed about 25,000 fans a game. The franchise since the move annually vies for highest MLB season attendance, in contrast to being often threatened with having the league-low figure before. While still breezy in the summer time in comparison to other MLB parks, AT&T Park has been a consensus success and has developed the reputation as a "pitcher's park." Its state-of-the-art design minimizes wind-chill, it is well served by mass transit, and it has spectacular views of the bay and the city skyline, a trait that had been missing from Candlestick Park since its redesign in the early 1970s to accommodate the 49ers. AT&T Park is the centerpiece of a renaissance in San Francisco's South Beach and Mission Bay neighborhoods. It is own known for its sustainable design.^[18]

Despite inaugural game festivities at the new ballpark, the Dodgers would spoil the 2000 season opener, with a three HR performance by little-known Kevin Elster. However, the Giants would rebound and put out a solid effort all season long, culminating with a division title and the best record in the Major Leagues. Jeff Kent paced the attack with clutch RBI hits (33 HR, 125 RBI) en route to winning the MVP award, despite Bonds's 49 HR, 106 RBI season (Bonds finished second in MVP voting to Kent). The pitching staff was decent but not great, although 5 starters had at least 10 victories. These included Liván Hernández (17–11, 3.75), Russ Ortiz (14–12, 5.01), Kirk Rueter (11–9, 3.96), Shawn Estes (15–6, 4.26), and Mark Gardner (11–7, 4.05). Robb Nen was nearly perfect, with 41 saves and a minute 1.50 ERA.^[19]

The Giants lost the 2000 division series to the New York Mets, three games to one. They had started out solid, winning game one bolstered by Liván Hernández. However, the Mets won the next three games, despite decent performances by Shawn Estes, Russ Ortiz and Mark Gardner. Game two in particular had a tumultuous ending. Down 4–1 in the ninth, J.T. Snow hit a three-run home run to tie the game; but the Mets won the game anyway by scoring in the tenth inning.^[20]

In 2001 the Giants were eliminated from playoff contention on the second to last day of the season. Rich Aurilia put up stellar numbers (37 HR, 97 RBI, .324 BA) in support of Barry Bonds, who once again gave fans something to cheer about as he hit 73 home runs, setting a new single-season record. The pitching staff was good but not great, with Russ Ortiz (17–9, 3.29) leading a staff that also had Liván Hernández (13–15, 5.24), and Kirk Reuter (14–12, 4.42). Shawn Estes and Mark Gardner would have sub-par years, but notably Jason Schmidt (7–1, 3.39) was picked up in a mid-season acquisition from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Robb Nen continued to be a dominant closer (45 saves, 3.01 ERA).^[21]

2002: National League Championship Season and World Series[link]

In the 2002 season, the Giants finished 2nd in the NL West behind the Arizona Diamondbacks, bolstered by another MVP season for Barry Bonds (46 HR, 110 RBI, .370 BA, a then-record 198 walks and a .582 OBP) and Jeff Kent (37 HR, 108 RBI and .313 BA).^[22] Additional roster support was provided by decent seasons from Benito Santiago and Rich Aurilia, plus new acquisitions David Bell, Reggie Sanders and Tsuyoshi Shinjo, who spent only one season with the Giants before returning to Japan. The pitching staff again proved solid, with five starters having 12 wins or more, including Jason Schmidt, who the Giants acquired in 2001 from the Pittsburgh Pirates. Closer Robb Nen had 43 saves and a 2.20 ERA, and setup men Felix Rodriguez and Tim Worrell were solid coming out of the bullpen.

The Giants would make the playoffs as the NL Wild Card team. They went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS three games to two, with Russ Ortiz winning Games 1 and 5 in Atlanta.^[23] In the NLCS, they went on to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals four games to one, with wins by Reuter, Schmidt and two by Worrell in relief.^[24] Benito Santiago went on to win the MVP award in the NLCS.

The Giants then went on to face the American League's Wild Card team, the Anaheim Angels, now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in the World Series. Since its inception, this was the first time that two wildcard teams met in a World Series. The Giants split the first two games in Anaheim and took two of three at Pac Bell Park. With the Giants leading the series three games to two following a 16–4 blowout win in Game 5 at Pac Bell Park, the series shifted back to Anaheim. With the Giants leading 5–0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning of Game 6, the series' momentum changed decisively when then Manager Dusty Baker removed starter Russ Ortiz and handed him the "game" ball as he left the mound. Moments later, Scott Spiezio hit a three-run home run for the Angels off reliever Felix Rodriguez, and went on to win the game 6–5. The following night, Anaheim won Game 7, 4–1 to claim the Series. Angels third baseman Troy Glaus was named MVP.

After the 2002 season, the Giants would go through many personnel changes. After ten seasons, manager Dusty Baker did not have his contract renewed. Closer Robb Nen had pitched despite a damaged shoulder, an injury which eventually ended his career (retired), and Jeff Kent was not re-signed (he went to play for the Houston Astros). Position players David Bell, Reggie Sanders, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Kenny Lofton, as well as pitchers Liván Hernández, Russ Ortiz and relief pitcher Aaron Fultz all played for other teams the following season.

2003: Wire to wire[link]