After two heart-attack inducing playoff series the San Francisco Giants are now World Series bound. Amazing. Who would have thought that this club, so imperfect early in the season, would now be playing for the 2010 championship? As a lifelong Giants fan I have always said that my one sporting wish would be to see the Giants win the World Series before I expire……just once. Not too many people realize that after the cursed Cubs and the hapless Indians, the San Francisco Giants have the longest World Series drought of any Major League franchise. That’s a little hard to believe since the Giants have been fielding some competitive teams over the years. But with each passing season my fears of never seeing them win it all started to loom ever larger. Would generation after generation of Shenk men pass from the earth without ever seeing a World Series banner hung at AT&T park? Would I need to start eating just mashed vegetables and sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber? Would I need to explore the possibility of cryogenics to ensure that my total TV-watching lifespan would be long enough to see the glorious day?
2002 World Series Program
Since moving to San Francisco the Giants have been to three World Series and have lost all three. In 1962 (before my time) the Marichal & Mays led Giants lost to the New York Yankees. Later, much later, the 1989 San Francisco Giants, this time led by Will Clark and Matt Williams, faced off against the Oakland Athletics and were fully pulverized in four games by Jose Canseco and Mark McGuire – the anabolic Bash Brothers. During that series Dad and I managed to get tickets to Game Three at Candlestick Park. While sitting in the temporary right field bleachers with my polish sausage and beer in hand I watched the entire Bay Area roll beneath a 7.0 magnitude earthquake. I thought it was a good omen….well at least until the stadium lights went tilt and the sun dropped below the horizon.
In 2002 we returned to the World Series with our own anabolic wonderman – Barry Bonds. 2002 had to be our year. We fielded a terrific lineup and we were facing the Los Anaheim Angeles Angels – not the most frightening team you could imagine. I can distinctly remember sitting in the living room of my California house watching Game 6 on the television with the family. Emotions were running high. The Giants had a 3 games to 2 lead in the series and were up 5 to 0 in the top of the 7th inning. We were just 8 outs away from baseball immortality. Dreams of gaudy 2002 World Series Champion T-Shirts and hats danced before my eyes. But those dreams were cruelly dashed as the Angels Rally Monkey made its 117th appearance on the Edison Field jumbotron. Amidst a background of squealing monkey noise the Angels scored 6 unanswered runs in the 7th and 8th and would take that critical game 6. Game 7 was a foregone conclusion. The demoralized Giants barely showed for the final game and lost 4 to 1. To this day I can’t stand being near or around Spider Monkeys – damn nasty primates.
So now its 2010 and a new and pluckier Giants squad has managed to make its way to the grand showdown. This team, made up of some homegrown talent (Lincecum, Posey, Cain, Wilson) and some heartfelt mercenaries (Huff, Ross, and Burrell) look like a team of destiny. You’ve got to like the Giants pitching, but I’ve been here before. We’ll just have to see if this will be the year or not.
In thinking about this improbable 2010 Giants squad I got to thinking about the other Giants World Series teams. How does this lineup stack up against the 1989 and 2002 Giants? Here’s my look at those three teams at each position.
1989 Giants Statistics | 2002 Giants Statistics | 2010 Giants Statistics
Buster Posey
Catchers:
1989: Terry Kennedy
2002: Benito Santiago
2010: Buster Posey
While Buster Posey has been a huge catalyst for the 2010 Giants and is likely to win the 2010 Rookie of the Year award, my vote here goes to Benito Santiago. Santiago, a grizzled veteran by the time he joined the Giants, had a great year in 2002 and still retained the rocket arm that made any base stealer think twice. His 16 home runs and 74 RBIs were huge. I think Posey could be the real deal, but his greatness is in the future.
First Base:
1989: Will Clark
2002: JT Snow
2010: Aubrey Huff
JT Snow is still one of the best defensive first basemen to ever play the game, but Will “The Thrill” Clark is the pick here. Clark could not only play a mean first base, but he was also the sweet-swinging offensive catalyst of the 1989 Giants. In that World Series season Clark hit .333 and knocked in 111 RBIs. The Giants really haven’t had an elite hitting first baseman since Clark. Aubrey Huff is a great addition to the 2010 Giants, and he could be the answer for the offensively-challenged Giants for the near future.
Second Base:
1989: Robby Thompson
2002: Jeff Kent
2010: Freddy Sanchez
Robby Thompson is a Giants legend, but the easy choice here is Jeff Kent. In 2002 Jeff Kent hit .313, hit 37 home runs, and drove in 108 runs. As the 2002 National League MVP, Kent was the best offensive second baseman in the major leagues. Freddy Sanchez, a former batting champ with the Pirates, when healthy, is a great hitter to have in the lineup, but he’s no Jeff Kent.
Shortstop:
1989: Jose Uribe
2002: Rich Aurelia
2010: Juan Uribe/Edgar Renteria
At the shortstop position my choice for the best Giant is Rich Aurelia. Aurelia in 2002 hit 16 home runs and drove in 61 – all seemed like clutch runs too. Aurelia’s sweet glove and hard nosed play made him an instant fan favorite in San Francisco. Jose Uribe is largely known for the crowd chant that can still be heard at AT&T stadium today – “oooo-Ribe, oooo-Ribe, oooo-Ribe.” Juan Uribe (have the Giants collected all the Uribes?), the hero of Game 6 of the 2010 NLCS is a streaky hitter who when hot is deadly. If Juan knocks in a few game winners this series I may have to rethink my rankings here.
