April 30 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 30 Moments in San Francisco Giants history.

Walk off 1982 home vs Mets, Giants down 4-2 in the 9th, 2 on, Reggie Smith hits a 3 run homer off Neil Allen to send everyone home.  Reggie Smith was a terrific baseball player who should have made some Hall of Fame noise, this was the last year of his career, he was 37 years old - and he still hit the ball, he had a 134 OPS+.

Walk off 1986 home vs Pirates, 5,000 paid attendance for a four hour game, the Giants tied it in the 9th to force extra innings, this spot was the 12th, bases loaded, 2 out, Chris Brown singles home Robby Thompson off of Bob Patterson to win the game.  Brown hit .317 in '86, he never hit .250 again in his career.

1996 at San Diego, Giants down 4-2 in the 5th, bases loaded, Bob Tewksbury on the mound...Barry Bonds at the plate...grand slam, Giants up 6-4 and go on to win 9-4.  Barry hit 586 home runs as a Giant, 9 of them grand slams, this was his third.

2011 at Washington, six Giants pitchers combined on a two hitter (it was less dominant that it seems, Jonathan Sanchez either walked or hit by pitch 7 of the Nats first ten batters) the last was Brian Wilson, who (through walks and hit batsmen) had the bases loaded with 2 out, a 2-1 lead and a full count on Adam LaRoche - and he struck him out.  The Giants were the first team in over half a century to put a dozen men on base via walks/hit batsmen and give up less than 2 runs.

2013 at Arizona, this was scoreless (Bumgarner vs. Cahill) until the bottom of the 8th when the Snakes went up a run, now it's the top of the 9th, JJ Putz on the mound, he gives up a 2 run homer to Pablo Sandoval and that winds up the final score.   Except for 2010, in every year of Sandoval's 7 year Giants career his OPS+ was over 110, and he hasn't broken 100 since leaving (through the 2016 season).

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 29 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 moments on April 29 in San Francisco Giants history.

1969 home vs. Reds, the Giants had won 7 straight coming in but there were only 3200 paid for this Tuesday afternoon game at the Stick, the Giants were down 2-1 with 2 out in the 8th when Bobby Bonds hit a 2 run homer off Wayne Granger to give the Giants a 3-2 lead.  Bonds hit 186 homers as a Giant; this was his 13th.

Walk off 1969 home vs. Reds, same game, the Reds tied it at 3 in the 9th, now it's the 13th, two out, Hal Lanier on third, it's Bonds - again - he singles him home off George Culver for the game winner.

Walk off 1975 home vs. Reds, six years later we did it to Cincinnati again, 3-3 with an out in the 9th, Marc Hill scores all the way from first on a Chris Speier double and we win 4-3.   Only Rich Aurilia has more San Francisco plate appearances at short than Chris Speier.

1989 at Pittsburgh, the Giants came into the 9th trailing 3-2, tied it on a Kevin Mitchell homer, and then a couple of outs later Terry Kennedy hit what would turn out to be the game winning homer off Jeff Robinson.  Robinson came up through our system, lost 15 games for us in '84, we dealt him to Pittsburgh for Rick Reuschel in '87.  This was Kennedy's first of three San Francisco seasons that ended his career; we got him for Bob Melvin in a catcher trade before the season with Baltimore.  He was a perfectly acceptable backup catcher on a team that had several of them (young Manwaring, old Brenly).

Walk off 2006 home v Diamondbacks,  Moises Alou led off the bottom of the 9th with a home run off Luis Vizcaino to give us a 3-2 win.  This was 39 year old Moises Alou in his second and final year as a Giant; he couldn't give you much with the glove but Moises could still hit, he had a 132 OPS+ even at this advanced age.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

2017 NFL Draft Day 3 Big Board, Top 100

Did the Niners really take that free third round pick the Bears gave us and flip it for the Saints second round pick next year?  What franchise am I watching?

Here's the final board, my top 100 players as we head to the final day of the draft.

1. Carl Lawson DE Auburn
2. Desmond King CB Iowa
3. Caleb Brantley DT Fla St
4. George Kittle TE Iowa
5. Dede Westbrook WR Oklahoma
6. Joe Mathis DE Wash
7. Samaje Perine RB Okla
8. Vincent Taylor NT OK St
9. Nathan Peterman QB Pitt
10.  Corn Elder CB Mia

11. Roderick Johnson T Fl St
12. Deatrich Wise DE Ark
13. Eddie Jackson S Ala
14. Bucky Hodges TE VT
15. Jake Butt TE Mich
16. Jaleel Johnson DT Iowa
17. Damontae Kazee CB SD St
18. Chad Hansen WR Cal
19. Vince Biegel DE Wisc
20. Mack Hollins WR UNC

21. Brad Kaaya QB Mia
22. Blair Brown LB Ohio
23. Isaiah Ford WR  VTech
24. Nathan Gerry S Neb
25. Jeremy McNichols RB Boise
26. Carlos Watkins DT Clemson
27. Dorian Johnson G Pitt
28. Tanzel Smart DT Tulane
29. Elijah Qualls DT Wash
30. Marlon Mack RB Flo

31. Ryan Glasgow DT Mich
32. Howard Wilson CB Hou
33. Josh Reynolds WR A&M
34. Josh Malone WR Tenn
35. Ejuan Price DE Pitt
36. Conor McDermott T UCLA
37. Jeremy Sprinkle TE Ark
38. Chase Roullier C Wyo
39. Danny Isidora G Mia
40. Grover Stewart DL Albany

