June 4 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Top 5 June 4 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1975 at Chicago, down 6-5 with 2 out in the 7th, Bobby Murcer hits a 2 run homer off Darold Knowles to put us up 7-6. Murcer's first of two Giants seasons, we got him from the Yankees for Bobby Bonds and would deal him to these Cubs for Bill Madlock after the following season.

1975 at Chicago, same game, now 8-8 in the 9th, Derrel Thomas homers off Oscar Zamora, we're gonna win it 10-8.  It's also Thomas's first year in San Francisco, we got him from the Padres for Tito Fuentes and a couple of years from now will ship him back to San Diego for Mike Ivie.  Thomas only had one season of his 15 where he had an OPS+ that reached 100, this was not that season.

1978 at Montreal, the Giants are 14 over .500, half a game up in the West, 2-2 in the 10th, Vic Harris leads off with a homer off Mike Garman for the game's final run.  Harris was a light hitting utility guy, he came over as part of a 7 player deal with the Cardinals the year before, in '78 his OPS+ in a hundred at bats was 29 so he was light hitting like Karen Carpenter was a light eater.  This was his only home run of the season, his was hitting .071 at the time.  The A's picked him 9th in the January draft in 1970, we picked Chris Speier second.  Harris was a -6 WAR player for his career, that makes him one of the very worst players in MLB History.

1986 at Montreal, the Giants are a game and a half out in the West, down 2-1 with 2 on in the 8th, Chili Davis drives them both home with a triple off of Jeff Reardon.  We'd win the game 4-2.  Chili was typically solid in '86, 4 WAR, 124 OPS+.

Walk off 2003 home vs. Twins, 13 games over .500 with a 3 game lead in the West, bottom of the ninth, 3-3, bases loaded with 2 out, Juan Rincon pitching to (gulp) Barry Bonds - Bonds singles on the first pitch to score Jose Cruz with the winning run.  This was Barry's 9th walk off hit as a Giant.  It's his 7th best Giants season meaning the 7th best season any Giants left fielder ever had.  As he did in every season from 2000-04, Barry led all of MLB in BB, OBP, SLG, OPS and OPS+ (231).

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

June 3 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday.

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 June 3 moments in San Francisco Giants history; I believe this is only the second date where each moment has come from a different decade.

1964 at Pittsburgh, the Giants are in second place, a game and a half out, Ron Herbel throws a complete game 4 hitter, with 2 out in the 6th the game was scoreless when Orlando Cepeda hit a two run homer off of Bob Priddy.  We'd win the game 4-0.  Cepeda was 17 when he signed in '55, came west with the club and his rookie season was our rookie season, 1958.  He hit in every Giants season, although gave back more than a little of that defensively.  He had a 148 OPS+ in '64.  We, of course, dealt him away for Ray Sadecki early in the '66 season.

Walk off 1973 home vs Phillies, first place Giants are 14 games above .500 but trail the Phillies 4-1 headed to the botom of the 9th, we plated 2 but with 1 on and 2 out, still trailed 4-3 when Garry Maddox hit a 2 run homer off of Bill Wilson to win the game.  I believe this to be the 46th walk off homer in San Francisco history.  It is the only walk off home run in Maddox's 15 year big league career.  Two years later he's traded to these Phillies.

Walk off 1980 home vs Braves, 8 games under and 9 games out the Giants had 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 9th trailing 2-1 - Milt May doubled home both men off of Larry Bradford to win the game.  It was May's first of four San Francisco seasons, we signed him as a free agent and would deal him to the Pirates in '83 in a catcher trade for Steve Nicosia.  He was just fine, hit well enough, good enough glove, basically just a guy, he was a San Francisco catcher not named Posey.

2006 at Mets, first half of a double header (we get walked off in game 2) down 4-3 with 2 out in the 6th, Eliezer Alfonzo hits a 2 run homer off of Orlando Hernandez.  Alfonzo became the starting catcher for the Giants in this, his rookie season (after a decade in the minors) he got more plate appearances in '06 than the rest of his big league career combined.  This was his first big league game and his first home run.  We won 6-4.

2011 home vs. Rockies, first place Giants up half a game in the West, down 1-0 in the 4th, Cody Ross hits a 3 run homer off of Juan Nicasio and those are the final runs scored.  Ross's only full season as a Giant, he leaves for Boston in the offseason.

See you tomorrow.  Go Giants!

