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San Francisco Giants: Best offensive teams of the past decade

By Matthew Oscodar

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 16: Travis Ishikawa #45 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after he hits a three-run walk-off home run to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 during Game Five of the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park on October 16, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - OCTOBER 16: Travis Ishikawa #45 of the San Francisco Giants celebrates after he hits a three-run walk-off home run to defeat the St. Louis Cardinals 6-3 during Game Five of the National League Championship Series at AT&T Park on October 16, 2014 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 29: Buster Posey #28 and Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals to win Game Seven of the 2014 World Series by a score of 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium on October 29, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
KANSAS CITY, MO – OCTOBER 29: Buster Posey #28 and Madison Bumgarner #40 of the San Francisco Giants celebrate after defeating the Kansas City Royals to win Game Seven of the 2014 World Series by a score of 3-2 at Kauffman Stadium on October 29, 2014, in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

No. 2: 2014 San Francisco Giants

Starters

C Buster Posey
1B Brandon Belt
2B Joe Panik
3B Pablo Sandoval
SS Brandon Crawford
LF Mike Morse
CF Angel Pagan
RF Hunter Pence

Key Bench Players

C Hector Sanchez
IF Joaquin Arias
OF Gregor Blanco
OF Travis Ishikawa

We all know how the 2014 season ended. The Giants won the World Series in seven games over the Kansas City Royals, and Madison Bumgarner proved he is the greatest postseason pitcher in baseball history.

The team’s success was not all about pitching, though.

The 2014 Giants were above average in team batting average (.255, 10th in MLB) and runs per game (4.1, 12th in MLB).

They also hit 132 home runs, which was seventh in the NL and just two fewer than the Dodgers—a tough concept to envision given where both offenses stand today.

Buster Posey once again paced the offense, leading the team in home runs (22) and RBI (89) while hitting .311/.364/.490, and the entire starting lineup was over 100 OPS+ along with three reserves.

The Giants also had two players hit for a triple-double in 2014. That’s double-digits in doubles, triples and home runs. Brandon Crawford (20 2B, 10 3B, 10 HR) and Hunter Pence (29 2B, 10 3B, 20 HR) were the two to accomplish the feat.

The 2014 team’s depth proved crucial come playoff time, with Travis Ishikawa playing a huge role in both the NLCS and World Series after he made just 81 plate appearances with the team during the regular season.

The Giants have not had two players reach 20 home runs in the same season since 2014. Frankly, it may be a while before that dubious streak is snapped.

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