San Francisco Giants 60 Seasons from Worst To Greatest: 45-41

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ST. LOUIS – APRIL 9: Former St. Louis Cardinals players Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee laugh during Willie McGee Day before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Busch Stadium on April 9, 2000 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

As we continuing counting down the 60 seasons of San Francisco Giants baseball from worst to greatest, we will recap the greatest losing seasons.

Those were the seasons where the San Francisco Giants teased us by somewhat contending until collapsing at some point in September.

45: [1991, 75-87, 4th NL West]

The Giants have been known in recent years for their “even-year magic.” In the late 1980s into the beginning of the 1990s, it was odd years when the Giants produced magic. They won the National League West in 1987, and they went to the World Series in 1989. On the other hand, they finished just four games over .500 in 1988, and they were unable to catch up to a powerhouse Reds team in 1990.

The Giants came into 1991 hoping to repeat the magic of the two odd years prior. They still had most of their pieces from their trip to the Bay Bridge Series in 1989. They lost their lead-off man and bunting extraordinaire Brett Butler, who betrayed the Giants and signed down south with the Dodgers. The Giants also traded closer Steve Bedrosian to the Minnesota Twins. However, they signed one of the best outfielders in the game, Willie McGee.

Unfortunately, after a 6-6 start through the first two weeks of the season, the Giants endured a nightmarish 6-23 stretch, and they fell to 12-29 on May 24. They then spent the next two months going through different winning and losing streaks.

Then, at the end of July, everything finally clicked, and they won 11 in a row to get within two games of .500. After sweeping the Dodgers in the second weekend of August, they miraculously climbed all the way back to .500, after being 17 games under .500 near the end of May. They were also just six games out of first place, after being 15 games back in the middle of June.

However, it wasn’t meant to be. The Giants started losing again in the middle of August, and by the beginning of September, they once again fell well under .500 and completely out of contention. The Giants finished the season at 75-87

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