Who Were Biggest Surprises on List of Giants 50 Greatest Players?

The history of the San Francisco Giants is riddled with Hall of Famers and some of the most famous baseball players of all time.

SFGate recently released a list of the 50 greatest players in Giants history since they moved to San Francisco, meaning there will be no Christy Mathewson, Carl Hubbell or Mel Ott.

The list, put together by Dave Tobener, is not only best players in franchise history, either.

While the all-time greats are on the list, it's also based on "winning," ''impact," "memorable moments" and "lasting legacy."

Below are some of the surprises based on where these players were ranked.

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Barry Zito (No. 39)

This is the first head turner on the list, as Zito's legacy as a Giant is complicated and not straight forward.

Heading into the 2007 season, San Francisco's pitching staff was pretty much an unknown after losing Jason Schmidt in free agency. It looked like a staff that was going to be lead by youngsters Matt Cain, in his second full year, and a rookie, Tim Lincecum.

San Francisco then gave a huge contract to former Cy Young winner, Barry Zito. The left hander was an innings eater, but had been regressing since winning the Cy Young in 2002. From one perspective, should a player who only accumulated 2.6 bWAR in seven years be on this list?

Probably not, but the stats aren't the only metric used on this list. It was looking bleak towards the last couple years, with Zito even being left off of the 2010 playoff roster. However, two games in the 2012 playoffs changed everything.

Down 3-1 to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLCS, Zito pitched 7.2 innings of shutout ball, keeping San Francisco alive. Then, in the first game of the World Series, Zito only allowed one run in 5.2 innings.

Even though his contract is likely the worst in franchise history, because of two starts, Zito is now a beloved figure in the Bay Area.

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Logan Webb (No. 29)

Maybe not surprising that the Giants ace is on the list already, but the Northern California native being this high is a bit of a shock.

In his fifth full season in the big leagues, Webb is already a two-time All-Star and has finished Top 10 in Cy Young voting twice, after leading the league in innings and posting a 5.6 bWAR. The 28-year-old has led the lead the NL in innings the last two seasons, and appears to be on his way to repeating that feat.

Webb is a homegrown player who has become the ace of the team and will be for the foreseeable future. His inclusion on this list is warranted, however he is ahead of both Jason Schmidt and Mike Krukow.

In Schmidt's case, the right hander accumulated 22.7 bWAR in six seasons, including three All-Star stints, two top five Cy Young finishes and pitched in the World Series. Krukow, still one of the voices of the team, had just one season of dominance in a Giants uniform in 1986. However, he ended his career in San Francisco and is still a massive part of the franchise.

Webb, though, is still ascending and is very much worthy of making this list.

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Travis Ishikawa (No. 22)

Ishikawa is the biggest shock on this list. Not just that he is here, but that he is this high. The former left-handed hitter will forever be remembered for his legendary walk off home run in the 2014 NLCS to send the Giants to the World Series.

It's one of the most iconic home runs in franchise history, and it will always belong to Ishikawa.

Ishikawa played parts of six seasons with San Francisco, being nearly a full time player in 2009-2010 and was a below league average hitter. Ater 2010, he didn't play for the Giants until he signed as a free agent in 2014.

In 334 games with San Francisco, Ishikawa hit 17 homers, had a 94 OPS+ and 1.5 bWAR. His Giants career doesn't warrant his inclusion on this list given the stat sheet. The homer itself is iconic, but does that mean he deserves to be here?

Giants' legends such as Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Willie McCovey are also on the list, but that isn't surprising. These three, however, might be.

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