June 2 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 June 2 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

1962 at Mets, second game of a doubleheader, the greatest San Francisco team ever was 37-15 and in first place after winning the front end, 4-4 with 2 outs in the 8th, Harvey Kuenn hits a 2 run homer off Craig Anderson.  That would do it, we won 6-4.  It's Kuenn's second season in San Francisco and his best, really his only year above replacement value as a Giant.

1978 at Montreal, the Giants came in 30-16 and in first place, with 2 on and 2 out in the 10th, Willie McCovey doubled home Terry Whitfield off of Donald Knowles to give us a 6-5 lead.  McCovey's second Giants stint started the year prior and he was Willie McCovey one final time; this season is more of a struggle, he hit .228, his OPS+ was 97, 40 year old McCovey was basically replacement level. This was his 2357th career game.

1978 at Montreal, same game, bottom of the 10th, Giants still with that 6-5 lead, but the Expos had two on with one out and Gary Carter at the plate - Randy Moffitt gets him to go 4-6-3 to end the game.  12 year big league career, Moffitt was never traded.

Walk off 1990 home vs Astros, 9 under, 14 back, we walked off the Astros the game prior and play a three and a half hour game here, 4-4 in the bottom of the 10th, 2 on, 2 out, Mike Kingery with the game winning single off of future Giant Danny Darwin.  Kingery spent two years as a punchless backup OF with the Giants, we signed him just before the season and let him go at the end of the following year.  A month after this game, he'd walk off the Cubs.

Walk off 1995 home vs. Phillies, first place Giants hosting the team with the best record in baseball, 2-2 in the bottom of the 9th, 1 out, 1 on, Steve Scarsone hits the walk off home run off of Gene Harris.  I believe this to be the 91st walk off homer in San Francisco history.  Scarsone did 4 years as the Giants utility infielder, this was easily his best with the bat, with a 116 OPS+.  It's really the only season of his career he wasn't around replacement level.  Scarsone hit 20 big league homers, this is his only walk off.  He leaves for St Louis after the '96 season.

See you tomorrow. Go Giants!

June 1 - Top 5 Moments in San Francisco Giants History

Yesterday.

What is this all about?

Here are the top 5 June 1 moments in San Francisco Giants history.

Walk off 1960 home vs Cubs, the third ever San Francisco Giants opened June a game and a half off the lead, we only had 2 hits off Dick Ellsworth headed to the bottom of the 9th in a game tied 1-1, we got a two out single from Bob Schmidt and then Sam Jones, who threw a complete game 5 hitter for our guys, hit for himself - and struck a game ending double. It was the second ever walk off hit by a San Francisco pitcher.  This was the second of 4 San Francisco seasons for Jones, we got him for Bill White just before the '59 season and he went to Houston in the expansion draft after the '61 season.

1982 at St Louis, the Giants were 8 under .500, the Cardinals 13 above, tied at 3 in the 11th inning, Jack Clark singled home Milt May off of Doug Bair to put us up 4-3 and that was the final score. Jack finished 7th in the NL MVP race in '82, he was a 4+ WAR player, his second best San Francisco season.

2007 at Philadelphia, a couple games under .500, this is one of the earliest moments in a game we've had so far, top of the 2nd in a scoreless game, bases loaded with 2 out, Fred Lewis hits a grand slam off of Adam Eaton. We won 13-0.  Lewis hit 2 grand slams in his career, this is the first and the next is a month away.

Walk off 2008 home vs Padres, we're 8 under .500, 8 games back, probably looking too far up at the rest of the world at this point, it was 1-1 going to the 10th, the Padres got 2 in the top - but then we got 3 in the bottom, the first two of those coming on a Fred Lewis (big Fred Lewis day) triple off Trevor Hoffman, and he'd score the winner on a Jose Castillo single. Lewis had 16 triples in his 7 year big league career and 11 of them were in '08.

2011 at St Louis, the Giants came in half a game out of first place, man on with 2 out in a 5-5 game in the 11th, Nate Schierholtz singles home Rey Sanchez off of Ryan Franklin, we'd win the game 7-5.  This was Nate's last full season with the Giants, he'd get moved in a deadline in in 2012 along with Tommy Joseph for Hunter Pence.

See you tomorrow. Go Giants!

2017 NBA Finals Prediction

Warriors in 5.

I'd like to say we're going to sweep them, just blitz right through them and drive them into the earth.

But I'll take 5.  Go Dubs.