We’re back with another multi-guest post!
In 1883, a baseball club in New York was founded. Within a couple of seasons, it would be given the moniker “Giants”. The Giants would win their first National League and “World Series”1 titles in 1888 and 1889. In 1904, the Giants would win their third National League pennant, but no World Series was played due to a dispute between the NL and the new American League. The Giants would win the NL again in 1905 and this time combine it with their first proper World Series title. New York was one of the league’s more successful franchises, claiming World Series wins in 1921, 1922, 1933 and 1954, as well as winning 9 additional pennants.
In 1958 the Giants would leave New York for San Francisco, where it would take a while to see another title. They would win the pennant in 1962, 1989, and 2002, but would lose each World Series. But 2010, 2012, and 2014 would bring San Francisco a trio of World Series championships2.
The Starting Rotation
Christy Mathewson (1900-1916, 4779.2 IP, 372 W, 2504 K, 2.12 ERA, 137 ERA+) — One of the all-time greats of the game… we could probably say that about every starter and extra pitcher I’m going to list here, but he leads the franchise in all three counting stats we’re tracking and has one of the best rate stats as well.
Juan Marichal (1960-1973, 3443.2 IP, 238 W, 2281 K, 2.84 ERA, 125 ERA+) — There’s quite a few dominant arms from the 60s, but we shouldn’t let that diminish Marichal’s accomplishments as being one of the best.
Carl Hubbell (1928-1943, 3590.1 IP, 253 W, 1677 K, 2.98 ERA, 130 ERA+) — Played exclusively in New York, and is one of the greatest left-handed starters of all time.
Amos Rusie (1890-1898, 3531.2 IP, 234 W, 1835 K, 2.89 ERA, 137 ERA+) — The 1890s were a high-offense time, but you’d never know it when Rusie was on the mound.
Tim Keefe (1885-1891, 2265 IP, 174 W, 1303 K, 2.54 ERA, 129 ERA+) — If Rusie dominated a high-offense environment, Keefe before him was a major definer of the low-offense environment of the 1880s. Getting hits consistently proved difficult.
The Core Five Relievers
Robb Nen (1998-2002, 378.1 IP, 206 S, 453 K, 2.53 ERA, 169 ERA+) — The obvious choice for the squad’s closer.
Rod Beck (1991-1997, 463 IP, 199 S, 393 K, 2.97 ERA, 129 ERA+) — Nen’s immediate predecessor in the closer’s role was very effective for 7 seasons and had a very dominant lead in saves as a Giant before Nen showed up.
Santiago Casilla (2010-2016, 394.2 IP, 123 S, 366 K, 3.29 ERA, 153 ERA+) — The entire pitching staff of the 2010s title runs was insane to watch, and Casilla was a big reason why. Just consistent shutdown play. Ended ballgames early.
Sergio Romo (2008-2016, 439.2 IP, 84 S, 498 K, 2.58 ERA, 146 ERA+) — Basically the same as Casilla, just had fewer saves.
Hoyt Wilhelm (1952-1956, 608 IP, 385 K, 2.98 ERA, 135 ERA+) — A Hall-of-Fame reliever seen multiple times now. More of a ‘relief ace’ than what we’d call a ‘closer’.
Three More Pitchers
Madison Bumgarner (2009-2019, 1846 IP, 119 W, 1794 K, 3.13 ERA, 120 ERA+) — A team can’t win 3 World Series in 5 years without some legendary pitching, and MadBum is the top of the list3. That 2014 World Series, seeing Bumgarner come in on 2 days rest to throw 5 innings in relief in Game 7 is still a searing memory for me — a moment that simply demands his status as one of the great Giants pitchers of all time. He’s the only inclusion (among the eight starters) on this list that isn’t in the Hall of Fame4.
Mickey Welch (1883-1892, 3579 IP, 238 W, 1570 K, 2.69 ERA, 119 ERA+) — The original Hall of Fame New York starter.
Gaylord Perry (1962-1971, 2294.1 IP, 134 W, 1606 K, 2.96 ERA, 119 ERA+) — Another Hall-of-Famer who played on several teams and was a terror to face, Perry actually played longer in San Francisco than on any other individual team and should be most associated with the Giants, so he’s hard to leave off.
Now for the batters.
