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

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

44: [2006, 76-85, 3rd NL West]

The Giants contended despite a barrage or injuries and finishing under .500 in 2005. Barry Bonds missed all but two weeks, new right-fielder Moises Alou missed significant time and new closer Armando Benitez missed more than half the season.

The Giants were a very old team, and yet they still wanted to contend. They wanted to wait until Bonds broke Hank Aaron’s all-time record of 756 home runs to rebuild. So in the meantime, the Giants signed other aging veterans to build a contender. Those signings included outfielder Steve Finley and utility man Mark Sweeney. The Giants also invited pitcher Jamey Wright and their old shortstop, Jose Vizcaino to Spring Training.

Bonds came into the season with 708 career home runs, and it wasn’t just his chase that was going to make things chaotic. Just about three weeks into camp, ‘Game of Shadows,’ a detail of Bonds’ history of PED use and the BALCO Scandal, was released. Bonds was also followed around by media from all over the country, as well as ESPN, who was running a reality TV mini series called ‘Bonds on Bonds.’

Bonds’ every move was under a microscope, and he handled himself very well. However, he struggled early on. It was clear that after three knee surgeries the year prior, he wasn’t his old self at the age of 41. Bonds had a hard time pulling the ball, and he didn’t hit his first home run of the season until April 22 in Colorado, almost three weeks into the season. It was an opposite-field shot, as were a lot of his home runs in 2006.

As a team, the Giants were predicted to win a weak National League West. They got off to a .500 start, and they had their share of excitement. They had a comeback win against the Braves in the bottom of the ninth inning on April 9. They had a dramatic win against Arizona Diamondbacks, when Randy Winn robbed Eric Byrnes of a go-ahead home run to end the top of the ninth and Moises Alou hit a walk-off home run to start the bottom of the ninth.

Bonds on Bonds was scrapped halfway into may, and Bonds tied Babe Ruth for second on the all-time home run list at 714 on May 20, across the Bay in Oakland. Bonds then passed Ruth eight days later at AT&T Park.

The Giants couldn’t escape .500, but neither could anybody else in the division, as every team in the National League West was within five games of each other at the All-Star Break. The Giants made a move to bolster the offense, as they traded relief pitcher Jeremy Accardo to the Toronto Blue Jays for first-baseman Shea Hillenbrand. The Giants then got into first place on July 22 after taking the first three games of a four-game set against the Padres.

However, after Armando Benitez blew a save—a regular occurrence for him—on July 23 and the Giants ended up losing in extra innings, they lost nine-straight. Everything just went south, and it was highlighted—or I should say lowlighted on Aug. 4 at AT&T against the Rockies, when Barry Bonds was tossed by umpire Ron Kulpa, resulting in the fans pelting trash onto the field.

Despite ultimately losing 16 out of 19 games, the Giants only fell to seven and a half games back in the NL West. Then on Aug. 14, the Giants suddenly took off. They swept the Padres in four games, and that started a stretch in which they won 20 out of 29. Bonds started pulling the ball again, and they had timely offense that could come back late in games.

The Giants were right back in it, as they were 74-72, three games back in the West and two and a half games back in the Wild Card with just two-and-a-half weeks to go. Then, just like the end of July, they collapsed again, as they lost 13 of their 15 to go 76-85.

Manager Felipe Alou, who had lost control of the clubhouse, was let go after the season, and it was clear that the team was way too old to produce anymore magic anytime soon.

43: [1980, 75-86, 5th NL West]

The 1970s had its share of memorable moments, but it was nowhere near as memorable as the 1960s. The Giants entered the new decade with a team that contended in 1978, but disappointed in 1979. This included one of the Giants’ all-time greats, whose career now entered its fourth decade, Willie McCovey.

McCovey originally came up in 1959, which was just the Giants’ second season in the City by the Bay. He was traded after 1973 when Horace Stoneham ran out of money, but a year after new owner Bob Lurie saved the team in 1976, McCovey returned home in 1977. Willie Mac gave the Giants and their fans even more memorable moments, including his 500th career home run in 1978. McCovey was now 42, and his knees, which had hampered him his entire career, were barely holding on as he neared the end of his career.

The Giants got off to a terrible start, as they went 8-19 in their first 27 games, and they were already 10 games out of first place. McCovey was struggling, and he didn’t play much. He struggled to hit over the Mendoza Line at .200, and he only had one home run in the first half of the season.

Despite his struggles, McCovey felt he could still hit, but more than anything, he wanted to retire as a Giant. Willie Mays, Juan Marichal and Orlando Cepeda never got the chance to retire as a Giant, but McCovey pounced on the chance that he had. He decided he was going to retire at the All-Star Break. He played his final home game on July 3 against the Cincinnati Reds. Only 26,133 fans filled the Stick on that Thursday afternoon, but they all gave him numerous standing ovations throughout the game.

