The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball franchise based in San Francisco, California. They moved to San Francisco from New York City in 1958. [1] They play in the National League West division. The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starter is an honor, which is often given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season, [2] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day. [3] Through 2016, the Giants have used 30 different Opening Day starting pitchers in their 58 seasons since moving to San Francisco. The 30 starters have a combined Opening Day record of 27 wins, 16 losses and 16 no decisions. [4] No decisions are only awarded to the starting pitcher if the game is won or lost after the starting pitcher has left the game. [5]
The first Opening Day game for the San Francisco Giants was played against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 15, 1958, at Seals Stadium, the Giants' first home ball park in San Francisco. [6] Rubén Gómez was the Giants' Opening Day starting pitcher that day, in a game the Giants lost 8–0. [6] That was the Giants' only Opening Day game at Seals Stadium. They also played in two other home parks in San Francisco: Candlestick Park from 1960 to 1999, and Oracle Park, previously called PacBell Park, SBC Park and AT&T Park, since 2000. [7] The Giants' Opening Day starting pitchers had a record of seven wins, three losses and seven no decisions at Candlestick Park and have a record of two wins, one loss and one no decision at AT&T Park. That gives the San Francisco Giants' Opening Day starting pitchers a total home record of 10 wins, 4 losses and 8 no decisions. Their record in Opening Day road games is 17 wins, 12 losses, and 8 no decisions. [4]
Juan Marichal holds the San Francisco Giants' record for most Opening Day starts, with 10. [4] Marichal had a record in Opening Day starts of six wins, two losses and two no decisions. Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner each made four Opening Day starts for the Giants, and John Montefusco, Mike Krukow, John Burkett and Liván Hernández each made three Opening Day starts. Sam Jones, Vida Blue, Rick Reuschel, Mark Gardner, Kirk Rueter, Jason Schmidt and Barry Zito have each made two Opening Day starts for the Giants. [4] [8] [9] Marichal has the most wins in Opening Day starts for San Francisco, with six. Reuschel and Burkett are the only pitchers to have won more than one Opening Day start for San Francisco without a loss. Both have records in Opening Day starts of two wins and no losses. Burkett also has a no decision. Zito has the worst record for San Francisco in Opening Day starts, with no wins and two losses. Zito and Marichal have the most losses in Opening Day starts, with two apiece. [4] The Giants have played in the World Series six times since moving to San Francisco, in 1962, 1989, 2002, 2010, 2012 and 2014, winning in 2010, 2012 and 2014. [10] Their Opening Day starting pitchers in those years were Juan Marichal in 1962, Rick Reuschel in 1989, Liván Hernández in 2002, Tim Lincecum in 2010 and 2012, and Madison Bumgarner in 2014. [4] The Giants' Opening Day starting pitchers won four of their six Opening Day starts in those seasons, with their only loss coming in 2012 and a no decision in 2014. [4]
Season | Each year is linked to an article about that particular Giants season. |
W | Win |
L | Loss |
ND (W) | No decision by starting pitcher; Giants won game |
ND (L) | No decision by starting pitcher; Giants lost game |
Location | Stadium in italics for home game |
Pitcher (#) | Number of appearances as Opening Day starter with the Giants |
* | Advanced to the post-season |
** | NL Champions |
† | World Series Champions |
Barry William Zito is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. His pitching repertoire consisted of a curveball, a four-seam fastball, a two-seam fastball, a circle changeup, and a cutter–slider.
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez, nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1975, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. Known for his high leg kick, variety of pitches, arm angles and deliveries, pinpoint control, and durability, Marichal won 18 games to help the Giants reach the 1962 World Series, and went on to earn 191 victories in the 1960s, the most of any major league pitcher. He won over 20 games six times, on each occasion posting an earned run average (ERA) below 2.50 and striking out more than 200 batters, and became the first right-hander since Bob Feller to win 25 games three times; his 26 wins in 1968 remain a franchise record.
Charles Joseph Hiller was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. In the 1962 World Series, he became the first National League player to hit a grand slam in a World Series.
Rickey Eugene Reuschel is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1972 to 1991, winning 214 games with a career 3.37 ERA. His nickname was "Big Daddy" because his speed belied his portly physique. He was known for his deceptive style of pitching, which kept hitters off balance by constantly varying the speeds of his pitches.
The Dodgers–Giants rivalry is regarded as one of the fiercest and longest-standing rivalries in American baseball, with some observers considering it the greatest sports rivalry of all time. It dates back to the late 19th century, when both clubs were based in New York City.
Matthew Thomas Cain is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the San Francisco Giants from 2005 to 2017. A two-time World Series champion and a three-time All-Star, he is widely regarded as a central figure of the Giants' success in the 2010s for his pitching and leadership.
Jonathan Omar Sánchez, nicknamed "the Kid" and "the Comeback Kid", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He is one of only three Puerto Rican players to throw a no-hitter game in MLB, the others being John Candelaria in 1976 and Juanchi Nieves in 1987. A left-handed starter, Sánchez's pitching repertoire consisted of a low-to-mid 90s mph fastball, a change-up, and a slurve in the 80s.
The 1989 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 107th season in Major League Baseball, their 32nd season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 30th at Candlestick Park. The Giants finished in first place in the National League West with a record of 92 wins and 70 losses. It was their second division title in three years. The Giants defeated the Chicago Cubs in five games in the NLCS. However, they were swept by their cross-Bay rivals, the Oakland Athletics, in an earthquake-marred World Series.
The 1987 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 105th season in Major League Baseball, their 30th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 28th at Candlestick Park. The Giants finished in first place in the National League West with a record of 90 wins and 72 losses. They lost the NLCS in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. It was their first playoff appearance since 1971.
The 1965 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 83rd year in Major League Baseball, their eighth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their sixth at Candlestick Park. The team finished in second place in the National League with a 95–67 record, 2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 2008 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 126th year in Major League Baseball, and their ninth at AT&T Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with a 72–90 record, 12 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. 2008 marks their 50th Anniversary in the Bay Area since moving from New York in 1958. It is also their first since 1992 without all-time home run champion Barry Bonds, who was not re-signed following the 2007 season. At the end of the season, Tim Lincecum was voted the 2008 National League Cy Young Award winner.
Madison Kyle Bumgarner, nicknamed "MadBum", is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. Previously, he pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (2009–19) and Arizona Diamondbacks (2020–23). Bumgarner has won three World Series championships and two Silver Slugger Awards. He has also been selected to four National League (NL) All-Star teams and has the most strikeouts in franchise history by a Giants left-handed pitcher.
The 1962 National League tie-breaker series was a best-of-three playoff series that extended Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 regular season to determine the winner of the National League (NL) pennant. The games were played from October 1 to 3, 1962, between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants. The Giants won the series, two games to one. The first game took place at Candlestick Park and the second and third were played at Dodger Stadium. The tie-breaker series was necessary after both teams finished the season with identical win–loss records of 101–61. The Dodgers won a coin flip late in the season, which gave them home field advantage. The series was broadcast nationally by NBC television, with Bob Wolff, George Kell, and Joe Garagiola announcing, and NBC Radio, with Al Helfer and George Kell announcing.
"San Francisco Giants Opening Day Starters and Results". Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2009-01-04.