As Travis Iskikawa was rounding the bases to the thrill of a jubilant crowd at AT&T Park, he joined Bobby Thomson as a Giants’ pennant–winning home run hero. Thompson’s historic blast (also known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”) came in the deciding contest of a three-game playoff that beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1951—about six years prior to the franchise moving from New York to San Francisco.
In between, the Giants dominated the seemingly-unbeatable Cleveland Indians (a 111-43 record in 1954)—highlighted by Willie Mays’ amazing catch in the opener—to the tune of a four-game sweep for their first title since 1933 and fifth overall.
Upon arriving to the Bay Area prior to the 1958 season, achieving ultimate success was just as easy as coping with the gusting winds at Candlestick Park.
They got extremely close in 1962 against the Yankees. With Game 7 at home, the Giants—down 1-0 against New York pitcher Ralph Terry—began to show life in the bottom of the ninth. Matty Alou bunted for a hit. Then, down to their last out, Mays doubled down the right field line. Alou was held at third as Roger Maris quickly got the ball to the cut-off man.
Mighty Willie McCovey was up next—with first base open. But Terry, who had given up Bill Mazeroski’s walk-off home run in Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, elected to face the slugging lefty. Instead of becoming a dubious part of history again, McCovey lined out to second baseman Bobby Richardson.
The team continued to be pennant contenders for the remainder of the decade and even into the early 1970s, but Mays’ decline and a subsequent trade marked the end of any hope for a title.
After that, consistency and stability was hard to find—not only in terms of the Giants’ on-field performance, but also in the franchise’s standing in San Francisco with threats of moving the club to Toronto and, later, St. Petersburg.
That didn’t stop a rebirth that began at the end of the 1980s. Led by Will Clark and Kevin Mitchell, the Giants won the NL in 1989 and were set to face-off with their Bay Area neighbors, the Oakland A’s.
The joy and goodwill which engulfed the region was shattered by the earthquake that occurred moments prior to Game 3 at Candlestick. It was a moment made even more surreal by the fact that it was captured on live network television as ABC was conducting its pre-game telecast.
Baseball was understandably secondary and the series was put on hold for ten days. Once play resumed on Oct. 27, the A’s continued its dominance—sweeping the Giants in four straight.
Barry Bonds’ arrival in 1993 was thought to be the missing piece in San Francisco’s hope for its first championship. And while the Giants won 103 games that year, they came up one game short of the Atlanta Braves in the NL West standings. This would start a string of disappointments. The Giants lost the NLDS in 1997 to the Florida Marlins and in 2000 to the New York Mets.
The 2002 regular season didn’t end with a division crown, but a Wild Card instead. That didn’t deter the Giants, as they marched past the Braves and Cardinals to meet the Anaheim Angels in the World Series. For Bonds, a player notoriously known for coming up small in the postseason, he hit a home run in each of his first three World Series contests as his club had a three-games-to-two lead heading back to SoCal for Game 6.
There, San Francisco grabbed a commanding 5-0 advantage in the bottom of the seventh inning. But the Angels rallied for six runs to tie the series—and would go on to win Game 7 as well.
It would be under Bruce Bochy and a new cast of characters (led by Buster Posey) that would give the city and the franchise a long-awaited title. That came in 2010, with a five-game triumph over the Texas Rangers.
It took just four to beat the Detroit Tigers in 2012—capping off a run of seven straight playoff wins. The Giants were in danger of losing the NLDS to Cincinnati before winning three straight on the road, then saw the Cardinals take a commanding hold on the NLCS. Once again, San Francisco needed to win three in a row—and they did just that.
From there, the Giants overpowered the Tigers’ stars—Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. San Francisco pitching held Detroit to a .159 batting average, while Pablo Sandoval hit three home runs in Game 1 en route to MVP honors.
About a decade ago, a San Francisco Giants fan would look at this upcoming series with the magical Kansas City Royals with the fear that destiny would destroy his/her hopes. Today, those fears are a thing of the past—with the thoughts now squarely focused on becoming a modern-day dynasty.