The 24 best players in San Francisco Giants history

Without a shadow of a doubt, no player is more synonymous with the Giants organization than Willie Mays. The 'Say Hey Kid' is probably the best center fielder in baseball history, and his career accolades are seemingly never-ending. In 21 seasons with the Giants Mays slashed .304/.385/.564 with 646 of his 660 career home runs. He was the 1951 NL Rookie of the Year, won MVP awards in '54 and '65, and participated in 23 all-star games in a Giants uniform. He won the batting title in 1954--the same season he earned his only World Series championship ring. Mays led the league in homers four times, stolen bases four times, and triples three times. In addition to his immense offensive accomplishments, Mays is incredibly just as remembered for his defense. He earned 12 Gold Glove awards and almost everyone reading this has certainly seen videos of some of his memorable catches. Mays is the Giants all-time leader in games played, at-bats, runs, hits, doubles, homers, and offensive WAR. His number 24 was obviously retired by this organization, and he'll forever be royalty in both New York and San Francisco. 

While Mays is the most accomplished player in this organization's history, fellow outfielder Barry Bonds was certainly the most polarizing. The big left-handed slugger had already won two MVP awards in Pittsburgh before arriving in the Bay Area in 1993, but in San Francisco he became the most intimidating offensive player in the sport. In 15 seasons with the Giants Bonds blasted the final 586 home runs of his illustrious career--en route to a Major League record 762 career long balls. He won five MVP awards in a San Francisco uniform--including four in a row from '01-'04, and in that 2001 campaign he crushed an MLB record 73 homers. A lot of Bonds numbers from that era simply look like typos, and of course the big elephant in the room is his steroid use that helped make them all possible. Bonds has been punished in the court of public opinion which is the reason he's not in the Hall of Fame, but let's not forget that he was already on a trajectory to be one of the best two-way players in the sport, (he also earned eight Gold Glove awards) and it's pretty sad the way he allowed his legacy to be tainted. 

Left-handed slugger Mel Ott was far from a hulking figure at just 5'9 and 170 lbs, but for over two decades he was one of the most feared power hitters in the league. The Louisiana native spent all of his 22 big league seasons with the Giants--while they were still in New York--and he was the face of this franchise for a long time. In over 2700 games for the Giants Ott slashed .304/.412/.533 with 511 homers and a franchise-leading 1860 RBI. He was a 12-time all-star, helped the Giants win the 1933 World Series, and was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1951. The team retired his #4 in 1949. 

Right-hander Christy Mathewson pitched all but one of his 636 Major League outings in a New York Giants uniform, and for the bulk of his career was arguably the premier starter in the National League. Mathewson led the league in wins four times, earned five ERA titles, and led the league in strikeouts on five different occasions. He won the pitching Triple Crown twice, finished 2nd in the NL MVP voting in 1911, and was a huge part of the Giants World Series win in 1905. Mathewson's name is littered across the Giants record books, as he remains the franchise's all-time leader in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts. He was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1936, and the only reason his number is not retired by the Giants is that his stint with the time predated the franchise's use of uniform numbers. 

Not all that long after Mathewson retired, the Giants were fortunate to employ another dominant ace that was at the top of his craft for nearly a decade and a half. Southpaw Carl Hubbell debuted for the New York Giants in 1928 and spent his entire 16-year career with the organization. Hubbell appeared in 535 games in a Giants' uniform and led the league in wins three different times. It's always been incredibly difficult for a starting pitcher to win the MVP award, but Hubbell took home TWO--in 1933 and 1936. He was selected to nine all-star teams, won three ERA titles, and helped the Giants win a World Series championship in '33. Hubbell was easily inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1947, and the Giants retired his number 11 in 1944. 

Righty Amos Rusie pitched for the New York Giants well over 100 years ago, and while he pitched only eight seasons for the team, thanks to the era he worked in Rusie packed a heavy workload into those eight campaigns. For example, in those eight seasons he started 427 games--can you even imagine how that would be perceived in today's game? Rusie led the league with 34 wins in 1894, earned two ERA titles including winning the Triple Crown in '94, and was placed in the Hall-of-Fame by the Veteran's Committee in 1977. 

Dominican Republic-born Juan Marichal broke into the big leagues with the Giants in 1960, and it didn't take long for the right-hander to develop into one of the premier starting pitchers in the league. Marichal was an all-star in his third season and would play in the midsummer classic nine times in the next ten years. He led the league in wins in both 1963 and 1968, earned the ERA title in 1969, and led the league in both innings and complete games twice. He was voted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1983 and San Francisco retired his number 27 in 1975. 

