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Best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s: 50. Travis Ishikawa

By Joel Reuter

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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While he didn’t make much of a regular-season impact, Travis Ishikawa hit one of the biggest home runs in San Francisco Giants postseason history.

The San Francisco Giants drafted Travis Ishikawa in the 21st round of the 2002 MLB draft out of Federal Way High School in Washington.

He made his MLB debut in 2006 and saw significant action for the first time during the 2009 season when he hit .261/.329/.387 with nine home runs and 39 RBI in 363 plate appearances as the team’s primary first baseman.

The following season he posted a 94 OPS+ with 14 extra-base hits in 173 plate appearances, then went 2-for-10 with one RBI and two runs scored coming off the bench during the postseason.

From there he bounced around a good deal, spending time with the Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates before signing back with the Giants on April 25, 2014.

He joined the MLB roster on Aug. 1 and went on to hit .274/.333/.397 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 47 games with the Giants the rest of the way to earn a spot on the playoff roster.

After going 2-for-11 in the NLDS, he forever inked his place in Giants lore with a huge NLCS performance against the St. Louis Cardinals. He went 5-for-13 with two doubles, one home run and seven RBI.

The home run came in dramatic fashion. With the Giants up 3-1 in the series, he took Michael Wacha deep for a walk-off, three-run shot in Game 5 to clinch the NL pennant and send the Giants to the World Series.

The Pirates claimed him off waivers the following July in what would be his final year in the majors, but he is most certainly #ForeverGiant

San Francisco Giants Stats

2010: 116 G, 173 PA, .266/.320/.392, 14 XBH (3 HR), 22 RBI, 18 R, 0.0 WAR
2014: 47 G, 81 PA, .274/.333/.397, 5 XBH (2 HR), 15 RBI, 7 R, 0.3 WAR
2015: 6 G, 6 PA, .000/.167/.000, 0 XBH (0 HR), 0 RBI, 1 R, -0.1 WAR
Totals: 169 G, 260 PA, .263/.320/.386, 19 XBH (5 HR), 37 RBI, 26 R, 0.2 WAR

Playoffs: 26 G, 56 PA, .245/.339/.367, 4 XBH (1 HR), 8 RBI, 4 R
WS Rings: 2

Next. 10 best shortstops in franchise history

Check back here regularly as we count down the 50 best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s.

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