The Starting Nine
C: Buster Posey (2009-2021, 1500 H, 158 HR, .302/.372/.460, 129 OPS+) — The offensive leader of the three World Series title teams in the 2010s.
1B: Willie McCovey (1959-1980, 1974 H, 469 HR, .274/.377/.524, 150 OPS+) — Available to back up in the corner outfield as well.5
2B: Jeff Kent (1997-2002, 1021 H, 175 HR, .297/.368/.535, 136 OPS+) — He may have only played six seasons in San Francisco, but they were an amazing six seasons, especially at second base. The peak of a Hall of Fame career.
3B: George Davis (1893-1903, 1432 H, 357 SB, .332/.393/.467, 132 OPS+) — Davis also played shortstop and when my starter is out, it may be better to have my official backup at third and Davis at short.
SS: Travis Jackson (1922-1936, 1768 H, 135 HR, .291/.337/.433, 102 OPS+) — An exclusive Giant who maintained above average hitting at a premium position for 15 years.
LF: Barry Bonds (1993-2007, 1951 H, 586 HR, 263 SB, .312/.477/.666, 199 OPS+) — This statline is absolutely absurd. Barry Bonds is a serious candidate for the greatest hitter of all-time. He’s certainly the best hitter I ever saw. A good portion of that on-base percentage was fear as opposing pitchers/managers would give him first base at an unheard of rate. To this day, an intentional walk of an elite hitter is sometimes called “The Bonds treatment”.
CF: Willie Mays (1951-1972, 3187 H, 646 HR, 336 SB, .304/.385/.564, 157 OPS+) — While Bonds may be a candidate for greatest pure hitter of all time, Mays might be a candidate for the greatest complete player of all time, as he was also an amazing defensive center fielder.
RF: Bobby Bonds (1968-1974, 1106 H, 186 HS, 263 SB, .273/.356/.478, 131 OPS+) — For as deep as the Giants are, it’s arguable that Bobby didn’t play long enough to be the pick, but I think the combination of power and speed is hard to ignore. Though if we didn’t have a DH, he’d have no chance to make the lineup…
DH: Mel Ott (1926-1947, 2876 H, 511 HR, .304/.414/.533, 155 OPS+) — Somehow only the third greatest outfielder in Giants history, but he’d easily be the best option for possibly half of the league.
The Bench
C Buck Ewing (1883-1892, 905 H, .306/.353/.469, 146 OPS+) — Ewing is a particularly useful backup catcher because he also played a bit of outfield, third base, first base, and second base, but he’s probably only playing any of these positions on an emergency basis. Still, having a backup catcher with an OPS above average at all is a bit of a luxury — 146 is simply amazing.
1B Roger Connor (1883-1984, 1388 H, 161 SB, .319/.402/.488, 161 OPS+) — Connor can technically play second base and the outfield as well, but infamously we would rather he did not do that unless it was a dire emergency. Overall his pure hitting was impossible for me to leave off, but first base is very deep and you can definitely make a case to go another direction.
IF Frankie Frisch (1919-1926, 1303 H, 224 SB, .321/.367/.444, 116 OPS+) — Played a lot of second and third, and a bit of short.
OF Mike Tiernan (1887-1899, 1838 H, 106 HR, 428 SB, .311/.392/.463, 138 OPS+) — Tiernan played before records really differentiated the outfield positions much, but with his speed as the franchise stolen base leader means he’s likely to be able to play anywhere in the outfield.
Our Guests
We’ve got multiple guests here today! Dragonluck and Gopher are here to discuss.6
Starting Rotation/Extra Pitchers: All “extra” pitchers included on all rosters are starters, so we’ll discuss them together. Gopher decided to go with a 12-pitcher staff while mainstreet and Dragonluck both have a 13-pitcher staff. We’ll refer to extra pitchers as being “#6/#7/#8” starters.
The top three starters of Mathewson (#1 for all), Marichal (#2 for mainstreet and Dragonluck/#3 for Gopher), and Hubbell (#3 for mainstreet/#4 for Dragonluck/#2 for Gopher) are obvious picks for the rotation. Amos Rusie is also on all three rosters — #4 for mainstreet and Gopher, #8 for Dragonluck. So is Madison Bumgarner — #5 for Gopher, #6 for both mainstreet and Dragonluck. Dragonluck has Gaylord Perry at #3 (mainstreet’s #8). Mickey Welch is #7 for both mainstreet and Gopher.
