What is this all about?
Yesterday
Here are the top 5 June 9 moments in San Francisco Giants history
Walk off 1968 home vs. Mets, three and a half games out of first headed to a Sunday doubleheader against the Mets, 4-4 in the 9th inning of game one, McCovey's just tied it with a single, there are two on and two out when Willie Mays singles off Cal Koonce to score Ron Hunt with the winning run (we'd take the second game also). It's Mays's 9th San Francisco walk off hit. Only a six and a half WAR season for Mays, his 14th best as a Giant.
1975 home vs. Mets, 4-4 in the 9th inning, down 4-2 with two on and two out, Willie Montanez singles off Jerry Koosman, scoring two (the second coming on a fielding error) and it's tied at 4.
Walk off 1984 home vs Astros, we're 18 under .500, 14 games out of first, the season's already over, we are down 5-3 with two on and two out in the bottom of the 9th - Joel Youngblood hits a 3 run homer off Bill Dawley for one of the few bright spots of the season. How many similar walk offs in San Francisco history had there been before this? A homer when we were down 2 runs to win the game? Leon Wagner did it in '59. Reggie Smith and Jack Clark both did it in '82. I think that's the list. Youngblood was a Giant for six seasons, in '84 he started at third coming off a really good season with the bat in '83 (138 OPS+) he didn't follow that up this year. He was with the club until signing with the Reds after the '88 season.
1991 at St Louis, we're 10.5 out, but have a 3-2 ninth inning lead, runners on the corners, Jeff Brantley had a 3 ball, no strike count on Todd Zeile - he got the green light and went 5-4-3 to end the game. Brantley's best Giants season, still one of the 10 best seasons for a reliever in franchise history, was the year prior - he closed in '90 but was setting up for Righetti in '91 and then Rod Beck took the closer's job in '92 and Brantley was off to Cincinnati after the '93 season.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