41. Joe Toth C Kentucky
42. Tyler Orlosky C WVA
43. KD Cannon WR Bay
44. Anthony Walker LB Northwest
45. Zach Banner T USC
46. Nico Siragusa G SD St
47. Jalen Myrick CB Minn
48. DeAngelo Brown DT Louis
49. Channing Stribling CB Mich
50. Stevie Tu'ikolovatu DT USC

51. DJ Jones DL Ole Miss
52. Donnel Pumphrey RB SD St
53. Brian Hill RB Wyo
54. Ben Gedeon LB Mich
55. Malachi Dupre WR LSU
56. Charles Walker DT Okla
57. Michael Roberts TE Tol
58. Wayne Gallman RB Clem
59. Noah Brown WR Ohio St
60. Jehu Chesson WR Mich

61. Josh Dobbs QB Tenn
62. Adam Bisnowaty T Pitt
63. Jalen Reeves-Maybin LB Tenn
64. TJ Logan RB UNC
65. Damore'ea Stringfellow WR Ole Miss
66. Devonte Fields DE Louis
67. Pharoah Brown TE Ore
68. Matthew Dayes RB NC St
69. Isaac Rochell DT ND
70. Robert Davis WR Geo St

71. Jordan Leggett TE Clem
72. Darrell Daniels TE Wash
73. Jerome Lane Akron WR
74. Joe Williams RB Utah
75. Tarik Cohen RB NC AT
76. Xavier Woods FS La Tech
77. Jaylon Brown OLB UCLA
78. Jamal Williams RB BYU
79. Elijah Hood RB UNC
80. Robert Leff T Aub

81. Justin Senior T Miss St
82. Eric Smith T UVA
83. Daniel Brunskill T SD St
84. Damian Mama C USC
85. Isaac Asiata G Utah
86. Jacob Hollister TE Wyo
87. Kenneth Olugbode LB Col
88. Jalen Robinette WR Air Force
89. Chad Kelly QB Ole Miss
90. Austin Carr WR Northwest

91. Ryan Switzer WR UNC
92. Jordan Evans LB Oklah
93. Samson Ebukam DE E Wash
94. Hunter Dimick DE Utah
95. Davon Godchaux DT LSU
96. Ismael Zamora WR Bay
97. Tanner Gentry WR Wyo
98. Fred Ross WR Miss St
99. Mikal Myers DT UConn
100. Garrett Sickles DE Penn St

April 28 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 28 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1978 at Pittsburgh, down 3-2 in the 9th  40 year old Willie McCovey hit a 3 run double off John Candelaria, we'd hold on to win 5-4.  McCovey had a really good year with the bat in his return to the Giants in '77 but hit just .228 this year as his final descent to retirement began.

Walk off 1985 home vs Reds, even in a season where you lose a hundred games sometimes the good guys win. This was 1-1 in the 11th when David Green singled home Manny Trillo off of Tom Hume to give us a rare 1985 victory.  This was Green's only season in San Francisco after being the key piece coming back from St Louis in the Jack Clark trade in the off season.  He'd be out of the big leagues in '86 before coming back to the Cardinals for the '87 stretch run.

Walk off 1992  home vs Expos, 4 years later Mark Gardner would join the Giants and remain in the organization following his retirment, but here he started for Montreal, giving up only a run, but was long gone in the 10th inning when, with the score 1-1, Matt Williams hit a walk off homer against Bill Sampen. Williams hit 5 walk off homers in his career, this was his second.

Walk off 1993 home vs Mets 39 year old Frank Tanana, in his final season, started this one for the Mets; he threw 7 shutout innings but put a couple on in the 8th before getting pulled.  We scored 3 in the 8th to take a 3-2 lead, the Mets tied it in the top of the 9th. Matt Williams won the game with a single off Mike Maddux that scored Mike Benjamin.   Only Jimmy Davenport had more plate appearances as a San Francisco third baseman than Williams.

2012 home vs Padres, the Giants came into the 7th with only one baserunner, an infield Tim Lincecum (who threw 121 pitches) single, but had a couple of men on with two out, trailing 1-0 when Brandon Belt doubled both home. That 2-1 lead held up.  Only McCovey, Clark, Cepeda, Snow, have more San Francisco plate appearances at first base than does Belt.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

2017 NFL Draft Day 2 Big Board, Top 100

Did the Niners really steal some extra picks from the Bears and get Reuben Foster?  Had we gone with Adams instead of Thomas I wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

Here's the new board. Top 100 players remaining as we head to round 2-3

1. Dalvin Cook RB Fl St 42-90
2. Forrest Lamp G WKy 46-90
3. Jordan Willis DE Kansas St 61-85
4. Malik McDowell DT Mich St. 73-86
5. Cam Robinson T Ala 75-90
6. Jourdan Lewis CB Mich 80-87
7. Sidney Jones CB Wash 79-79
8. Zach Cunningham ILB Vandy 80-82
9. Tim Williams OLB Ala 81-80
10. Kevin King CB Wash 81-89