Dragonluck’s #5/Gopher’s #6: Tim Lincecum (2007-2015, 1643.2 IP, 108 W, 1704 K, 3.61 ERA, 107 ERA+) — Tim Lincecum aka. The Freak a back to back Cy Young winner, a 4 time All-Star, with a career ERA under 4. That’s a damn good resume for any starting pitcher, but it gets even better when you realize he was a key pitcher on all 2 of the 3 World Series Teams (in the 2010s), has 3 rings and has 2 career No-Hitters.7
Dragonluck’s #7: Matt Cain (2005-2017, 2085.2 IP, 104 W, 1694 K, 3.68 ERA, 108 ERA+) — The only pitcher in the Giants' loaded pitching history to collect a Perfect Game. That alongside 3 All Star appearances and spending his entire 13 year career in SF with a sub 4 ERA and an average of 6 ⅓ IP per appearance across his career makes him an easy pick to be an extra arm on the Giants staff.
Core Relievers: Robb Nen is the only universal inclusion (mainstreet #1, Dragonluck #3, Gopher #2). Rod Beck (mainstret’s #2) is also Dragonluck’s #1, and Sergio Romo is Gopher’s #4 (also mainstreet’s #4). Interestingly, the other three relievers on both Dragonluck’s and Gopher’s rosters are the same, but never in the same slot.
Dragonluck’s #2/Gopher’s #1: Brian Wilson (2006-2012, 320 IP, 171 S, 340 K, 3.21 ERA, 129 ERA+) — Brian "The Beard" Wilson, a 3-time All-Star and 2-time World Series champion, including closing out the 2010 World Series with a save. If that alone doesn’t make him worthy of inclusion, how about the fact that he recorded more then 40 saves twice in a season as well as received Cy Young and MVP votes in the 2010 season as a closer.
Dragonluck’s #4/Gopher’s #5: Gary Lavelle (1974-1984, 980.1 IP, 127 S, 696 K, 2.82 ERA, 128 ERA+) — Gary Lavelle is a 2-time All-Star and spent 11 of his 13 MLB seasons with the Giants. With the Giants, Lavelle’s low walk and HR rate and high strikeout rate combine nicely with the posted stats. He’s also a southpaw, providing hand diversity in the bullpen.
Dragonluck’s #5/Gopher’s #3: Marv Grissom (1946-1958, 543.1 IP, 57 S, 314 K, 2.88 ERA, 139 ERA+) — Essentially the Right-handed version of Lavelle, Marv Grissom spent 7 of his 11 seasons in the league with the Giants. A 1954 All Star nod and MVP votes are the peak of his career, presenting him as another middle relief arm in the Giants Pen.
The Starting Nine: Six universal players in the starting nine. Buster Posey, Willie McCovey, Jeff Kent, and Willie Mays are the consensus at C, 1B, 2B, and CF respectively. Everyone also has Barry Bonds and Mel Ott as well8.
3B: mainstreet starts George Davis. Dragonluck and Gopher both start Matt Williams (1987-1996, 1092 H, 247 HR, .264/.312/.498, 122 OPS+) — Matt Williams played for a decade in San Francisco racking up 4 of his 5 All-Star nods, 4 of his 5 Silver Sluggers, 3 of his 4 Gold Gloves, and his MVP runner up finish in that time. Adding on a 1994 season where he led the league in homers at 43 and a 1990 season where he led the league in RBIs, it’s a pretty easy choice to give him the nod at third for his bat and glove combo when most Giants 3B have had one or the other.
SS: mainstreet starts Travis Jackson, as does Gopher.
Dragonluck starts Brandon Crawford (2011-2023, 1392 H, 146 HR, .250/.319/.396, 97 OPS+) — The all-time leader in games played at shortstop for the Giants9. Crawford is a 3 time all star, 4 time gold glove winner and a silver slugger across a 13 year career in SF. This combination of factors to me puts Crawford as the no-brainer starting shortstop.
LF/RF/DH: Barry Bonds and Mel Ott appear for everyone, but the third person filling this role is different for everyone. Bobby Bonds is starting in RF for mainstreet.
