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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?
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