11. Obi Melifonwu SS UConn 85-85
12. Carl Lawson DE Auburn 89-73
13. Zay Jones WR ECU 89-87
14. DeMarcus Walker DE Fl St 105-80
15. Alvin Kamara RB Tenn 112-86
16. Joe Mixon RB Oklahoma 109-84
17. Chidobe Awuzie CB Colorado 108-73
18. Marcus Williams FS Utah 115-83
19. Taylor Moton G WMich 118-79
20. Quincy Wilson CB Fla 123-88

21. DeShone Kizer QB ND 125-82
22. Budda Baker S Wash 120-86
23. Teez Tabor CB Florida 132-80
24. Ahkello Witherspoon CB Colorado 124-74
25. Justin Evans S A&M 130-74
26. Ethan Pocic C LSU 138-75
27. Kareem Hunt RB Tol 137-74
28. Dalvin Tomlinson DT Ala 137-76
29. Chris Wormley DT Mich 135-80
30. Desmond King CB Iowa 136-75

31. Dan Feeney G Indiana 134-80
32. Curtis Samuel WR Oh St 138-87
33. Trey Hendrickson DE FAU 145-75
34. Caleb Brantley DT Fla St 144-81
35. Tarrell Basham DE Ohio 140-77
36. Gerald Everett TE S Ala 152-73
37. George Kittle TE Iowa 155-68
38. Derek Rivers OLB Youngstown 160-77
39. Dede Westbrook WR Oklahoma 162-52
40. Cooper Kupp WR EMich 169-79

41. Juju Smith-Schuster WR USC 169-83
42. Dion Dawkins G Temp 163-73
43. Cordrea Tankerlsey CB Clem 179-63
44. Joe Mathis DE Wash 176-NR
45. Dawuane Smoot DE Ill 170-74
46. Samaje Perine RB Oklah  170-77
47. Pat Elflein G Ohio St 170-76
48. Vincent Taylor NT OK St 186-60
49. Taywon Taylor WR WKy 180-76
50. D'Onta Foreman RB Tex 180-73

51. Cam Sutton CB Tenn 180-73
52. Antonio Garcia T Troy 180-75
53. Rasul Douglas CB  WVA  190-72
54. Raekkwon McMillan ILB Ohio St 190-73  
55. Tanoh Kpassagnon DE Nova 190-70
56. Marcus Maye S Fla 189-87
57. Ryan Anderson OLB Ala 188-81
58. Chris Godwin WR Penn St 200-72
59. Nathan Peterman QB Pitt 200-77
60. ArDarius Stewart WR Ala 215-74

61. Corn Elder CB Mia 226-64
62. Roderick Johnson T Fl St 220-61
63. Deatrich Wise DE Ark 221-56
64. Eddie Jackson S Ala 220-62
65. Bucky Hodges TE VT 220-72
66. Montravius Adams DT Aub 220-73
67. Jake Butt TE Mich 220-78
68. Jaleel Johnson DT Iowa 220-71
69. Adam Shaheen TE Ashland 220-80
70. Fabian Moreau CB UCLA 230-78

71. Damontae Kazee CB SD St 230-75
72. Shaquil Griffin CB UCF 230-67
73. Chad Hansen WR Cal 230-68
74. Vince Biegel DE Wisc 230-65
75. Mack Hollins WR UNC 235-73
76. Brad Kaaya QB Mia 230-69
77. Larry Ogunjobi DT Charlotte 230-77
78. Blair Brown LB Ohio 240-71
79. Eddie Vanderdoes DT UCLA 240-61
80. Isaiah Ford WR  VTech 240-47

81. Nathan Gerry S Neb 240-51
82. Jeremy McNichols RB Boise 240
83. Carlos Watkins DT Clemson 240
84. Dorian Johnson G Pitt 240
85. Tanzel Smart DT Tulane 260-62
86. Elijah Qualls DT Wash 250-63
87. Marlon Mack RB Flo 250
88. Josh Jones S NC St 250
89. Carlos Henderson WR LA Tech 260-72
90. Ryan Glasgow DT Mich 260

91. Howard Wilson CB Hou 260
92. Tyus Bowser OLB Hou 260
93. Josh Reynolds WR A&M 270
94. Josh Malone WR Tenn 270
95. Alex Anzalone ILB Fla 275
96. Ejuan Price DE Pitt 280-50
97. Tedric Thompson S Colorado 280-39
98. Conor McDermott T UCLA 280-51
99. James Conner RB Pitt 280
100. Jeremy Sprinkle TE Ark 280

2017 NFL Draft Big Board-Final Version, Top 100

Here's my final Top 100 headed into the 2017 NFL Draft, Round 1.  Time permitting I'll reset before Friday.

1, Myles Garrett DE Texas A&M
2. Jonathan Allen DT Alabama
3. Jamal Adams S LSU
4. Marshon Lattimore CB Ohio St 12-92
5. Reuben Foster ILB Alabama 13-92
6. Solomon Thomas DE Stanford 15-94
7. Derek Barnett DE Tenn 18-91
8. Malik Hooker FS Ohio St 20-92
9. Christian McCaffrey RB Stanford 23-92
10. Mike Williams WR Clemson 25-91

11. OJ Howard TE Alabama 25-92
12. Corey Davis WR WMich 29-91
13. Leonard Fournette RB LSU 29-93
14. Haasan Reddick OLB Temple 30-92
15. John Ross WR Wash 37-90
16. Mitch Trubisky QB UNC 38-89
17. Dalvin Cook RB Fl St 42-90
18. Deshaun Watson QB Clem 45-88
19. Marlon Humphrey CB Alabama 45-89
20. Forrest Lamp G WKy 46-90