Third Base:
1989: Matt Williams
2002: David Bell
2010: Pablo Sandoval/Mike Fontenot
Without a doubt the best choice in this category is Matt Williams. The Giants have never had a better third baseman than Matt Williams – period. In 1989, Williams was still very young and had not yet hit his prime. Just the following year he knocked in 122 RBIs. I’m not even sure who David Bell is and don’t get me started on Pablo Sandoval.
Barry Bonds
Left Field:
1989: Kevin Mitchell
2002: Barry Bonds
2010: Cody Ross
Cody Ross is the current darling of San Francisco and the 2010 National League Championship Series MVP, but there’s no way he can challenge Kevin Mitchell and Barry Bonds. Everyone forgets Kevin Mitchell, but in 1989 he hit 47 HRs and knocked in a staggering 125 RBIs. And I know that many of you are Barry-haters, but he’s the true batting legend in this group. I know that I’ve never seen a better power hitter on any team at any time. His awesome, chemically enhanced power, was truly lethal because he possessed tremendous plate discipline and the best hands in the game. Barry Bonds wins this category hands down. He hit 4 HRs, batted .471, and had a gaudy 1.294 slugging percentage in that 2002 series.
Center Field:
1989: Brett Butler
2002: Kenny Lofton
2010: Andres Torres
This position is a little tougher to pick. Brett Butler, the Dodger-retread, became a real catalyst for the 1989 Giants. Butler stole 31 bases and had an OBP of .349 that ’89 campaign, but he was a non-factor in the ’89 series – no stolen bases and only 4 hits. Kenny Lofton, far from his prime, was also a big catalyst for the 2002 Giants. During the 2002 series he had 3 stolen bases and hit .290. Andres Torres has been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2010 season. While not playing the entire year, Torres still hit 16 home runs and knocked in 63 RBIs, but he also struck out 128 times! All three were good defensive center fielders too – very hard to pick one, but maybe I’ll go with Andres Torres for now.
Right Field:
1989: Pat Sheridan
2002: Reggie Sanders
2010: Pat Burrell
Well here’s a collection of retreads if I ever saw one. I’m not even sure I remember Sheridan at all. I think he took over from a badly slumping Candy Maldonado. Reggie Sanders was really the Pat Burrell of 2002. Sanders, a veteran player, was brought in to give the Giants some added pop and he largely delivered that year. His 23 homers and 85 RBIs put him near the top of a good Giants lineup. But I think my choice here is going to be Pat Burrell. Since joining the Giants starting lineup midway through the season he has hit 18 homers – almost every one of them seemed like a game winner. His veteran presence and hometown cred are big positives as well. So Pat Burrell is my close choice over Reggie Sanders.
Matt Cai
Starters:
1989: Atlee Hamaker, Scott Garrelts, Rick Reuschel, Kelly Downs
2002: Jason Schmidt, Kirk Reuter, Russ Ortiz, Livan Hernandez
2010: Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner
Without a doubt the 2010 Giants starting rotation is the strongest the Giants have ever had. Lincecum, who has already won two Cy Youngs, is our franchise player. Cain is a horse – a great pitcher who can pitch deep in every game. Sanchez, while more mecurial than I would like, is still capable of no-hit baseball every start. And at 21 Madison Bumgarner looks like a real keeper. Awesome stuff. I like that 2002 rotation as well, but its not even close to what we have now. So Lincecum, Cain, Sanchez, and Bumgarner is the choice here.
Closer:
1989: Craig Lefferts/Steve Bedrosian
2002: Robb Nen
2010: Brian Wilson
This is a hard category to judge too. In 1989 the Giants platooned Lefferts and Bedrosian as closers. On that staff was Jeff Brantley who would go on to become a true Giants relief legend. In 2002 Robb Nen was the dominant Giants closer. In that season Nen had 43 saves and an ERA of 2.20. But even better than those two is Brian Wilson. While Wilson gives me a heart attack each time he takes the mound he still put up record numbers this year. His 48 saves in 2010 is a single-season Giants record and his 1.81 ERA and 1.17 WHIP are out of this world. So Fear the Beard in 2010. I hope Wilson has 4 more saves in him for 2010.
Coach:
1989: Roger Craig
2002: Dusty Baker
2010: Bruce Bochy
Humm Baby…. Roger Craig is my choice here. Wily ol Roger Craig got more out of average players than any Giants manager I’ve ever seen. Baker and Bochy are also excellent Giants skippers, but they are just below Craig. Of course the first Giants manager to pull off a Giants World Series win will be immediately dragged from the dugout, bronzed, and placed on a podium in front of AT&T park.
So there you go. The 2010 Giants are far from the best World Series lineup that they’ve fielded, but they are a team of heart and clutch performances. Hopefully they will also be the team that makes my one sports wish comes true.
Go Giants! I’m getting old!