First baseman Willie McCovey was overshadowed a little during the early part of his career by playing on the same team as Willie Mays, but the sweet-swinging lefty soon became one of the more feared hitters in the National League in his own right. McCovey was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1959 and would go on to make six all-star teams in a San Francisco uniform. He was never better than in 1969 when he slashed .320/.453/.656 and led the league with both 45 homers and 126 RBI--his second consecutive season pacing the NL in both power categories. McCovey was deservedly named NL MVP in that '69 campaign, and he still remains royalty in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1986 and his number 44 is retired by the Giants. 

Going from one legendary Giants' first baseman to another, we transition from Willie McCovey to Bill Terry. The latter starred for this franchise while they were still in New York, and spent his entire career terrorizing opposing pitchers in a Giants uniform. In just over 1700 career games Terry slashed .341/.389/.506 with 154 homers and 1078 RBI. In 1930 he led the league with 254 hits and earned the batting title with an incredible .401 mark. Terry helped the Giants win the World Series in 1933, participated in three all-star games, and became a Hall-of-Famer in 1954. The club retired his #3 in 1984, and to this day only Willie Mays and Mel Ott racked up more hits in a Giants' uniform. 

Switch-hitter Roger Connor began his career in 1880 as a member of the Troy Trojans, but his best days clearly came as a member of the Giants whom he joined three years later. In 10 seasons with the Giants Connor slashed .319/.402/.488 with 76 homers and 786 RBI. He was credited with 161 stolen bases with New York--though it must be pointed out they didn't even keep track of steals until 1886. The Waterbury, CT native won two World Series titles with the Giants and won the batting title in 1885. He was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1976 by the Veteran's Committee. 

Brooklyn-born Mickey Welch was one of the first two-way players in organized Major League baseball, but he quite obviously made most of his impact on the mound. In 10 seasons with the Giants Welch took the ball 427 times and earned 238 wins with a stellar 2.69 ERA. He was an integral part of the Giants' back-to-back World Series titles in 1888 and 1889, and was granted entry into the Hall-of-Fame in 1973 by way of the Veteran's Committee. 

Catcher Buster Posey debuted for the Giants in September 2009 as a 22-year-old and became a star virtually from the outset of his career. In his first full big-league season in '10 Posey hit .305 with 18 homers and handily won the NL Rookie of the Year award. His 2011 season ended early thanks to a brutal home plate collision with Miami's Scott Cousins, but for a half dozen years from '12-'17 Posey was easily the best catcher in the National League. The Florida State product spent his entire career in San Francisco, and even a quick glance at his resume would open your eyes. In just shy of 5,000 Major League at-bats Posey slashed .302/.372/.460 with 158 homers, 729 RBI, and 293 doubles. He was a seven-time all-star, a five-time Silver Slugger winner, was the 2012 NL MVP, won a Gold Glove in '16 and led the league in hitting in '12. But most importantly, Posey helped San Francisco win World Series titles in 2010, 2012, and 2014, and he'll go down as one of the most successful backstops in baseball history. 

Versatile George Davis played shortstop, third base, and the outfield for the New York Giants long before anybody reading this was born, and was an important part of some strong Giants teams for roughly a decade. In exactly 1100 games for New York Davis slashed .332/.393/.467 with 380 extra-base hits. He led the league in RBI in 1897 and thanks to the Veteran's Committee became a Hall-of-Famer in 1998. 

Travis Jackson was a mainstay on the left side of the infield for the New York Giants in the 1920s and 30s, and while he wasn't the most flashy player, he was unquestionably a steady and reliable presence on some pretty good Giants teams. In 15 seasons, Jackson posted a .291/.332/.433 lifetime slash line with 135 home runs and 929 RBI. He was an all-star just once--in 1934--but earned a World Series ring in '33 and became a Hall-of-Famer in 1982 thanks to the Veteran's Committee. 

Left-handed swinging second baseman Larry Doyle debuted for the New York Giants in 1907 and would go on to play over 1600 games for the team during his career. Wearing a Giants uniform Doyle slashed .292/.359/.411 with 459 extra-base hits. He won the batting title in 1915 by hitting .320 and leading the league in both hits and doubles, and even earned an MVP award in 1912. 

Art Fletcher patrolled shortstop for the Giants for 12 years early in the 20th century, and while he was not an all-star caliber player, his greatest attributes were his dependability and availability. In over 1300 games for New York Fletcher slashed .275/.318/.356 but power was not part of his game as evidenced by the 21 total home runs he hit in 12 seasons. Fletcher never made an all-star team and was a member of four World Series losing teams so unfortunately, he was never able to capture a championship ring. Interestingly, Fletcher is still the Giants' franchise all-time leader in getting hit by pitches, with 132. 