LF for Dragonluck: Monte Irvin (1949-1955, 639 H, .296/.389/.477, 127 OPS+) — A quality bat in Left Field, Monte Irvin was a dependable hitter and RBI machine for the New York Giants. Coupled with an All-Star nod and an MVP finalist on his resume and Bonds feeling like a far more natural DH, Monte Irvin becomes the Left Fielder. Also, when your number’s retired with a team like the Giants, you know you were good.10
DH for Gopher: Will Clark (1986-1993, 1278 H, 176 HR, .299/.373/.499, 145 OPS+) — A 5-time All-Star and one of the leaders of the 1989 National League championship team. (Indeed, he finished 2nd in MVP voting to teammate Kevin Mitchell that year, but Clark actually had more WAR than Mitchell that season.)
The Bench: Buck Ewing is the consensus backup catcher. Both Dragonluck and Gopher place George Davis as the backup at 3B and SS (starting at 3B for mainstreet). Gopher also places Bobby Bonds on his bench (starting in RF for mainstreet). Frisch and Tiernan are mainstreet-exclusive selections. Roger Connor is on Gopher’s bench as well as mainstreet’s.
1B/OF (Dragonluck/Gopher): Bill Terry (1923-1936, 2193 H, 154 HR, .341/.393/.506, 136 OPS+) — A 3 time All-Star11 who spent his entire 14 year career with the Giants. Additionally, Terry finished 3rd in MVP voting three times while receiving votes in a further 5 seasons, meaning in 8 of his 14 seasons in the league he received some level of support for MVP. He additionally batted a career .341 mark and had a league best .401 batting average in 193012. Couple that with a decent power stroke, 154 Career Homer and 485 XBH in a relatively low-power era.
2B (Dragonluck) Larry Doyle (1906-1916; 1918-1920, 1751 H, 291 SB, .292/.359/.411) — An MVP on the Bench. Larry Doyle loses out to Jeff Kent for the starting job but provides a big bat off the bench with a 1915 batting title and lots of XBH potential.
This Giants team is seriously deep and loaded, a serious contender for the best (if we were trying to analyze such things).13
And that is it! We’ve now completed every franchise’s all-time team, as of the conclusion of the 2025 season!
There… may be one final post coming next week in this series, but our teams are done! Thanks again to everyone that participated in this project with me! I had a lot of fun and I hope you had fun reading it!
The World Series was not an official event in the 19th century and the record books do not consider these seasons World Championships. But they are still National League pennants either way, and they did defeat the American Association champions at the end of the season both times.
Ironically, not even making the postseason in 2011 or 2013.
There are more that our guests will talk about, but with all the great pitching of yesteryear, I just couldn’t really fit in more than one myself.
Yet. Eligible in 2028. I don’t see how he’s kept out.
Won’t matter for this team, but my guests will have a pure 1B on the bench, so the starter’s flexibility is helpful.
As with last time we had multiple guests (the Guardians), I’ll be referring to myself in third person in this segment to avoid generating a bias feeling with one team being “me”.
I watched one of those no-hitters in person. —Nick
Barry Bonds is LF for mainstreet and Gopher but DH for Dragonluck, while Ott is RF for Dragonluck and Gopher but DH for mainstreet. Anyone can play DH so this is all a bit semantical.
Travis Jackson played more overall games for the Giants, but played several seasons at third base. I didn’t mention this in the original team construction because it didn’t matter — neither team that plays Jackson will ever move him off of shortstop.
I feel a need to add myself that the fact that the major leagues took so long to integrate really hurts these numbers here, for which only the Giants numbers are shown. If he’d had a chance to play a full career with the Giants, rather than making his Giants debut at 30 after 11 years split between the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League and service in WW2, he would likely have been able to be a clear pick for everyone. He’s in the Hall of Fame for a reason. —mainstreet
All-Star in 1933, 1934, and 1935. Significant because 1933 was the first All-Star game, so it’s not like he couldn’t have made it in prior years.
The last player to obtain the .400 batting average mark in a qualifying season in the history of the National League.
I’m not, largely because I don’t find that fair to look at, simply because the teams have in a lot of cases not been around for the same length of time, and that gives the older teams too much of an advantage to make such analyses particularly useful.