What is this all about?
Yesterday
Here are the top 5 July 21 moments in San Francisco Giants history
Walk off 1965 home vs. Cincinnati, we're 5.5 out of first, 4-4 in the 11th, Bob Schroder pinch singles home Jim Ray Hart off of Roger Craig, Schroder was a Pureblood, the Giants were his only big league club - he was a defensive replacement for 4 totally unproductive seasons, his career OPS+ was 57. This is his first season, he plays in 31 games but only gets 10 plate appearances. This is his 14th big league game and his 2nd big league hit.
1971 at Pittsburgh, it's game 98 and we're up 7 in the west, that's a nice lead, we came into the 9th down 4-2, but tied it up, and now the bases are loaded, it's two out - and Willie McCovey hits a grand slam off of Dave Giusti. McCovey hit 18 grand slams (16 with the Giants) this is the 13th. It's the only one he ever hit in the 9th inning.
Walk off 1976 Chicago, we're 19 out, the season is over, and we're playing in front of 4000 paid on a Wednesday afternoon at the Stick. The Count throws a complete game 3 hitter, but we still trail 1-0 when Bobby Murcer bunts his way into a double past a charging Bill Madlock. That drives home Marty Perez with the tying run - and we'd go onto win it 2-1. We signed Montefusco at 22 in '72, he got a cup of coffee in '74 and then won the Rookie of the Year and finished 4th in the NL Cy Young in '75 (he was good, nearly 6 WAR and a 133 ERA+ and then was a little bit better in '76, they were his career years). The Count stayed in the rotation through the '80 season and then was dealt to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander. He finishes his career as a Yankee in '86.
1980 at Chicago, we're 6.5 out, still in this thing, we go 15 in Wrigley (actually, we go 13 and finish the next day) and it's scoreless through 14 of them. With an out in the 15th, Larry Herndon hits a 2 run homer off Bill Caudill, we win it 2-0 and live another day. This is Herndon's last season as our primary center fielder, he moves to left in '81 and is off to Detroit for Dan Schatzeder before the '82 season.
2002 at Los Angeles, we're 2 games out of first and a game and a half behind LA, it's a Sunday night at Dodger Stadium, 4-4 in the 9th, Tom Goodwin hits a 2 run homer off Giovanni Carrara and we're gonna win it 6-4. Goodwin spent a year as a backup OF with the Giants, he was coming off his second stint with the Dodgers when we signed him as a free agent before the season. He never hit the ball, had a career OPS+ of 73 and he never reached 90 in any one of his 14 seasons. He signs with the Cubs after the season which is where he finishes his career. Goodwin had 24 career homers, this is #23, the only one he hit as a Giant.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
