Forever Giants:1971 San Francisco Giants Year 14 (89)

1970 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1971 National League West Champions 88-74 (lost NLCS to Pirates 3-1)

C Dick Dietz 3.7 (11.9) Last season

1B Willie McCovey 2.9 

2B Tito Fuentes 2.15 

SS Chris Speier 3.25

3B Al Gallagher 1.4

LF Ken Henderson 3.8

CF Willie Mays 6.1 

RF Bobby Bonds 6.05 

CF Jimmy Rosario .4

3B Hal Lanier -.6 

1B Dave Kingman .9

OF George Foster  .1

3B Jim Ray Hart .2 

SP Gaylord Perry 1.9 (34.85) Last Season

SP Juan Marichal 2.85 

SP Ron Bryant .2

SP Steve Stone -.3

SP John Cumberland 2.35

RP Jerry Johnson 1.4

RP Jim Barr .2

-Good rebound in '71, the Giants win the NL West.  40 year old Mays homered in the season's first four games, later he broke the NL runs scored record.  The Giants won the West by a game, then lost to the Pirates in the NLCS, their first playoff appearance in 9 years, and their last for 16.  40 year old Mays has a 6 win season, is the Giants best position player, and crosses 150 WAR for his career.  McCovey passes Roger Connor as the top first baseman.  Gaylord Perry gets moved at what turns out to be the halfway point of his career. It also wraps Dietz.

Forever Giants:1970 San Francisco Giants Year 13 (88)

1969 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season.  The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1970 81-81

C Dick Dietz 4.7

1B Willie McCovey 7.1 

2B Ron Hunt 1.3

SS Hal Lanier -1.4

3B Al Gallagher .35  

LF Ken Henderson 3.8

CF Willie Mays 4.6 

RF Bobby Bonds 5.5

IF Tito Fuentes .45 

3B Jim Ray Hart .1

Uti Frank Johnson -.05

MI Bob Heise -.55
OF Bob Taylor -.6

SP Gaylord Perry 6.85 

SP Juan Marichal 1.95 

SP Rich Robertson .25

RP Frank Reberger  -.95

RP Don McMahon 3.55

-And then came the 70s.  I was born near the end of this season, if you'd like to blame me, you can.  This is the first San Francisco team to have only a .500 pythag.  King's fired early in the season, replaced by Charlie Fox, a Giant lifer, player, scout, minor league manager.  Fox is the fifth manager (not counting Sheehan, since he didn't start a season) in fewer than 15 San Francisco seasons.  Mays gets his 3,000th hit, Marichal his 200th win.  In Mays's age 39 season, he was just shy of a 5 WAR player.  Davenport's last year.  McCormick's last year. Linzy's last year.  

Forever Giants:1969 San Francisco Giants Year 12 (87)

1968 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1969 89-73

C Dick Dietz 2.05 

1B Willie McCovey 7.75

2B Ron Hunt 3.85

SS Hal Lanier 1

3B Jim Davenport -.45 

LF Dave Marshall -.9

CF Willie Mays 2.4

RF Bobby Bonds 5.75 

OF Ken Henderson -.55

IF Dave Mason 0

LF Jim Ray Hart -.05 

C Jack Hiatt 1.9 

IF Tito Fuentes 1.1 

UT Bob Burda  -.1

3B Bobby Etheridge .1

C Bob Barton -1 

SP Gaylord Perry 6.05 

SP Juan Marichal 7.55 

SP Mike McCormick 2.45 

SP Bobby Bolin -.02 (15.4) Last season

SP Ray Sadecki  .2 

RP Frank Linzy  .6

-The leagues are broken up into divisions in Chub Feeney's last season as GM; Bonds has a 30/30 year; Mays, now 38, hits 140 career WAR; the Giants pythag record is over .500 every season since the move.  Bolin finishes up.  

Tendown February 8, 2015

Charles Haley's got not one, not two, not three....and is headed to Canton.

161 is here.  This is Tendown 162.

1. Seattle lost the third best SB of all time.  Brady's game is the 13th best ever. My MVP would have gone to Butler.  Here's the best analysis of (gasp) that call.  Have to admit, I hope it hurts.

2. The Republicans went anti vaccination this week.

3. You know how colleges have girls who help them recruit athletes, right?  You've seen any college sports movie in the last twenty years.  At Texas A&M, they get a twitter account.

4. Scott Walker has looked like a good investment for several weeks.  He's starting to talk about death threats.

5. There's a US Senator who thinks regulations that food service employees wash their hands are just too much of a burden.

6. Things, somehow, get worse for Lance.

7. Is Brian Williams gonna get walked out the door?

8. See if you can figure out why a US President today would never, ever say what Kennedy said in '62.

9. Don't be naive about cops.

10. Selma missed this, but here's LBJ, saying as true a thing about American politics as you will ever hear.

If you can convince the lowest white man that he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll even empty his pockets for you.

And one more...

U mad, bro?

That's all for this time.  I'll be back next time.  If there is a next time...

Your pal,

Jim

Forever Giants:1968 San Francisco Giants Year 11 (86)

1967 is here.

My WAR calculation is a combination of Baseball-reference and Clay Davenport; I believe it to be the "best" WAR number available for historical comparison. 8 WAR is an MVP quality season. The record is pythagorean adjusted for 162 games.

1968 90-72

C Dick Dietz 1 

1B Willie McCovey 6.6

2B Ron Hunt 4.8

SS Hal Lanier .25

3B Jim Ray Hart 2.8

LF Ty Cline -.85

CF Willie Mays 6.45 

RF Jesus Alou -.95

OF Bobby Bonds 2.4

3B Jim Davenport  -.25 

C Jack Hiatt 1.9 

OF Dave Marshall -.15

3B Frank Johnson -.1

C Bob Barton  .75

RF Ollie Brown  -.65 

SP Juan Marichal 5.75 

SP Gaylord Perry 5.05 

SP Ray Sadecki 2.25 

SP Mike McCormick -.55 

SP Bobby Bolin 4.45

RP Frank Linzy 2.3

-Bobby Bonds hits a grand slam in his debut; Gaylord no hits the Cards; following the season (and back to back 90 win pythags) Franks is replaced by an old Dodger pitcher, Clyde King. Jesus Alou is now in negative career WAR, staking his claim as one of the worst Giants of all time.