Yesterday
What is this all about?
Here are the top 5 June 19 moments in San Francisco Giants history.
Walk off 1980 home vs. Mets, we're 11 out, only 5000 paid on a Thursday afternoon, 3-3 in the bottom of the 10th, Jack Clark triples home Joe Strain off Neil Allen with the winning run. 153 OPS+ and 4 WAR for Jack in 1980.
Walk off 1996 home vs. Marlins, on Sunday we walked off the Astros, on Monday we beat the Marlins 1-0, on Tuesday we walked off the Marlins in 15 innings, this is Wednesday and we're going to walk off the Marlins in 15 innings again. 1996! 4-4 with 2 out in the 15th, Tom Lampkin (whose 2 run double off Robb Nen tied the score in the 9th) wins the game with a 3 run homer off of Terry Mathews. Yes, we won our second 15 inning game in as many days on a 5 RBI night by Tom Lampkin. Lampkin was primarily a career backup, but was our primary backstop in '96 (we signed him prior to the '94 season and then dealt him after this year to the Cardinals for Rene Arocha)
2004 home vs. Red Sox, 2.5 out of first, facing Pedro Martinez - he's out of the game by the 8th, 4-4 with two out, Edgardo Alfonzo hits a 2 run homer off former Giant Alan Embree, we win it 6-4. Alfonzo spent 3 not particularly good seasons in San Francisco and then we traded him to the Angels after the 2005 season for Steve Finley.
2013 home vs. Padres, 70 games into the season, a game and a half out of first, rubber game against the Padres, down 2-1 in the 7th, Gregor Blanco triples home 2 off of Luke Gregerson, we're gonna win this game 4-2. Blanco did 5 years in San Francisco, not really productive enough to be a starting left fielder, as he was in 2012 and this year, but could hold down a 4th OF spot just fine. He signed with Arizona for the 2017 season. The benches cleared in this one, which is always a good time.
2015 at Dodgers, 2 and a half out and starting a weekend series at Dodger Stadium in front of 52,000 paid, down 1-0 with 2 out in the third, Buster Posey hits a grand slam off Mike Bolsinger, we go on to win the game 9-5. Posey also stole a base in this one, the first Giant catcher to do both in the same game since Bresnahan in 1903. A 133 OPS+ season for Posey in 2015, he was a 7 WAR player, it's his second best season, meaning the second best season for any catcher in Giants franchise history. This was Posey's third grand slam, he has four as of this writing. It was his 93rd homer. He's at 123 as of this writing. As of this writing, Posey's career OPS+ is 137. Catchers with higher career OPS+? Piazza (142) King Kelly (138). That's it. That's the list.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
