All-Time Teams: Giants

The New York Yankees have the greatest All-Time Team. Period, full stop. Right? Not so fast...

Submitted for your consideration, here are the all-time greatest San Francisco Giants:

Manager: John McGraw

Home:  Oracle Park

Leading off for the Giants.. the Shortstop.. George Davis

George Davis has the second-highest career batting average among players with over 1,500 at-bats for the Giants. The Hall of Famer slashed .332/.393/.467 in his ten seasons with the team. Davis posted three seasons of 100+ RBI including a major-league leading 135 in 1897. He stole 65 bases that year and 619 overall, placing him 17th all-time. His career WAR of 84.7 is the fourth-highest for a shortstop - behind only Honus Wagner, Alex Rodriguez, and Cal Ripken.






Batting second for San Francisco.. the First Baseman.. Bill Terry

The last National Leaguer to hit .400, Bill Terry collected over 200 hits in six of his ten full seasons. Terry finished top-10 in MVP voting six times but the award was not given after his .401 season in 1930 due to the Great Depression. "Memphis Bill" succeeded John McGraw as New York's manager in 1932, leading the team to three pennants and a World Series title in 1933. His career .341 average is first in Giants history; only Willie Mays and Mel Ott collected more hits for the club. He received Hall of Fame votes while he was still playing in 1936 and earned induction into Cooperstown in 1954.




Batting third.. the Left Fielder.. Barry Bonds

The most feared hitter in modern baseball history, Barry Lamar Bonds is the single-season and career record-holder in home runs, walks, and intentional walks. His career .477 on-base percentage is highest in Giants history and nearly 100 points greater than his output in Pittsburgh. The seven-time NL MVP won eight Gold Gloves, twelve Silver Sluggers, and two batting titles - but did not win a World Series. Barry's 112.5 WAR with the Giants trails only his godfather Willie Mays in team history, and his career total of 162.8 is bested only by three pre-integration greats.





Batting fourth.. the Center Fielder.. Willie Mays

Willie Mays is perhaps the greatest all-around player in baseball history. The 1951 NL Rookie of the Year missed much of 1952 and all of 1953 while serving in the Army. In 1954 Mays had a season for the ages - winning a batting title, NL MVP honors, and helping the Giants sweep Cleveland in the World Series with one incredible catch. The "Say Hey Kid" made 24 All-Star teams, won 12 Gold Gloves, and finished top-5 in NL MVP voting nine times. Mays holds Giants' career records in hits, runs, total bases, home runs, and WAR; he ranks top-5 in league history in the latter three categories.





Batting fifth.. the Right Fielder.. Mel Ott

Mel Ott slugged 323 of his 511 career home runs in the horseshoe-shaped Polo Grounds. However his .311 batting average on the road was fourteen points higher than his home total. A 12-time All-Star, Ott posted eight seasons of 30+ home runs and nine seasons of 100+ RBI. He led the league in OPS+ five times, walks six times, and home runs six times. Ott ranks 20th all-time with 110.7 WAR - a total that would lead several franchises. On the Giants' list he ranks behind Bonds and Mays. The three outfielders have a combined 1,933 career home runs.





Batting sixth.. the Designated Hitter.. Willie McCovey

Willie McCovey gives this lineup four consecutive members of the 500-home run club. "Stretch" is tied with Frank Thomas and Ted Williams for 20th all-time with 521 round-trippers. The six-time All-Star needed just 52 games to secure NL Rookie of the Year honors unanimously in 1959. Ten years later he was named NL MVP after leading the league in home runs, RBI, on-base percentage, and slugging. McCovey played more games for the Giants than anyone but Mays and Ott. The first-ballot Hall of Famer ranks fourth in franchise history in WAR, hits, total bases, and home runs.





Batting seventh.. the Third Baseman.. Matt Williams

Before Barry Bonds set the single-season home run record in 2001, Matt Williams made a serious run at it in 1994. The five-time All-Star led the majors that year with 43 long balls in just 112 games. His career home run total of 378 is eighth all-time among third basemen, and his Giants total of 247 is good for fifth in franchise annals. Matt was more than just a masher, winning four Gold Gloves and four Silver Slugger awards in his 17-year career. Williams played in three World Series for three different teams, winning a title in 2001 with the Diamondbacks.  