21. Tre'Davious White CB LSU 47-89
22. Ryan Ramczyk T Wisc 48-88
23. Charles Harris DE Missouri 50-90
24. David Njoku TE Mia 57-91
25. Patrick Mahomes QB TTech 59-85
26. Jordan Willis DE Kansas St 61-85
27. Adoree Jackson CB USC 64-88
28. Jarrad Davis ILB Florida 66-89
29. Takk McKinley DE UCLA 69-89
30. Jabril Peppers S Michigan 71-84

31. Malik McDowell DT Mich St. 73-86
32. Cam Robinson T Ala 75-90
33. Taco Charlton DE Mich 76-86
34. Jourdan Lewis CB Mich 80-87
35. Sidney Jones CB Wash 79-79
36. Zach Cunningham ILB Vandy 80-82
37. Tim Williams OLB Ala 81-80
38. Kevin King CB Wash 81-89
39. Evan Engram TE Ole Miss 81-90
40. TJ Watt DE Wisc 83-87

41. Obi Melifonwu SS UConn 85-85
42. Carl Lawson DE Auburn 89-73
43. Zay Jones WR ECU 89-87
44. Garett Bolles T Utah 99-87
45. Gareon Conley CB Ohio St 100-90
46. DeMarcus Walker DE Fl St 105-80
47. Alvin Kamara RB Tenn 112-86
48. Joe Mixon RB Oklahoma 109-84
49. Chidobe Awuzie CB Colorado 108-73
50. Marcus Williams FS Utah 115-83
   
51. Taylor Moton G WMich 118-79
52. Quincy Wilson CB Fla 123-88
53. DeShone Kizer QB ND 125-82
54. Budda Baker S Wash 120-86
55. Teez Tabor CB Florida 132-80
56. Ahkello Witherspoon CB Colorado 124-74
57. Justin Evans S A&M 130-74
58. Ethan Pocic C LSU 138-75
59. Kareem Hunt RB Tol 137-74
60. Dalvin Tomlinson DT Ala 137-76
   
61. Chris Wormley DT Mich 135-80
62. Desmond King CB Iowa 136-75
63. Dan Feeney G Indiana 134-80
64. Curtis Samuel WR Oh St 138-87
65. Trey Hendrickson DE FAU 145-75
66. Caleb Brantley DT Fla St 144-81
67. Tarrell Basham DE Ohio 140-77
68. Gerald Everett TE S Ala 152-73
69. George Kittle TE Iowa 155-68
70. Derek Rivers OLB Youngstown 160-77
   
71. Dede Westbrook WR Oklahoma 162-52
72. Cooper Kupp WR EMich 169-79
73. Juju Smith-Schuster WR USC 169-83
74. Dion Dawkins G Temp 163-73
75. Cordrea Tankerlsey CB Clem 179-63
76. Joe Mathis DE Wash 176-NR
77. Dawuane Smoot DE Ill 170-74
78. Samaje Perine RB Oklah  170-77
79. Pat Elflein G Ohio St 170-76
80. Vincent Taylor NT OK St 186-60
   
81. Taywon Taylor WR WKy 180-76
82. D'Onta Foreman RB Tex 180-73
83. Cam Sutton CB Tenn 180-73
84. Antonio Garcia T Troy 180-75
85. Rasul Douglas CB  WVA  190-72
86. Raekkwon McMillan ILB Ohio St 190-73    
87. Tanoh Kpassagnon DE Nova 190-70
88. Marcus Maye S Fla 189-87
89. Ryan Anderson OLB Ala 188-81
90. Chris Godwin WR Penn St 200-72
   
91. Nathan Peterman QB Pitt 200-77
92. ArDarius Stewart WR Ala 215-74
93. Corn Elder CB Mia 226-64
94. Roderick Johnson T Fl St 220-61
95. Deatrich Wise DE Ark 221-56
96. Eddie Jackson S Ala 220-62
97. Bucky Hodges TE VT 220-72
98. Montravius Adams DT Aub 220-73
99. Jake Butt TE Mich 220-78
100. Jaleel Johnson DT Iowa 220-71
   


   

April 27 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 27 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

Walk off 1965 home vs Phillies, down 11-7 the Giants tied it with 4 in the 7th and then took a 13-11 lead in the 8th.  The Phillies tied it up at 13 in the top of the 9th, but with two out in the bottom Matty Alou homered off Ed Roebuck to give it to the home team.  This Alou had several good years in Pittsburgh but was a replacement player in 1100 please stop it with the non Felipe Alou brothers plate appearances with the Giants.

1969 home vs. Astros, we already won the first game of this double header, but were down 2-1 in the 6th - that changed with a 3 run Willie McCovey homer off Jack Billingham.   We've hit the sweet spot for McCovey; he leads the league on OBP and SLG and his 209 OPS+ is his career high.  He's an 8 win player in '69, McCovey's career year.

1977 home vs. Astros, 8 years later, again it's Houston - down 2-1 in the 8th, a man on with 2 out - JR Richard on the hill..Darrell Evans beats him with a 2 run homer and that 3-2 mark will be the final score.  We got Evans in a deadline deal with the Braves the year before, he'd be a Giant for 8 years before signing with the Tigers as a free agent.

