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. 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. The Giants rivalry with the Dodgers is one of the greatest longest-standing rivalries and is regarded the biggest in American baseball.

Timothy Leroy Lincecum (pronounced /ˈlɪnsɨkʌm/ LIN-sə-kum; born June 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He has been nicknamed both "The Freak" and "The Franchise."

Lincecum is known for his long stride, unorthodox mechanics, and ability to generate high velocity despite his slight build: originally listed as 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) and 175 pounds. In part to add strength and durability, Lincecum put on about 15 pounds prior to the 2011 season.

Lincecum attended Liberty Senior High School in Renton, Washington, where he played two seasons of varsity baseball. As a senior he won state player of the year and led his school to the 2003 3A state championship title.

After high school Lincecum went on to pitch for the University of Washington. In 2006 he finished with a 12–4 record and a 1.94 ERA, 199 strikeouts, and three saves in 125⅓ innings as a Washington Husky. He won the 2006 Golden Spikes Award, which is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player.

Matthew Thomas Cain (born October 1, 1984) is an American professional baseball player. A starting pitcher, Cain plays for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. He is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 235 pounds (107 kg).

Cain graduated from Houston High School in Germantown, Tennessee, where he earned the nickname "Big Sugar" and was selected by the Giants in the first round (25th overall) in the 2002 MLB Draft.

Prior to the 2005 season, Cain was named the #13 prospect in baseball by Baseball America.

Cain features a mix of mostly four pitches: a four-seam fastball (89-92 mph), a slider (85-88), a curveball (78-81), and a changeup (85-88). Very infrequently, he also throws a two-seam fastball at 90-92 mph. Cain leads with his four-seamer, throwing it just over half the time in 2011. His changeup is his secondary pitch to left-handed hitters, while he throws sliders as a secondary pitch to right-handed hitters. Cain throws curveballs in roughly equal proportions to righties and lefties.

Hunter Andrew Pence (born April 13, 1983, in Fort Worth, Texas) is a Major League Baseball outfielder with the Philadelphia Phillies. Pence stands 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm) tall and weighs 210 pounds (95 kg). He bats and throws right-handed.

Pence attended Arlington High School in Arlington, Texas. After playing outfield his first three years, he moved to shortstop his senior year, and wore #8.He attended Texarkana College for a year and was DH on the baseball team. He transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) where he returned to the outfield. He hit .347 as a sophomore in 2003 and was named a first-team all-conference outfielder. Despite missing 15 of UTA's 30 Southland Conference games the following year due to an injury at mid-season—he was still named the 2004 Southland Conference player of the year, leading the league with a .395 batting average. Pence still holds the conference record for doubles in a single series, with 5.

Pence was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers but didn't sign. But, then, in the first year player draft, Hunter was drafted in the second round (64th pick) of the 2004 draft by the Houston Astros out of the University of Texas–Arlington. In 2006 with the AA Corpus Christi Hooks, Pence batted .283 and hit 28 home runs, with 95 RBIs. He had 17 stolen bases, while being caught stealing only 4 times. In 2006, he was one of three outfielders named to the Baseball America Minor League All-Star Team. Pence began the 2007 season as the AAA Round Rock Express' center fielder, though he made a serious run to make the big league club out of spring training.

Ryan Andrew Vogelsong (born July 22, 1977 in Charlotte, North Carolina) is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants. In addition to an earlier stint with the Giants (2000–2001), he has played for the Pittsburgh Pirates (2001–2006), and for Nippon Professional Baseball's Hanshin Tigers (2007–2008) and Orix Buffaloes (2009).

In 1995, he graduated from Octorara Area High school in Atglen, Pennsylvania, where he played baseball, basketball and soccer. He played Legion baseball in Oxford PA. He played his little league baseball in the Southern Chester County Midget League for Highland. He also played for Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania during the 1996-1998 seasons. He had great success at Kutztown striking out 242 batters in his 3 year collegiate career.

Vogelsong was drafted by the Giants in the 5th round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut with the Giants on September 2, 2000.

Vogelsong was acquired by the Pirates on July 30, 2001, along with outfielder Armando Ríos, for pitcher Jason Schmidt and outfielder John Vander Wal. He appeared in two games for the Pirates before he required Tommy John surgery that kept him out of the majors until the end of the 2003 season.