What is this all about?
Yesterday
Here are the top 5 August 22 moments in San Francisco Giants history.
1968 at New York, we're 14 out, but that doesn't bother Gaylord Perry, who had a complete game win here, the big blow coming on a Dick Dietz two run 9th inning single off of Don Sutton to give the Giants a 3-1 lead, the final margin of victory. Gaylord's career Giants ERA was 119, his IP 2294. Let's take a look at the career Giants marks for all the Giants aces.
Antonelli 124, 1600
McCormick 98, 1822
O'Dell 101, 921
Marichal 125, 3443
Perry 119, 2294
Bryant 95, 908
Barr 109, 1800
Montefusco 105, 1182
Halicki 103, 1027
Knepper 96, 970
Blue 99, 1131
Alexander 119, 152
Laskey 92, 686
Breining 106, 430
LaPoint 97, 206
Krukow 92, 1154
Downs 98, 762
Reuschel 104, 601
Burkett 96, 997
Black 91, 539
Swift 138, 506 (look at the ERA+ on Swift, we got him right in the heart of his career)
Leiter 92, 331
Watson 88, 185
Estes 98, 990
Gardner 88, 951
Ortiz 101, 973
Hernandez 92, 746
Schmidt 126, 1069 (Schmidt in 2003, ERA+ 180, 207 IP)
Lowry 109, 618 (Pureblood Giant)
Cain 109, 2074 (his last stretch gets him over 2000 IP)
Lincecum 107, 1643
Bumgarner 123, 1470
Walk off 1976 home vs. Expos, we're 25.5 back, we walked off the Expos the day before and do it again in front of just a little more than 5000 paid on a Sunday afternoon at the Stick. 3-3 with 2 out in the bottom of the 9th, Gary Matthews singles home the winning run off of Chuck Taylor. Sarge never had a season with an OPS+ below 100 until his last year, 1987. This was his last Giants season and he was off to the Braves.
1980 at Philadelphia, only 7.5 out, so if we can go on a run we can make it a race, Steve Carlton goes the distance, strikes out 13, but at 3-3 with 2 out in the 10th, Mike Ivie singled home Billy North with what turned out to be the winning run. We got the last 3 years of North's career, signing him as a free agent in '79 after he spent a year with the Dodgers. He spent two seasons as our starting CF, had a career Giants OPS+ of 98, led MLB in caught stealing in '79, and finished his career after the '81 season.
1988 home vs. Expos, we're 5.5 out having won 5 straight, we get a complete game from Rick Reuschel but trail 2-0 in the 7th when Ernie Riles hits a 3 run homer off Bryn Smith. That 3-2 score is the final. How'd we get Earnie Riles? It starts with Tito Fuentes.
In '74 we traded Fuentes to the Padres for Derrel Thomas
In '78 we traded Thomas back to the Padres for Mike Ivie
In '81 we traded Ivie to the Astros for Jeffrey Leonard
And in '88, we traded Leonard to the Brewers for Earnie Riles.
In doesn't end there, in '90 we traded Riles to the A's for Darren Lewis. It basically stops there, Lewis is part of the larger deal that gets us Deion Sanders, but there are a ton of players in that trade.
Walk off 1993 home vs. Marlins, a month before we had a 10 game lead in the west, it's down to 7.5 now, but that's still fine, it's August 22 after all, game 124, we're 41 games over .500 for Chrissakes. But...we're down 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th (and that's after scoring 3 in the 8th) down to our last strike, Bryan Harvey has a 1-2 count on Robby Thompson ---- who hits a 2 run walk off homer off a split finger fasball to left to beat the Marlins and maintain our lead. The Braves, who seemingly haven't lost a game in two months, come to the Stick tomorrow for a 3 game series and we're clearly in good shape....right? 11 big league seasons for Thompson, all of them in San Francisco.
See you tomorrow. Go Giants!