Walk off 1998 home vs Pirates, the day before we walked off the Brewers, the Pirates got in the barrel here, down 5-4, Marvin Benard doubled home Rey Sanchez all the way from first to tie the game.  A couple of batters later a Kent single scored Benard to win it.  Benard tried to hook up with a couple of AL clubs after his Giants career ended in '03, but never played a big league game for anyone but San Francisco.



Walk off 2014 home vs Indians, an interleague game makes the countdown, 1-1, two out, two on, botom of the ninth - Brandon Hicks hits a 3 run game winning homer.   This was the only season of Hicks's four year career where he got more than 70 plate apperances, but he didn't make it to mid July before he was out of the big leagues for good.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 26 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top five April 26 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

Walk off 1972 home vs Phillies, Philly scored 2 in the top of the 10th to go up 6-4, a Speier triple tied it at 6, and then Bobby Bonds hit a 2 out, 2 run homer off Bucky Brandon to win the game.  Bonds had only a 116 OPS+ in '72, the worst offensive season of his career to that date - and he wouldn't have another one as bad for 8 years.

Walk off 1985 home vs Reds, here's a great one, the Giants came into the bottom of the 9th down 6-1.  The Reds had a 99% win probability.  Here's what happened:

Chili led off with a double.  Leonard singled to score him  6-2.
Scot Thompson singled.  The Reds brought in Ted Power. Brenly moved the runners over.
Brad Wellman singled to score both runners.  6-4.
Joel Youngblood grounded out.  David Green walked.

And then Dan Gladden hit a 2 out, 3 run walk off home run for as improbable a comeback as you'll ever see.  7-6.  In only 86 games, Gladden finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year balloting in '84 with a blistering 145 OPS+; he came back down to earth and was sent to Minnesota just before the '87 season with Bryan Hickerson the most noteable future Giant to return.

Walk off 1992 home vs Dodgers, everyone loves a Dodgers walk off, 4-4 in the 11th inning (a Strawberry 3 run homer in the 8th tied it for LA) 2 on, 2 out, Kevin Bass singles to center off Steve Wilson, scoring Willie McGee, and we take the ballgame.    Bass didn't last the season, we dumped off his deal to the Mets for the stretch.

Walk off 1998 home vs Brewers big Giants comeback here, the Brewers scored a half dozen off Mark Gardner in the third, but with help of a Bonds grand slam we had cut the deficit to 7-6 coming into the 9th, Stan Javier tied it with a homer, and here, with 2 out, Charlie Hayes homers to right-center off Doug Jones to win the game.    We drafted Hayes 15 years prior, in '83; he had a cup of coffee and then got moved to the Phillies in '89 as part of the deal that brought us Steve Bedrosian.  He made his way back in '98 (headed out was a prospect named Chris Singleton, who finished 6th for Rookie of the Year with the White Sox in '99) this was his third Giants home run.

2012 at Cincinnati Giants down 5-3 in the 8th - Angel Pagan hits a 3 run homer off Sean Marshall, we'll win the game by that 6-5 score.  Pagan was a 5 win player in his first season in San Francisco, his best year as a Giant.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

Walk off 2017 home vs Dodgers, I wasn't intending on editing in this year's games into the document, but when the season's been as much of a struggle as has been 2017, you gotta make your own fun - down 3-2 in the 8th in what to that date was a slog of a season, former Giant postseason hero Michael Morse, in his first big league plate appearance in over a year, hits a pinch hit homer off of Pedro Baez to tie the score.  The Giants win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pence sac fly 4-3. It was Morse's  first homer since September of 2015.

See you today.  Go Giants!

April 25 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 25 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1960 at St Louis, wild one at Busch, the Cards were up 5-1 going to the 7th (Giant turned Cardinal Daryl Spencer hit a 3 run homer) we scored 3 to cut it to 5-4, but then gave up 2 in the bottom to hit the 8th trailing 7-4. It wasn't enough - Mays had just tied the game at 7 with a base hit when Willie McCovey hit a two out, two run homer off Bob Duliba.  We won the game 9-8.  It was McCovey's 17th homer of his career.

Walk off 1980 home vs Reds, Tom Seaver against Vida Blue on a Friday night at Candlestick (I think I was there?  Was I there?  I think I was there. I was 9, I may have been there) it took a Darrell Evans 7th inning two run single to tie the game at 3, and two innings later, still 3-3, another Evans single, this one off Doug Bair, scored Roger Metzger to send everyone home (including me?  was I as this game?).  1980 Darrell Evans did what he almost always did in 8 years as the Giants third baseman, 20 homers, about 70 RBI, an OPS+ of around 120.  Just solid work year in and year out.

1982 home vs. Dodgers, you'll like this one - 8th inning, Giants down 3-2, two out, bases loaded, pitching for the Dodgers is a 25 year old Dave Stewart - batting for the Giants is Jeffrey Leonard..Leonard hits a grand slam, the Giants go up 6-3 and that's the final score.  Leonard was a Dodger farmhand, signing with the Dodgers in '73, but only had 11 plate appearances with the big club before being dealt away in '78.  The Giants got him from the Astros for Mike Ivie in '81.  Leonard only had 9 homers in '82, but this one beat his old team.

1999 home vs Rockies, down 5-4 in the 7th, Armando Rios hits a 2 out, 2 run homer off Mike DeJean. We go on to win 7-6.  Rios hit the ball in San Francisco, he had an OPS+ of 145 in '99 and finished his Giants career averaging 123.  We moved Rios and Ryan Vogelsong to the Pirates in '01 for Jason Schmidt in what turned out to be a startlingly good trade, Rios fell apart immediately and was out of the league in two years.