Right fielder Mike Tiernan spent all of his 13 Major League seasons as a member of the New York Giants, and the left-handed hitter enjoyed several successful seasons in a Giants uniform. In 1478 games for New York Tiernan slashed an impressive .311/.392/.463 with 106 homers, 853 RBI, 257 doubles, 162 triples, and 428 stolen bases--which still remain the most in franchise history. The Trenton, NJ native was a part of the Giants back-to-back World Series winning teams in 1888 and 1889, and he, in fact, homered in both of those Fall Classics. 

Bobby Bonds son Barry quickly surpassed him as the most memorable Bonds family member to suit up for the San Francisco Giants, but let's not let his son's excellence take away from how good of a player the elder Bonds was during his day. An outfielder like his son, Bonds played the first seven seasons of his career in the Bay Area, qualifying for two all-star teams and winning three Gold Glove awards in that timeframe. In just over 1,000 games for the Giants Bonds slashed .273/.356/.478 with 186 homers and 552 RBI. He added 188 doubles and 42 triples, in addition to an impressive 263 stolen bases. Bonds played for seven more teams after leaving San Francisco, but his best days came in a Giants uniform, which had to make his son's exploits a generation later even more sweet for him. 

Switch-hitting infielder Frankie Frisch actually played the majority of his career in St. Louis, but his first eight seasons came with the Giants and the fact that he is on this list to begin with should tell you something about how productive he was in those eight campaigns. With New York Frisch led the league in steals three times, hits once, and runs once. He slashed .321/.365/.444 in a Giants' uniform and earned two World Series rings with New York. He was voted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1947, though he notably wears a Cardinals hat in Cooperstown. 

Southpaw Madison Bumgarner is still an active pitcher for the Giants division rivals in Arizona, but no scenario will ever occur where his best days did not come in a San Francisco uniform. Bumgarner starred for the Giants for 11 years and is going to go down as arguably the most accomplished starting pitcher in the team's history. In 286 starts for San Fran, the Hickory, NC native earned 119 victories with a 3.13 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 1846 innings. He participated in four all-star games and won two Silver Slugger awards --back when pitchers were allowed to hit--but Bumgarner will always be remembered in the Bay Area for his postseason exploits. He is one of the biggest reasons the Giants won three World Series titles in a five year span, and in 2014 he was named the MVP of both the NLCS and World Series, Bumgarner is the epitome of a big-game starting pitcher. In 16 career playoff outings he owns a 2.11 ERA in 102.1 innings, and he'll never have to buy a beer in San Francisco again. 

Utica, NY native George Burns patrolled right field for the Giants for 11 years in the early 1900's and was able to earn an elusive World Series ring in his last season in New York in 1921. Offensively Burns was far from an intimidating presence, but he was a sneaky good contact hitter who kept pressure on opposing defenses. In 1362 games for the Giants he slashed .290/.368/.391 with only 34 home runs. His calling card, though, was his speed, and he could flash that frequently. Burns swiped 334 bases for New York and led the league in steals twice. 

During his prime, you would have been hard-pressed to find a sweeter left-handed swing than the one belonging to first baseman Will Clark, who played the first eight seasons of his career in San Francisco with the Giants. The Mississippi State University product was selected to five straight all-star teams from 1988-1992 and led the NL in RBI in '88 with 109. Clark also won two Silver Sluggers and a Gold Glove while with the Giants and was the MVP of the 1989 NLCS. All told in 1160 games for San Francisco, he slashed .299/.373/.499 with 176 home runs and 709 RBI. Clark would go on to play for three more teams after leaving the Bay Area, but his most memorable moments surely came in a Giants uniform. 

Right-hander Tim Keefe was not in New York with the Giants for very long, but he packed a lot of achievements into a short amount of time. Keefe worked 272 games for the Giants and earned 174 victories while pitching to a strong 2.54 ERA. He won two ERA titles for New York, threw an insane 64 complete games in 1886, and tossed 22 shutouts during his Giants' tenure. Keefe earned the pitching Triple Crown in 1888 and helped New York win the World Series both that season and the following one. He was voted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1964.

Righty Gaylord Perry debuted for the Giants in 1962, and while it took him a little while to get comfortable at the Major League level, once he did, he blossomed into one of the best pitchers in the National League. In 10 seasons with San Francisco, Perry earned 134 wins and pitched to a terrific 2.96 ERA. He qualified for two all-star games while with San Francisco, and while both of his Cy Young awards came for other teams, he did finish 2nd in the voting in 1970. Perry led the league in innings pitched in back-to-back seasons in 1969 and 1970, and he was voted into the Hall-of-Fame in 1991.