I did this earlier with the New York Yankees All Time Team. And I plan on eventually getting to every team (I'm really looking forward to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays...)

Tonight it's the San Francisco Giants turn to have their greatest player ever at every position chosen.

The Giants have one of the longest histories of any Major League franchise as they got their start in 1883 as the New York Gothams. They weren't the Gothams for long and adopted the name the Giants soon after. They stayed in New York through the end of the 1957 season. In the 1958 season they began a second life out west in San Francisco. The Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles that same season to move the oldest rivalry in baseball from the east coast to the west.

The New York Giants won 5 World Series but the Giants have not won a World Series in three appearances since moving to San Francisco. Most recently they lost to the Angels in the 2002 World Series.

This all time team selection will take into consideration the entirety of the Giants history both New York & San Francisco.

Who is the greatest Giant of all time at each position?

Just like with the Yankees team I am only considering what a player did while playing with the Giants. For example Barry Bonds stats with the Pittsburgh Pirates are not taken into consideration.

The New York/San Francisco Giants All Time Team (with career Giants stats)

First Base - Willie McCovey (469 Home Runs, 1388 RBI, .377 OBP, .524 SLG, 150 OPS+)

The Giants have had some amazing first basemen so this was a difficult choice. If I was going squarely by the numbers perhaps I should have chosen another hall of fame Giants first baseman. Bill Terry is the Giants all time leader in batting average at .341 but Terry didn't have a lot of home run power (McCovey had more than 3 times as many Giants home runs as did Terry) and when considering the respective eras they played in I had to give the edge to McCovey.

McCovey's peak year came in 1969 when he won the MVP with a .320 batting average and 45 home runs, both career highs.

Second Base - Jeff Kent (.297 AVG, 175 Home Runs, 689 RBI, .368 OBP, .535 SLG, 138 OPS+)

I'm a Giants fan and I hate Jeff Kent so I get no pleasure choosing him for this slot and perhaps there's someone more deserving I'm overlooking but what Kent did in his 6 years for the Giants was pretty awesome offensively for a second baseman. His peak year came in 2000 when he hit .334 with 33 home runs and won the MVP award.

Shortstop - Travis Jackson (.291, 135 Home Runs, 929 RBI, .337 OBP, .433 SLG)

Jackson played his entire 15 year career from 1922 to 1936 with the New York Giants. His best year came in 1927 when he hit .318 with 14 home runs. Like most decent players on a New York team during the early era of baseball, Jackson is in the Hall of Fame.

Third Base - Matt Williams (247 Home Runs, 732 RBI, .498 SLG, 122 OPS+)

Williams started off his career very slowly hitting just .188, .205, and .202 his first three years but in his fourth season in 1990 things picked up considerably as he hit .277 with 33 home runs. Unfortunately his very best seasons were cut short due to the mid 90s baseball strike. He may have got to Maris' record before McGwire if the 1994 season had not ended early due to the strike. He lead the majors that year with a career high 43 home runs. He is 5th on the Giants all time home run leader board with 247 career Giants homers.

Catcher - Harry Danning (.285 AVG, 397 RBI)

Danning played his entire 10 year career with the Giants from 1933 to 1942. He was selected to the All Star team 4 times including his best season of 1939 when he hit .313 with 16 home runs. 16 home runs was good for 9th in the NL that year.

Outfield - Barry Bonds (.314 AVG, 569 Home Runs, 1397 RBI, .478 OBP, .673 SLG, 203 OPS+)

Bonds Giants career rates stats are unreal because he's not hindered by his comparatively slow start in Pittsburgh (He was not an All Star until his 5th season.) After starting his career with 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, Bonds is now in his 15th year with the Giants. He is the all time Giants leader in many statistics including OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, & Walks) Choosing Bonds best season is a bit difficult but I think his numbers in 2004 are his most astoundingly awesome. That year he hit an NL leading .362 with a MLB record .609 OBP and a MLB record 232 walks. He also had an .812 slugging percentage, one of only 4 seasons over .800 in history. Only Bonds and Babe Ruth have ever finished a season with a slugging percentage over .800! I venture a guess that his .609 OBP and 232 walks will last in the record books much longer than any of his home run marks.

Outfield - Willie Mays (.304 AVG, 646 Home Runs, 1859 RBI, .385 OBP, .564 SLG, 158 OPS+)

Mays is the all time Giants leader in Home Runs, Runs, Hits, Games, Plate Appearances, and many other stats. Mays played almost his entire career with the Giants (moving with them from New York to San Francisco in 1958) before finishing up with the Mets. Mays best year came in 1965 when he hit .317 with 52 home runs winning his second MVP award.

Outfield - Mel Ott (.304 AVG, 511 HR, 1860 RBI, .414 OBP, .533 SLG, 155 OPS+)

Mell Ott played his entire 22 year career with the New York Giants from 1926 to 1947. Ott was only 17 when he first played in the majors. Amazingly he hit .383 in 60 at bats as a 17 year old in 1926. Choosing Ott's best year is tough because he had many that are very similar to each other but I'll go with 1938 when he was at .311/.442/.583 with 116 runs & 116 RBI.

Ott is the Giants all time leader in RBI with 1860 (to Willie Mays' 1859.)

How many other team's all time outfield has three players with 500+ home runs? I'm willing to go out on a limb and say zero.

Starting Pitcher - Christy Mathewson (372 Wins, 2.12 ERA, 136 ERA+)

Mathewson played almost his entire career with the New York Giants. He won 372 games with the Giants and 1 with Cincinnati in 1916 (mid season trade.)

Mathewson played from 1900 to 1916. His numbers of 372 wins and a 2.12 ERA are overpowering although when you adjust for the era his ERA isn't as astounding (check the 136 ERA+) Mathewson is a legendary early pitcher of the game and is a shoe in for this all time Giants starting rotation. His best year was 1908 when he was 37-11 with 11 shutouts and a 1.43 ERA. He pitched 390.7 innings. I'm pretty sure they weren't counting his pitches.

Starting Pitcher - Carl Hubbell (253 Wins, 2.98 ERA, 130 ERA+)

Hubbell pitched his entire career from 1928 to 1943 with the New York Giants. Hubbell won two MVP awards which is quite impressive for a pitcher. His first MVP came in 1933 and I select this as his supreme season. In '33 Hubbell went 23-12 with a 1.66 ERA and 10 shutouts.

Starting Pitcher - Juan Marichal (238 Wins, 2.84 ERA, 124 ERA+)

Marichal is the Giants all time leader in strikeouts to walk ratio at 3.31 and he had a career WHIP of 1.10 only slightly behind Mathewson's 1.06 career WHIP. His best year is tough to choose due to many great seasons that are very similar but I'll go with his career low ERA year of 1969 when he went 21-11 with 8 shutouts and a 2.10 ERA. He pitched for the San Francisco Giants from 1960 through 1973.

Starting Pitcher - Gaylord Perry (134 Wins, 2.96 ERA, 118 ERA+)

Although Perry actually had his single best season winning the Cy Young award with the Indians in 1972 he pitched his first 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants from 1962 through 1971.

Perry had poor run support through most of his stay with the Giants as evidenced by his 16-15 record in 1968 when he had a 2.44 ERA, his lowest during his years with the Giants.

Relief Pitcher - Robb Nen (206 Saves)

Nen only pitched 5 years with the Giants (from '98 through '02) but is still the Giants all time saves leader with 206. His best year came in 2000 when he finished 4th in the Cy Young Award voting with 41 saves and a 1.50 ERA.

Have your own say on the Giants All Time Team at the San Francisco Giants Baseball Forum.

Labels: All Time Team, San Francisco Giants