SF Giants: 2021 team is approaching franchise milestone

It is no exaggeration that the 2021 SF Giants have blown all expectations out of the water. Before the season began, they were projected to win 75 games. Now, they have eclipsed the 100-win mark for the eighth time in franchise history and they are inching toward a franchise milestone.

SF Giants: 2021 team is approaching franchise milestone

The last time the Giants won 100 games was back in 2003 when their season ended with J.T. Snow being tagged out at home by Iván Rodríguez of the Florida Marlins. Snow represented the tying run in a crucial Game 4 against the Marlins, but they lost the series.

Interestingly, the Giants have faced off against the Marlins in the playoffs twice (1997 and 2003) since they became a team in 1993. The Marlins won both series and went on to win the World Series in each of those seasons.

Let’s hope this 2021 season does not end in a similar way. That said, the Giants are on a historic pace for a franchise that dates all the way back to 1883. Since the Giants moved to San Francisco in 1958, the most games they have won in a season was 103, which happened in 1962 and 1993.

The 1962 Giants lost to the New York Yankees in seven games and the 1993 Giants did not even make the playoffs. Though, the fact that a win103-win team did not make the playoffs highlighted the need for a Wild Card, which was implemented in 1995.

The 2021 Giants are in rare company. With their 6-2 win against the Colorado Rockies on Sunday, they have collected 102 wins, which is one win shy for the most wins since they moved out to San Francisco. However, the New York Giants eclipsed the 103-win threshold in 1904 (106 wins) and 1905 (105 wins). This included a World Series victory against the Philadelphia A’s in five games in 1905. I remember it like it was yesterday!

Given that the Los Angeles Dodgers are only two games behind the Giants for the NL West lead, it will likely take 105 wins just to win the division.

The Giants are focused on winning the division and preparing for what hopes to be a deep playoff run. The fact that they are on pace for a historic season is a cool substory when you factor in how long the organization has been around and some of the great names to put on a Giants uniform.

This year’s team is being led by a resurgent veteran core that continues to prove that they have plenty left in the tank. Is it enough for the playoffs? That remains to be seen but no one has seen a Giants term perform better in the regular season than this year’s team. That is not what we were expecting when the year began.