2003 at Phillies, the Giants were 17-4 coming in - 8th inning, 2-2, bases loaded, 2 out - future Giant Pat Burrell's three base error on a JT Snow fly ball scored everyone, we went up 5-2 and took the game 7-4.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April, 2017 Athlete of the Month

March is here.

A'ja Wilson.  Runners-up: Joel Berry, Sergio Garcia, Eric Thames

One third of 2017 down.  Who is going to be athlete of the year for 2017?

January - Deshaun Watson
February - Tom Brady
March - Russell Westbrook
April - A'ja Wilson

April 24 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the Top April 24 Moments in San Francisco Giants history

Walk off 1958 home vs Cardinals, the first walk off in San Francisco history was the day before, here, in the 9th game since the move west, we do it again, and again, it was Daryl Spencer.  The Giants came into the bottom of the 9th down 5-4, we scraped across the tying run and with the bases loaded and two out, Spencer singled home Danny O'Connell off Billy Muffett to win the game.  Spencer was a New York Giant, signed in 1950, came up in '52, was in the military during the '54 Championship season, came back in '56 and made the move to San Francisco.  We moved him in 1960 with Leon Wagner for Don Blasingame.

1966 at Houston, down a run in the 8th inning, two batters before, Mays tied the game at 2 with a solo homer off Jim Owens, and here Jim Ray Hart did the same, putting us up 3-2 in a game we'd win 4-2.  In organizational history, only 5 Giant third basemen had more plate appearances than Hart.  Through 2016 he remains the 19th best player in San Francisco history.

1969 home vs Braves, scoreless game with an out in the 7th, Jack Hiatt hits a two run homer off Milt Pappas, we won 5-1.  Hiatt could help you a little with the bat, in 5 years with the club as a backup catche (we got him for Jose Cardenal in '64) his OPS+ was 112.  This was his last year as a Giant; we sold him to the Expos.

1970 home vs. Expos, 4600 paid attendance for a night game at the Stick against the 1-9 Expos, 2-2 in the 7th, Ron Hunt hit a three run homer off Dan McGinn.  We won 12-3.  Hunt only spent three seasons with the Giants but they were solid years, his '68 remains (as of 2016) one of the 15 best seasons for a Giant second baseman in organizational history - Hunt's one of the rare players moved in a Giants/Dodgers trade, we got him for Tom Haller.

1975 at Houston, 5-5. two out in the 9th, Von Joshua singles home Derrel Thomas off of Ken Forsch and 6-5 will be the final score.  Joshua had been a career Dodger, waived after the '74 season; he had a bad career, Joshua was a sub replacement player in a 10 year career --- except for '75, it's not just his career year, '75 was markedly better than the rest of Joshua's career combined, his 120 OPS+ was 29 points higher than his career average.  He led off, he played center field - Willie Mays' position - and still had his best ever season.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 23 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 moments from April 23 in San Francisco Giants history.

Walk off 1958 home vs Cards, the first walk off in San Francisco history - it's right here, the Giants were 4-3, playing at Seals Stadium, and came into the bottom of the 9th down 7-4.  A two out triple by Cepeda scored Mays and Davenport to cut it to 7-6, and the next batter, Daryl Spencer, hit a 2 run homer off Phil Clark to win the game. 8 days before, Spencer hit the first west coast homer in MLB history, on opening day against Drysdale.

Walk off 1997 home vs Braves, Giants came in 13-4, Braves were 14-4 having beaten us the night before, light Candelstick Park attendance for a midweek day game - bottom of the ninth, 3-3, one out, one on, Bill Mueller singled off of Alan Embree to score Dante Powell. The Giants move to 14-4.  Mueller's another guy who did two Giants stints, he left after the 2000 season but came back for the 2002 stretch.

2008 at San Diego, 1-1 in the 13th, just to get there took a Molina homer in the 9th off Trevor Hoffman - here it was Glendon Rusch giving up a single to Fred Lewis that scored Emmanuel Burriss to put the Giants up 2-1; we'd win the game 3-2.  Lewis was a perfectly acceptable 4th OF type, could hit enough, didn't kill you with the glove, we moved him to the Jays after the '09 season and he never played another big league game after 2012.  Lot of guys like Fred Lewis in MLB history. He got a thousand plate appearances, he was as good as guys who got more, no better than guys who got less.

2015 home vs Dodgers, trailing 1-0 in the 9th, Brandon Crawford triples home Matt Duffy off Pedro Baez to send the game to extra innings

Walk off 2015 home vs Dodgers, same game, 1-1 in the bottom of the 10th, 2 on, 2 out - Justin Maxwell is your hero, singling off Juan Nicasio to score Angel Pagan with the winning run.   Maxwell's last ever big league at bat was at the end of August of  this same season.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants.

April 22 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 moments in April 22 San Francisco Giants history.

1967 home vs Braves  8th inning, down 3-0, bases loaded with one out, Willie McCovey hits a grand slam off Ramon Hernandez; we won the game 6-5 on a Braves error in the 9th.  McCovey had 18 career slams, he remains the all time NL leader.

