Greatest SF Giant's team??

[LCBOY]

OK, let the discussion begin. What SF Giants team is the greatest? Here are the all 90+ win SF Giants teams:

2003: 100-61 (1st)**
2002: 94-67 (2nd)***
2001: 90-72 (2nd)
2000: 97-65 (1st)**
1997: 90-72 (1st)**
1993: 103-59 (2nd)
1989: 92-70 (1st)***
1987: 90-72 (1st)**
1971: 90-72 (1st)**
1969: 90-72 (2nd)
1967: 91-71 (2nd)
1966: 93-68 (2nd)
1965: 95-67 (2nd)
1964: 90-72 (4th)
1962: 103-62 (1st)***

*=wildcard winner
**=NL West Division winner
***=National League Champion

My top-5 in no particular order:

1962
1993
1989
2000
1987 or 1965

[eftda]

i would have to say... 2002. they had a very good team, not many holes.

[LCBOY]

i would have to say... 2002. they had a very good team, not many holes.

The 2002 team the greatest SF team ever?

[eftda]

i would have to say... 2002. they had a very good team, not many holes.

The 2002 team the greatest SF team ever?

sorry, I posted my favorite, the greatest would be the 1962, 1989 or the 2002 team

[LCBOY]

i would have to say... 2002. they had a very good team, not many holes.

The 2002 team the greatest SF team ever?

sorry, I posted my favorite, the greatest would be the 1962, 1989 or the 2002 team

How about the 1993 team that went 103-59?

[chowfun18]

for the sake of simplicity, let's remove all the teams that didn't make the playoffs and didn't win 100 games (to keep in the 93 team that definitely deserves a spot). That narrows the list down to:

1962
1971
1987
1989
1993
1997
2000
2002
2003

One team from each decade, perhaps? 1962 and 1971 are in. So we have to decide between 1987 and 89, between 93 and 97, and between 2000, 02 and 03.

both the 87 and 89 teams had Will Clark at first, Robby Thompson at second, Jose Uribe at short, Candy Maldonado in right field, and Mike LaCoss and Kelly Downs in the rotation. Here are the matchups everywhere else:
pos 1987 1989
C Bob Brenly (+) Terry Kennedy
3B Kevin Mitchell (+) Matt Williams
LF Jeffrey Leonard Kevin Mitchell (+)
CF Chili Davis (+) Brett Butler
SP1 Kelly Downs Rick Reuschel (+)
SP2 Atlee Hammaker Scott Garrelts (+)
SP3 Mike Krukow Don Robinson (+)
CLO Scott Garrelts Steve Bedrosian (+)

1989 Giants make the list.

The 1993 and 1997 Giants both had Barry Bonds in left field and Rod Beck as the closer. Here are the matchups everywhere else:
Pos 1993 1997
C Kirt Manwaring Brian Johnson (+)
1B Will Clark JT Snow (+, that year and only that year)
2B Robby Thompson (+) Jeff Kent
3B Matt Williams (+) Bill Mueller
SS Royce Clayton (+) Jose Vizcaino
CF Darren Lewis Darryl Hamilton (+)
RF Willie McGee (+) Glenallen Hill
SP1 Billy Swift (+) Shawn Estes
SP2 John Burkett (+) Kirk Rueter
SP3 Trevor Wilson (+) Mark Gardner
SP4 Bud Black Wilson Alvarez (+)

1993 makes the list.

The 2000, 2002 and 2003 Giants all had JT Snow at 1B, Rich Aurilia at SS, Bonds in LF, and Kirk Rueter pitching. Here are the matchups for the other positions:
pos 2000 2002 2003
C Bobby Estalella Benito Santiago(+) Benito Santiago
2B Jeff Kent (+) Jeff Kent Ray Durham
3B Bill Mueller David Bell (+) Edgardo Alfonzo
CF Marvin Benard Kenny Lofton Marquis Grissom (+)
RF Ellis Burks (+) Reggie Sanders Jose Cruz Jr.
SP Livan Hernandez(+) Livan Hernandez Sidney Ponson
SP Russ Ortiz Russ Ortiz (+) Jerome Williams
SP Shawn Estes Jason Schmidt Jason Schmidt (+)
RP Robb Nen (+) Robb Nen Tim Worrell

The 2000 team looks like the best one to me. They're in.

So now, we compare the whole rosters of all five teams. By position, ranked from 1-5, players in order of team.

C Tom Haller 1, Dick Dietz 2, Terry Kennedy 5, Kirt Manwaring 3, Bobby Estalella 4
1B Orlando Cepeda 3, Willie McCovey 2, Will Clark 1, Will Clark 4, JT Snow 5
2B Chuck Hiller 5, Tito Fuentes 4, Robby Thompson 3, Robby Thompson 2, Jeff Kent 1
3B Jim Davenport 2, Al Gallagher 3, Matt Williams 5, Matt Williams 1, Bill Mueller 4
SS Jose Pagan 4, Chris Speier 3, Jose Uribe 5, Royce Clayton 2, Rich Aurilia 1
LF Harvey Kuenn 5, Ken Henderson 4, Kevin Mitchell 2, Barry Bonds 1, Barry Bonds 3
CF Willie Mays 1, Willie Mays 2, Brett Butler 3, Darren Lewis 4, Marvin Benard 5
RF Felipe Alou 3, Bobby Bonds 2, Candy Maldonado 5, Willie McGee 4, Ellis Burks 1
SP Juan Marichal 4, Juan Marichal 2, Rick Reuschel 3, Billy Swift 1, Livan Hernandez 5
SP Jack Sanford 3, Gaylord Perry 1, Scott Garrelts 2, John Burkett 5, Kirk Rueter 4
SP Billy O'Dell 2, John Cumberland 1, Don Robinson 5, Trevor Wilson 3, Shawn Estes 4
SP Billy Pierce 1, Ron Bryant 5, Mike LaCoss 2, Bud Black 3, Russ Ortiz 4
RP Stu Miller 5, Jerry Johnson 4, Steve Bedrosian 3, Rod Beck 2, Robb Nen 1

And tally up points:

1962: 39
1971: 35
1989: 44
1993: 35
2000: 42

So now it’s down to just the 1971 and 1993 Giants (not quite what I’d expected, as neither team made the World Series).

C Dietz beats Manwaring; 1971 leads by one
1B McCovey beats Clark; 71 leads by two
2B Thompson beats Fuentes; 71 leads by one
SS Clayton beats Speier; tied up
3B Williams beats Gallagher; 1993 leads by one
LF Barry Bonds beats Henderson; 93 by two
CF Mays beats Lewis; 93 by one
RF Bobby Bonds beats McGee; tied up

Down to the pitchers to decide this.

Swift beats Marichal; 93 leads by one
Perry beats Burkett; tied up
Cumberland beats Wilson; 71 leads by one
Black beats Bryant; tied up

So the closers battle will decide it:

Beck beats Johnson.

So the 1993 Giants was the best team in San Francisco history. Except for Salomon Torres.

[eftda]

but the89 team has 44 points... (NICE POST!! )

[LCBOY]

How are you determining what player is better over another?

[LCBOY]

I'd throw out the '97 team. They were a fluky team. They were actually outscored during the season. Great teams don't get outscored.

[DanMan1021]

I would have to say 89, they had their ups and downs but they managed to make it to the series. but we all know what happened then.