Yesterday
Here are the top 5 July 31 moments in San Francisco Giants history.
1967 home vs. Pirates, we're 9 games out, 4-4 in the 8th, Jack Hiatt hits a grand slam off of Roy Face and we're going to win this 8-4. Hiatt spent five seasons as the Giants backup catcher, we got him before the '65 season from the Angels for Jose Cardenal and sell him to the Expos just before the start of the 1970 season. He was fine, Giants career OPS+ of 112, you don't hate Jack Hiatt as a bench guy in the 60s and in '67 he really hit well, had a 134 OPS+. Hiatt had 22 career homers, this was his 7th, it was his first of two career grand slams.
Walk off 1988 home vs. Braves, we're 4.5 out after winning the front half of a doubleheader, we are definitely still in this race, gaining 3.5 games on the lead in the past couple of weeks. We get the sweep, with 2 outs in the bottom of the 10th and a 2-2 score, Will Clark beats Paul Assenmacher with a base hit that scores Robby Thompson to win the game. Will finished 5th in the NL MVP race for the second straight year; this was his best year with the bat thusfar, he had a 160 OPS+. Clark was a 7 and a half WAR player in '88, this is his second best ever season (the best is '89, in fact, that's the best season for any first baseman in franchise history) and the 8th best for any Giant first baseman in organizational history.
Walk off 1992 home vs Braves, game 102 and we come in 10 back, 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th, Will Clark just tied the game with a double, and here, with one out, Craig Colbert singles him home off of Alejandro Pena to win the game. Colbert played 72 big league games as our backup catcher in '92-3, he didn't hit enough to stay. This was his 25th big league game, it looks to be his 12th big league start, his 13th major league hit.
Walk off 2001 home vs Pirates, we were 6.5 out a week before, but come into this one on a 5 game winning streak that has brought us to 4 games out of the lead. It's 7-7 in the bottom of the 11th, 2 outs, Pedro Feliz singles home the winning run off of Marc Wilkins to keep the winning streak alive. The Jason Schmidt trade was the day before.
2010 home vs. Dodgers, we're at game 105, 14 over .500 and down 2.5 out of first place, we only get 5 hits, but LA just gets 3, Barry Zito strikes out 6 and gives up 3 hits through 7 innings. We're down 1-0 in the 8th, two out, Pat Burrell hits a 2 run homer off of Jonathan Broxton, and 2-1 is the final score. Pat the Bat was the number one overall pick in 1998, the Phillies took him as a 21 year old third baseman from Miami (Mark Mulder went 2nd, JD Drew 6th, the Giants took Tony Torcato, a high school third baseman 19th and immediately after the Indians took CC Sabathia 20th). Burrell came up in 2000, finished 4th in the Rookie of the Year race (Rafael Furcal won). Burrell became the Phillies starting left fielder and stayed there (hitting the ball almost every year, until finishing his Phillies career with a 119 OPS+) in 2008. He went to Tampa in '09 and didn't hit at all, the Rays let him go early this season. We signed him in late May and he filled the left field hole with a 136 OPS+. Burrell's last season was 2011. This is his 66th game as a Giant and 8th home run.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
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