1989 at Dodgers 4-4 in the 9th, two out, Kevin Mitchell singles home Donnell Nixon off of Jay Howell for the last run of the game.  The best season for a Giants left fielder in organizational history who isn't Barry Bonds?  It's Mitch's 8 WAR '89.



Walk off 2009 home vs Padres, scoreless in the 10th inning,  2 on, 2 out, Bengie Molina doubles home Andres Torres off of Edwin Moreno to send everyone home.  Molina had 3 1/2 okayish years as the Giants starting catcher, getting dealt in the middle of 2010 to make way for the greatest catcher in San Francisco history.



2013 home vs Arizona down 4-2 in the 8th, Buster Posey, that aforementioned catcher, tied the game with a 2 run homer off David Hernandez.

Walk off 2013 vs. Arizona, same game, now tied at 4 in the bottom of the 9th, 1 on, 1 out, 1-1 count from Tony Sipp to Brandon Belt - he singles home Andres Torres to win the game.  Belt's had a terrific Giants career, through 2016, he's one of the 30 best players in San Francisco history.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 21 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 21 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1974 at Dodgers 8th inning, down 4-1 - bases loaded, Mike Phillips doubles everyone home against Mike Marshall to tie the score.  Phillips just couldn't hit at all; had an OPS+ of 45 in 301 plate appearances in '74.  No, you should not give someone with an OPS+ of 45 301 plate appearances, no, no you should not.

1974 at Dodgers same game, same inning, 4-4, Phillips got taken down for a pinch runner, and he would score the go ahead run on a Steve Ontiveros single.  We'd win 6-4.  Ontiveros was 22 years old in '74 and got 403 big league plate appearances as the Giants starting third baseman.  By the time he was 29 he was out of the league.

1975 at Cincinnati, 3-3 in the 10th, Chris Speier singled home Gary Matthews off of Pedro Borbon to put the Giants up 4-3, the final margin of victory.  Speier was a good Giant, particularly valuable with the glove, an All Star in '72-4 (his '72 season is the greatest year for any Giant shortstop ever) he got dealt away (for Tim Foli) in '77, but (like Rich Aurilia would later do) came back to finish up his career (and played well in a backup role) from '87-9.

Walk off 1991 home vs Astros, scoreless, bottom of the 9th, the Giants had only 4 hits (matched by the Astros) when Steve Decker came to the plate against Curt Schilling - and hit a walk off homer to beat him.  Giants pitchers ended this game with a 23 inning scoreless streak.   Decker never really hit big league pitching, he had a career OPS+ of 68, but we've never been able to get enough of him, he did two stints with the club and upon his retirement has been a part of the organization since 2001.  Schilling was 24 in '91, this was his only year with the Astros, it is unclear how he felt about Muslims at the time.  Schilling appears to have been, like many of his race and gender, radicalized as he's aged.  Sad!

2009 home vs Padres, 4th inning, down 2-1, Edgar Renteria hits a 1 out grand slam off of future Giant Jake Peavy.  Giants go on to win 8-3.  It was Renteria's first Giants homer and the first grand slam Peavy had ever allowed.  Renteria was a disasterous free agent signing for the Giants, right up until he was MVP of the 2010 World Series.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 20 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday.

What is this all about?

Here are the Top 5 April 20 moments in San Francisco Giants history

1964  home vs Reds 8th inning, 2-2, bases loaded, 2 out, Reds left fielder Bob Skinner misplayed a Tom Haller fly ball, allowing Mays to score the go ahead run in what turned out to be a Giants 5-2 win. Haller was the starting quarterback for the University of Illinois when he signed with the Giants in '58; three years later he was catching for the big club.  Haller could hit, except for his rookie season and the last year of his career his OPS+ was over 100 each year.  We moved him to the Dodgers in '68, it was the first west coast trade between the two organizations.  He came back as a bullpen coach in '77 and worked his way up to VP of Baseball Operations until being let go in '85.

1976 at Atlanta, we were down 8-1 after 3, but 3 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th had us down 11-10 in the 9th inning, Dave Rader doubled home Chris Speier off Elias Sosa to tie the score.

1976 at Atlanta, same game in the 10th, Sosa's still in the game for the Braves - he gives up a 1 out homer to Gary Matthews for the final margin of victory.  A year later Matthews, who came up to the Giants when he was 21 and won the rookie of the year in '73, would be a Brave, signing with Atlana after the season as a free agent.

1984 home vs Reds, down 4-2 in the 8th, 1 out, bases loaded for Scot Thompson - he pinch singles home 2 off Tom Hume to tie the game - we'd go ahead on a Hume wild pitch and win 6-4.  Thompson was an actively bad major league player, sub-replacement for his 8 year career (so, of course, why not sign him as a free agent).  This was his first of two Giants seasons, his second ever Giants hit.

2012 at Mets, 3-3 in the 10th, 2 on, 2 out, Hector Sanchez singles off Frank Francisco, scoring Melky to give us the 4-3 lead, which would be the final score.   Sanchez had an OPS+ of 75 in five seasons as a backup catcher in San Francisco; my bet is no other organization ever gives him 600 PA.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 19 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 19 moments in San Francisco Giants history

1966 at Cubs, 9-9 in the 8th after a game tying Mays single - he and McCovey were both on with two out when Don Landrum, who pinch run for Cepeda earlier (Cepeda had less than a month left in his Giants career) doubled both of them home off Ted Abernathy. We won 11-10. This was Landrum's only season as a Giant (this was his first Giants hit, he wouldn't have another for a couple weeks, he hits .186 for the season) and his last year in the bigs.