The final game of Willie McCovey’s career was on July 6 at Dodger Stadium of all places. McCovey pinch-hit in the eighth inning and gave the Giants the lead with a sacrifice fly, and then he left the field to a standing ovation of 46,244 fans, who most likely all despised him in the 1960s. That was the kind of player Willie McCovey was.

After McCovey retired, the Giants climbed back to around .500 and back into contention. The Giants were only five games out of first place on Aug. 17. The Giants continued to play good ball, as they got over .500, but they had an uphill battle, as they were eight games back on Aug. 31.

Unfortunately, the Giants collapsed in September, and they finished the season with a 19-32 slide to go 75-86.

1980 was yet another rough season for the Giants, but it was a rough season with many right spots and memorable moments. Darrel Evans and Jack Clark both had solid seasons and helped the Giants somewhat contend. Clark was awarded the inaugural Willie Mac Award, which was named after Willie McCovey and awarded to the player who best exemplified McCovey’s leadership.

42: [2013, 75-87, T-3rd NL West]

Everything was upbeat for the Giants and the City by the Bay, as the Giants were coming off their second world championship three years. The Giants felt no need to change things, as they had 21 of the 25 players on the 2012 championship team back for 2013.

Despite losing 4-0 to the Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers on Opening Day in Los Angeles, the season got off to a really good start. They went 9-4 in the first two weeks, and they constantly came back late to win games. The Giants hit a bit of a slide towards the end of April, but they got right back at it with a six-game winning streak, which included a sweep of the Diamondbacks in Arizona and a sweep of the Hated Ones back home.

The sweep of the Dodgers featured two walk-off home runs by two Giants catchers. 2012 National League Most Valuable Player walked the Dodgers off on May 3, and then third-string Guillermo Quiroz hit a walk-off home run the night after. On May 12, they were 23-15, and they seemed unbeatable. Then, the highlight of the season came on May 25 against the Colorado Rockies, when Angel Pagan hit a walk-off inside-the-park home run. Pictures of third-base coach Tim Flannery chasing Pagan home and celebrating the win will never be forgotten.

It seemed like nothing could go wrong for the Giants, but Pagan strained his hamstring on his inside-the-park home run and went on the disabled list. The Giants were without their leadoff man, and they began to struggle. Also, Matt Cain, who had been their horse in 2012 was underperforming. As a result of all of this, the Giants began to fall apart, and they fell under .500 by the end of June.

Then, on a minor league rehab assignment, Pagan tore his hamstring completely off the bone and had to require surgery. The Giants continued to plummet on the field, and a stretch in which they lost 16 out of 19 games put them 10 games under .500. They teased their fans a bit around the All-Star Break, as they won five out of six to put themselves just four and a half games out of first place in a very weak National League West. That stretch included a 148-pitch no-hitter by Tim Lincecum in San Diego.

However, as much as the Giants teased their fans, they quickly started losing again, and they were knocked right out of contention. They then had to figure out whether or not to become sellers at the Trade Deadline on July 31. Despite their tough season, they were still a good and young team that was just having an injury-riddled season, and they had the pieces for more years of success, so they decided to hold on to what they had. Upon the news that they weren’t traded, emotional leader Hunter Pence and left-handed specialist Javier Lopez celebrated their extended time on the team.

Despite the rough season, the clubhouse chemistry was still great, and they gave their best effort every game. Pagan returned on Aug. 30, and as a result, the Giants had a 16-11 September. That September featured a near-perfect game by Yusmeiro Petit, who came within one out of perfection on Sept. 5 at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Giants also enjoyed playing spoilers against the Yankees—remember, this was the first season of year-round interleague play—on Sept. 22 in the Bronx. Young infielder Edhire Adrianza homered off retiring left-hander Andy Pettitte. The play of the game came in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, when Eduardo Nunez singled to left field, but young left-fielder Juan Perez cut down the potential tying run at the plate. The Giants held on to win 2-1, and while they didn’t eliminate the Yankees that afternoon, it severely hurt the Yankees’ chances of getting a wild card spot.

The season ended with a very memorable weekend at the corner of 3rd and King. Hunter Pence, who played in every single game in 2013, was awarded the Willie Mac Award on the final Friday night of the year, and then he was rewarded for his hard play with a contract extension prior to the series finale that Sunday. The final game was like a playoff game. The Giants trailed the Padres 6-2, but they chipped away, and they tied the game to lead off the bottom of the ninth on a home run by Francisco Peguero that sent the Giants’ dugout and the sold out crowd into a frenzy. the man of the hour, Hunter Pence, then singled later in the inning to finish the season on a spectacular note.

Sure, the Giants went 76-86, but of all the losing seasons in San Francisco, 2013 was somewhat of a memorable one. The season started with the celebration of their second world championship in three years, and while the Giants fell out of contention, the clubhouse still had incredible chemistry. The season then ended with many memorable moments and certainty that 2014 would be something special.