All Giants team, 1965 2016, position players

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The Giants have had some of the greatest players in the history of the game play for them. Some of those players played with the team after 1964. Because of the greatness of some of the Giants, there's not a lot of room for discussion. At least among rational people. And, here we go.

Catcher: Buster Posey Before Buster came along, the Giants had some other pretty good catchers. Included in that mix are Tom Haller, Dick Dietz and Bob Brenly. While those guys were good, Posey is the best catcher in the league. Buster became the Giants full time catcher in 2010. His WAR currently sits at 36.6. Buster has led the league in hitting and his currently sporting a lifetime batting average .308. His defensive metrics are strong too. Just a couple of notes on the other guys. Tom Haller was a really good catcher for the Giants from 1962-67. He was good for about 18 homers for a year, a WAR of around 3.0 while playing good defense. Dick Dietz had a couple of big years with the bat in 1970 and 71. Bob Brenly had some nice years in San Francisco from 1984-87. Still while those guys were good, Buster Posey is great.

First base: Willie McCovey Will Clark had three seasons of over 100 RBIs. From 1988-91 his RBI totals were 109-111-95-116. In addition he hit about .300, and was good for about 20-25 home runs. On most teams, Will would be the first baseman. However, the Giants aren't one of those teams. Willie McCovey is the hands down choice. There's a reason they call the cove beyond the right field wall of AT&T Park McCovey Cove. Stretch had some of his best seasons before 1965, but there was still plenty left in the tank from 1965 onward. From 1965-70 his home run totals were 39-36-31-36-45-39. Twice Willie led the league in RBIs. Willie wasn't a great glove man, but it really didn't matter.

Second base: Jeff Kent Before checking the numbers, I thought Jeff Kent was a slam dunk choice. After I checked the numbers, Kent is still the choice, but not by a wide margin. From 1986-96 Robbie Thompson had a real nice run as the Giants second sacker. From 1989-93 Thompson's home run totals were 13-15-19-14-19. In 1989 and 93 his WAR totals were 6.1 and 6.3. Robbie was pretty good for a second place finisher. Kent was obviously a bat first second baseman. Jeff came over to the Giants in 1997 and played in San Francisco through 2002. His home run totals ran from 22-37. He also had five seasons of 100+ RBIs. Of course, hitting behind Barry Bonds didn't hurt.

Shortstop: Brandon Crawford Brandon Crawford's stats are similar in many ways to those of Giants shortstop of the early to mid 70s, Chris Spier. Crawford comes out a little ahead on glove work. Spier was steady in the field had a little power and finished with an OPS of.696 in his days with the Giants. As was mentioned, Crawford is a little better in the field and has slightly more pop in his bat. He gets the nod at short.

Third base: Matt Williams Matt brought a power bat and a good glove with him. In his prime Matt was good for 30 or more home runs and close to100 RBIs. In 1994 Matt led the National League in homers with 43. In 1990, he was the league's RBI leader with 122. Beyond Matt, the Giants have had some pretty good third basemen. Pablo Sandoval had some good seasons and great post seasons before hitting the skids in Boston. During the 60's, Jim Ray Hart had a good bat, but a deficient glove. From 1976-83 Darrell Evans provided some solid, if not spectacular production. All in all, it's Matt Williams fairly easily.

Left field: Barry Bonds Was there any doubt? While some may question how he accomplished what he did nobody can say the results weren't historic. It really does little good to recite Bond's statistics. He's the all time home run leader, the all time leader in walks, had an OPS of 1.143. That OPS is for his career with the Giants, not just one monster year. Kevin Mitchell rates a mention here. Kevin had one memorable season in particular, 1989. Keven led the NL with 47 home runs and 125 RBIs with an OPS of1.023. Of course, that's an off year for Bonds.

Center field: Willie Mays Even though Barry Bonds holds most of the hitting records, to me Willie Mays is the greatest Giant of them all. By 1965 Willie was in the back half of his career, but was still great. In 1965 he hit 52 home runs and had 112 RBIs. He also led the league in WAR with 11.2. He followed that up in 1966 with 37 home runs and 103 RBIs. After that his numbers declined to be he was still a force to be reckoned with. I was surprised to see that back in the 50s Willie led the NL in stolen bases four years in a row. I also noticed his defensive WAR was positive through his age 37 season. Chilli Davis was okay for a while, and Brett Butler had three decent seasons, but nobody is within a mile of the Say Hey Kid.

Right field: Bobby Bonds In the rare father-son combo, Bobby Bonds joins his son Barry in the Giants outfield. Bobby was a 30-30 guy when they were pretty much unheard of. Bobby used his speed and power combination as the Giants lead off hitter. In his seven years with the Giants, Bobby scored over 100 runs five teams. He also hit over 30 home runs three times. I'll give Jack Clark a quick shout out. He was a proven run producer in his 10 years with the Giants. Also, Giants current right fielder, Hunter Pence, is the the most effective awkward looking player I've ever seen.

That's my Giants team, how does it compare to yours?