1986 home vs Padres, down 5-4 in the 7th, one out, one on - Chris Brown hits a 2 run homer off Lance McCullers, we go up 6-5 and that's the final score.  Chris Brown was a hard deal, drafted as a 17 year old in '79 - Chris Brown played rookie ball in the Giants organization at 17 years old; came up as a 22 year old in '84 and hit right away, finished 4th for rookie of the year in '85, had a 125 OPS+ in '86 and made the All Star team.  You know about this '86 team - 22 year old Will Clark, 24 year old Robby Thompson both come up to become the cornerstone of a resurgent franchise.  Brown was right with them, 24 years old, starting third baseman, had the highest OPS+ on the club.  A year later he was gone, dealt to the Padres on the fifth of July in a 7 player deal that brought us Michell/Dravecky/Lefferts.  Brown never played a big league game past the age of 27 and died in 2006.  2006!  Just 20 years after he beat Lance McCullers he was dead.  Brown wound up working for Halliburton driving a truck in Iraq for three tours; he died as a result of an apparently suspicious house fire.

Walk off 1987 home vs Braves - the day before, we walked off the Braves, here, in a game where we only got 5 hits, we do it to them again. 3-3 in the 9th, 2 out, runners on the corners, Matt Williams, (who homered in the 7th to tie the game; it was his first, that's right, his first ever big league homer as a rookie shortstop playing his 7th MLB game) grounds to second - but a fielding error by Glenn Hubbard allows Chris Brown (who hit a one out double) to score, and we win it 4-3, moving to 10-3 on the season.  This was our best start since '71 built on the back of an 8-0 record in one run games.

1997 home vs Marlins, we'd won 7 straight coming in but were down 2-1 in the 8th, 2 on, 2 out, Glenallen Hill plates them both with a double to right, that 3-2 score holds up.  Giants move to 12-3 on the season.  Hill played for 7 teams in his 13 year career, he had significantly more plate appearances as a Giant, who got his aged 30-32 seasons, than anywhere else.  He was a productive bat, particularly in 95-6; this was his final year in San Francisco, he went 0-7 in the NLDS against the Marlins and left as a free agent. Prior to coming to San Francisco he was once traded for a familiar name to Giants fans, Candy Maldonado.

Walk off 2013 home vs Padres, bottom of the 9th, Angel Pagan doubles down the right field line off of Luke Gregerson, scoring Andres Torres with the winning run.  This was a 10K, no BB game for Madison Bumgarner.  Willie Mays's wife died earlier that day.  Pagan's best year as a Giant was his first, 2012, he never quite got back to that level, he was limited to 71 games in '13 with hamstring injuries.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

April 18 - Top Five Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 April 18 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1968 at Mets, 7th, down 3-2, bases loaded, two outs, 22 year old Danny Frisella came out of the pen to try to hold the lead against Willie Mays.  It went the way you'd figure, Mays cleared the bases with a double for the final margin of a 5-3 Giants victory.  This is post-prime 37 year old Willie Mays, who still had an OPS+ of 156 in '68 and was a 6+ WAR player.

Walk off 1973 home vs Atlanta, 3-3, bottom of the 11th, one out, Bobby Bonds homers off Tom House to take us to 10-4 on the young season.  We hadn't had a hit since the 5th before Bonds' game ender.  

Walk off 1993 home vs. Atlanta, 20 years later we did it to the Braves again, this time it was 12-12 in the bottom of the 11th, we had to score 4 in the 9th just to tie the game, and like Bonds in '73, Matt Williams homered (off former Giant Steve Bedrosian) to send everyone home.  Helluva game in what would be a helluva season for these two teams.  Braves got 5 in the first off Dave Burba, but 3 in the second and then again in the third put us up 6-5.  That lead lasted all of no innings, Bryan Hickerson and Kevin Rogers combined to give the Braves a half dozen in the 4th and we were down 11-6.  Williams homered in the fifth to pull us to 11-7, and we were still down those 4 runs, 12-8, headed to the bottom of the 9th against Mike Stanton:

Darren Lewis led off with a walk.
Will Clark singled him to third.
Matt Williams, who, as you've noticed, had a game, singled home Lewis to cut it to 12-9.
Barry Bonds doubled home Clark, chasing Stanton and cutting it to 12-10,  Still no one out.
Sacrifice flies by Robby Thompson and Todd Benzinger off Jay Howell tied the game.  That's where it stood for Williams three innings later.

Walk off 2007 home vs Cards, 5-5 in the 12th, 2 on, 2 out, Rich Aurilia singled home Randy Winn to win it 6-5 for the good guys.  This was Aurilia's return to San Francisco, he originally came over in the winter of '94 in a deal with the Rangers for John Burkett and spent most of the next 9 seasons as the Giants starting shortstop before leaving as a free agent after 2003.  He returned as a 35 year old backup in 2007 and retired as a Giant after the 2009 season.

Walk off 2012 home vs Phils, scoreless in the 11th, this had been a Cliff Lee/Matt Cain duel, Lee going 10 shutout innings and Cain going 9 while just giving up 2 hits, Here though it was Melky Cabrera beating Antonio Bastardo with a single that scored Brandon Belt for the game winner.  This was Melky's career half year, he had a 157 OPS+ and 5 WAR before a PED suspension.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!