San Francisco Giants: The all-time bracket
By Bill Felber
San Francisco Giants: The All-Time Bracket
No. 4 vs. 5 seed
Exactly one full century before the 1989 team’s National League pennant, the San Francisco Giants were kings of the baseball universe. That great team included seven future Hall of Famers, more than one-third of all the players who wore a Giants uniform that season.
Begin with pitchers Tim Keefe and Mickey Welch. They combined for a 55-25 record in 86 starts over a monumental 740 innings. Keefe also struck out 225, doing so in an era when only 8 percent of official at-bats resulted in a whiff.
At the plate, catcher Buck Ewing hit .327, first baseman Roger Connor batted .317 with 130 RBIs (in 131 games), and the team’s .282 average was the league’s best.
For the record, the other Hall of Famers were Hank O’Day, Jim O’Rourke and John M. Ward.
The 1921 Giants were the first of four consecutive McGraw-led teams to win a National League pennant, and probably the best of them. Five regulars topped .300 led by Frank Frisch at .341 and Emil Meusel at .329. First baseman George Kelly drove in 122 runs and left fielder Ross Youngs added 102.
The mound staff was led by Art Nehf, at 20-10 3.63 in 34 starts. The Giants had five solid starters.
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Game 1: The 1889 Giants had an 84-43 record for an inspiring .659 regular-season percentage. The 1921 team was 94-59, a .614 record.
Game 2: The 1889 Giants beat Brooklyn 6-3 in a nine-game World Series. The 1921 team beat the Yankees 5-3 in their scheduled best-of-nine. The narrow nod goes to 1889.
Game 3: The 1889 club of Conner, Ewing, Mike Tiernan and the rest compiled a 107 OPS+. The 1921 team only got to 105.
Game 4: The 1889 Giants complete their sweep with a 115 staff ERA+ thanks largely to Keefe (119) and Welch (132). The 1921 Giants had a 105 staff ERA+.
Result: 1889 in four games