SF Giants 1930's History

For the next part of the blog about the San Francisco Giants, I will be discussing the events between 1930 and the 1940, starting with the 1930 season.

 

(1930)

The Giants set a baseball record with a team .319 team average, however the Giants slump this year as they finish 5 games back in third place.

 

(1932)

John McGraw’s era of the manager for the Giants comes to an end. Bill Terry stepped up to manage the Giants in June.

 

(1933)

In his first full season as manager, Bill Terry takes the Giants to the World Series where they defeat the Washington Senators in 5 games. The Giants finished with a record of 91-61 and win the NL Pennant. Carl Hubbell anchored the Giants pitching staff and finishes as the National League MVP. The Giants were the underdogs in the World Series, as the Sens very a very high loaded team. The Giants pitchers shut the Sens down with a team ERA (Earned Run Average) of 1.53. The Giants captured its 4^th World Series trophy.

 

 

 

 

 

1933 World Champions New York Giants

 

 

(1936)

The Giants win the National League Pennant with a 92-62 record. Carl Hubbell wins the NL MVP Award again, as he led the majors in wins and ERA. The Giants head to the World Series for another Subway Series with the New York Yankees. The Yanks get the best of the Giants and take the series in 6 games.

(1937)

The Giants once again capture another National League Pennant with a record of 95-67. Again the Yankees and Giants battle it out on the biggest stage in the World Series, and in back to back years the Giants outlast the Giants in 5 games. The Giants and Yankees battled for quite many years in the World Series.

 Within this time span, I think the Giants really proved to be a dominant and potent team. They start off not too good, but then in 1933 they win a World Championship. They also capture a few National League and division pennants. I  think coming from the 1920's, the Giants really didn't show many signs of failure. They continued to battle and fight and the rewards were great for the Giants in the 1930's. Even though I was not around to watch these Giants, I think it would have been cool to see how the Giants from these years compare and contrast to the Giants that are in the present.

For more illustrations regarding the Giants, please visit here!

SF Giant 1920's History

This part of my blog will be the years in the 1920’s.

 

(1921)

After several not so good years and the dismissal of 2 players along with the death of Eddie Grant, who was the 1^st major leaguer killed in World War I, the Giants capture the NL pennant and finish with a record of 94 wins and 59 losses. The Giants head to the World Series this year and square off in an 8 game series against the Yankees in the 1^st Subway Series. Making trades for Irish Meusel and Johnny Rawlings was essential for the Giants this year, overcoming a 7 and a half game deficit in 19 days. The Giants were featured with a roster consisting of 3^rd baseman Frankie Frisch, right fielder Ross Youngs, 1^st baseman George Kelly and left fielder Irish Meusel. Babe Ruth was the star for the Yankees. The Yanks jumped out to an early 2 games to none World Series lead after taking back-to-back 3-0 games. The Giants stormed back winning the next 2 easily by the scores of 13-5 and 4-2. The Yankees took a 3 games to 2 lead as “The Babe” Babe Ruth started a rally with a bunt base hit. Then the Giants took the next 3 games to capture the World Series for the 1^st time since 1905. After the Series, John McGraw evicted the Yankees from the Polo Grounds which led to the building of Yankee Stadium which was built in 1923.

1921 World Series

 

(1922)

The Giants earn a 2^nd consecutive trip to the World Series and win the NL pennant again with a record of 93 wins and 63 losses. The 1922 World Series was a rematch of the previous year, as the Giants do battle again with Babe Ruth and the Yankees. This time the Giants do not disappoint again as they defeat “The Babe” and the Yankees in a 4 victory sweep that actually took 5 games because of 1 game ending in a tie. The Giants took game 1 with a score of 3-2. Game 2 was called in a tie due to darkness. Then the Giants swept the final 3 games by the scores of 3-0, 4-3 and 5-3. The Giants’ pitchers shut down Babe Ruth over the final 3 games. The Babe did not record a hit or walk in the final games. The World Series trophy would be the 3^rd and final for the Giants manager, John McGraw.

 

 

 

 

1921 & 1922 World Champions New York Giants

 

 

(1923)

Following the closing of the Polo Grounds, the Giants dynasty team heads to the World Series for the 3^rd consecutive year. For the 3^rd straight year, the Giants and Yankees meet up again and this time the Yanks prevail and defeat the Giants in 6 games. The Yankees this year moved into their new ballpark, Yankee Stadium. The Giants offense this year was incredible, as they became the 1^st team in the 20^th century to score in every inning of a game. Power houses such as George Kelly, Travis Jackson, Irish Meusel and Ross Youngs led the high powered attack for the Giants. The Giants took game 1 by a score of 5-4. The Yanks won game 2 by a score of 4-2. After the Giants won game 3 with a score of 1-0, the Yanks stromed back to win the next 3 games and took the World Series trophy.

