San Francisco Giants

Lore & Background

The franchise is one of the oldest and most successful in professional baseball, with more wins than any other franchise in Major League Baseball history. The Giants have played in the World Series 20 times and have won 23 National League pennants; they held the record for the most NL pennants from 2012 to 2020. Their eight World Series championships are the third-most in the NL, and are the sixth-most of any franchise. The franchise won 17 pennants and five World Series championships while in New York, led by managers John McGraw, Bill Terry, and Leo Durocher.

New York-era star players including Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell, Mel Ott, and Willie Mays join 63 other Giants in the Baseball Hall of Fame, the most of any franchise. The Giants' rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the longest-standing and most famed rivalries in American sports, began in New York and continued when both teams relocated to California in 1958. Despite the efforts of Mays and Barry Bonds, regarded as two of baseball's all-time best players, the Giants endured a 56-year championship drought following the move west, a stretch that included three World Series losses.

The drought finally ended in the early 2010s; under manager Bruce Bochy, the Giants embraced sabermetrics and eventually formed a baseball dynasty that saw them win the World Series in 2010, 2012, and 2014, making the Giants the second team in NL history to win three championships in five years.

Reader's Guide

The Giants originated in New York City as the New York Gothams in 1883, and were known as the New York Giants from 1885 until the team relocated to San Francisco after the 1957 season. During most of their 75 seasons in New York City, the Giants played home games at various incarnations of the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan. Numerous inductees of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum played for the New York Giants, including John McGraw, Christy Mathewson, Mel Ott, Bill Terry, Willie Mays, Monte Irvin, and Travis Jackson.

During the club's tenure in New York, they produced five of the franchise's eight World Series wins (1905, 1921, 1922, 1933, 1954) and 17 of its 23 National League pennants. Famous moments in the Giants' New York history include the 1922 World Series, in which the Giants swept the Yankees in four games, the 1951 home run by New York Giants outfielder and third baseman Bobby Thomson known as the 'Shot Heard 'Round the World', and the defensive feat by Mays during Game 1 of the 1954 World Series known as 'the Catch'.

The Giants had intense rivalries with their fellow New York teams, the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Giants faced the Yankees in six World Series and played the league rival Dodgers multiple times per season. Games between any two of these three teams were known collectively as the Subway Series. The Dodgers-Giants rivalry continues, as both teams moved to California after the 1957 season, with the Dodgers relocating to Los Angeles. The New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL) are named after the team.

Did You Know?

• The Giants played at Candlestick Park from 1960 to 1999, before opening Pacific Bell Park (now known as Oracle Park) in 2000.
• Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in the 2001 season, breaking the record for most home runs in a season.

Origins and Demographic Divide

The rivalry with the Los Angeles Dodgers is one of the longest-standing and most famed in American sports. It began in New York City, where the teams were fierce competitors for borough supremacy, before both relocated to California in 1958. The Giants played their first West Coast game on April 15, 1958, defeating the Dodgers 8–0. This dual relocation ensured that the historic feud continued on the Pacific coast rather than ending with one team's departure. The rivalry has seen intense matchups throughout history, including the 1962 National League tiebreaker series and numerous divisional battles, cementing a legacy of competition that spans over a century and two coasts.