Batting eighth.. the Second Baseman.. Jeff Kent

Jeff Kent hit more home runs than any second baseman in history. The five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner owns the second-highest slugging percentage and third-highest RBI total of any player at his position. Kent played 900 games over six seasons for the Giants, earning NL MVP honors in 2000 with a career-high slash line of .334/.424/.596. Batting behind Barry Bonds, Kent posted six of his eight 100-RBI seasons in San Francisco. Like Bonds, he had significantly better numbers in his thirties than in his twenties.  





Batting ninth.. the Catcher.. Buster Posey

The Giants' current catcher, Buster Posey won NL Rookie of the Year, NL MVP, a batting title, a Gold Glove, three Silver Sluggers, and three World Series titles before turning 30. The six-time All-Star has struggled with injuries since earning his fourth Silver slugger with a .320/.400/.462 slash line in 2017. Posey leads all Giants catchers in games played, hits, home runs, and WAR. With a solid 2-WAR season in 2020 he would move into the top eight on the team's all-time list among all position players.


The Starting Pitcher for the Giants.. Christy Mathewson

Christy Mathewson was posthumously elected to the Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1936, earning enshrinement a year earlier than Cy Young and with more votes than Walter Johnson. Mathewson won 373 games, a total tied by Pete Alexander for third all-time. He led the league in ERA five times, fielding-independent ERA eight times, and strikeout-to-walk ratio nine times. In the 1905 World Series Christy pitched three shutouts, striking out 18 Athletics while walking just one in the Giants' win. Three years later "Matty" went 37-11 for New York, leading the league with an 0.827 WHIP, 1.43 ERA, 11 shutouts, and 259 strikeouts against just 42 walks.

Now let's take a look at the Giants' bench and bullpen:

Catcher - Buck Ewing
1st Base - Roger Connor
Infield - Larry Doyle
Outfield - Bobby Bonds
Des. Hitter - Orlando Cepeda

Ewing is ninth in Giants history with a 146 OPS+. Connor is second among Giants with a 161 OPS+, boosted by a slash line of .319/.402/.488. Both 19th-century stars have plaques in Cooperstown. Doyle won the 1912 NL MVP and ranks in the Giants' all-time top ten in games played, hits, runs, total bases, and WAR. Bonds beat out Hall of Famers Ross Youngs and Monte Irvin for the fourth outfielder spot based on his combination of speed (461 career stolen bases), power (332 home runs), and defense (three Gold Gloves.) This team really doesn't need a fourth first baseman but I had to squeeze Cepeda in somewhere.

#2 Starter - Carl Hubbell
#3 Starter - Juan Marichal
#4 Starter - Madison Bumgarner
#5 Starter - Gaylord Perry

Hubbell earned two MVP awards and made nine All-Star teams in his Hall of Fame career, famously striking out five all-time greats in succession. Marichal, the first Dominican player inducted into the Hall of Fame, ranks second on the Giants' all-time list in strikeouts and starts, and has the third-lowest WHIP. "Madbum" (aka Mason Saunders) ranks fourth in strikeouts and fifth in WHIP, earning the fourth starter spot ahead of several Hall of Famers based on his legendary postseason performances. Perry is one such Hall of Famer - a 300-game winner with two Cy Young Awards and over 3,500 strikeouts to his credit.



RH Reliever - Santiago Casilla
RH Reliever - Marv Grissom
LH Reliever - Gary Lavelle
RH Reliever - Sergio Romo
RH Reliever - Brian Wilson
RH Reliever - Rod Beck

Casilla posted a 2.42 ERA and 153 ERA+ in seven seasons with San Francisco, earning three World Series rings with an 0.92 ERA in the postseason. Lavelle leads the franchise in appearances, made two All-Star teams, and earned the fourth-most saves in Giants history. Romo posted an 0.955 WHIP and averaged 10.2 strikeouts per 9 innings over his nine years with the club. Wilson earned three All-Star nods and led the majors with 48 saves in 2010. "Shooter" is second in San Fran history with 199 saves and led the league in games finished four times. 



Five teams to go. The Seattle Mariners are next. 



Thanks for reading, and take care out there!


 

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