 

(1924)

The Giants, for the 4^th consecutive year, reach the World Series again but for the 2^nd consecutive time; end up losing to the AL foes, the Washington Senators in 7 games. The Giants represented the NL for the 8^th time in 14 years. With the World Series tied at 3 games apiece, the bad moments of Merkle, Snodgrass and Zimmerman haunted Giants fans again. Errors killed the Giants in the final game of the World Series. This trip to the World Series was the final appearance for Giants manager John McGraw. Only one other manager appeared in more World Series than McGraw; former Giant Casey Stengel.

The Giants absolutely DOMINATED in the 1920's. Even though they didn't win all the championships that they could have won, by them consistently getting to the World Series for four straight really showed their dominance in the 1920's. The Giants and Yankees really seemed to be the two dominant teams in the time span. That is an awesome accomplishment to be in the World Series for four straight years and to face the same team for three straight years. This shows the will and the passion for both teams to do what they did.

SF Giants 1910's History

My next blog of the San Francisco Giants will be the following 10 years, which was the 1910’s.

 

(1911)

The Giants led the league with a record of 347 stolen bases. They were nicknamed the “running” Giants. The Giants overcame the rebuilding of the Polo Grounds to collect 99 wins, which was good enough to earn the Giants the National League Pennant. The rebuilding of the Polo Grounds was happening because the stadium was burned to the ground in April of 1911. The Giants played their games at the park of the New York Highlanders. The Giants headed back to the World Series where it was a rematch of the 1905 series against the Philadelphia Athletics. Christy Mathewson still led the Giants pitching staff, collecting 26 wins while losing 13. Mathewson threw a 6 hitter in Game 1, where the Giants won by a score of 2-1. The Giants lost both games 2 and 3 thanks to Frank “Home Run” Baker. Baker hit 2 dramatic home runs within these games. The Giants were looking at a 3 games to 1 deficit heading into game 4 thanks to Chief Bender outpitching Mathewson. The Giants prevailed to win game 6 in extra innings. The World Series ended in 1911 in game 6 with the Giants losing 13-2 in the decisive game.

Check out the polo grounds here! 

 

(1912)

The Giants, who were leaned upon by Rube Marquard’s 19 game winning streak, lived a storybook season where they won 103 games. The Giants roll to the 2^nd of 3 straight National League Pennants in 1912. Marquard finished with 26 wins, while Mathewson added 23 in the season. Larry Doyle was the MVP for the Giants, while catcher Chief Meyers hit for the cycle and Josh Devore stole 5 bases in a single game for the Giants. The Giants went back to the World Series this year, where there magic would end in the 10^th inning of game 7 in the World Series. Jeff Tesreau got the nod in game 1 where the Red Sox defeated Tesreau by a score of 4-3. Game 2 was called due to darkness, making the World Series an 8 game war. The Giants evened the series collecting a 2-1 win behind the pitching arm of Marquard. The Red Sox got the better of Tesreau again in game 4 as they earned a 3-1 win. The Giants bounced back from a 2 games to 1 series deficit as they won games 6 and 7, with scores of 5-2 and 11-4. The Series came down to the last game and ended in extra innings thanks to a routine fly ball that all too reliable outfielder Fred Snodgrass dropped and cost the Giants the game and the series.   

 

 

 

  

 
 

 

Fred Snodgrass 1908-1915

 

 

 

(1913)

The Giants earned another National League title thanks to 3 20 game winning pitchers. Mathewson threw a ridiculous 68 straight innings without walking a batter. Unfortunately, the Giants once again fall short in the World Series this year. This was the 3^rd straight trip to the World Series for the Giants and all 3 times ended in the same result. They lost this time to the Philadelphia Athletics again, falling 4 games to 1 in the series. Injuries haunted the Giants in the World Series as 1^st baseman Fred Merkle was limited to 13 at-bats with a bad leg, center fielded Fred Snodgrass played in only 2 games and batted 3 times after sustaining a really bad charley horse and catcher Chief Meyers was sidelined after suffering a fractured finger in game 2.

 

(1917)

After 3 straight disappointing seasons, the Giants returned to the top of the National League in 1917. However, the Giants postseason flaws continued as they lost for the 4^th straight time in the World Series, this time to the Chicago White Sox. The Giants fell to the White Sox in 6 games.

Polo Grounds before and after the burning of the stadium.

The Giants were on a roll in this era. They won back to back to back National Leaue pennants. For the upcoming Giants, this is kind of cool because when your trying to prove yourself in baseball, winning pennants consecutively is a great way to prove that you have what it takes to win. This timespan only leads to greater things in the next timespan. The Giants only get better from here.