From 1957 through 1965, the Springfield Giants were the Single-A and Double-A baseball team affiliate of the New York/San Francisco Giants in the Eastern League. The team played at Pynchon Park in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Springfield Giants won three consecutive championships in 1959, 1960 (co-champs) and 1961 under manager Andy Gilbert, all leading the way to San Francisco's National League pennant in 1962.
Some Springfield Giants players with Major League experience include:
Moisés Rojas-Alou Beltré is a Dominican-American former outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for 17 seasons in the National League. In 1,942 career games, Alou had a batting average of .303 with 2,134 hits, 421 doubles, 332 home runs, and 1,287 runs batted in.
Felipe Rojas Alou is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the major leagues, he is the most prominent member of one of the sport's most notable families of the late 20th century: he was the oldest of the trio of baseball-playing brothers that included Matty and Jesús, who were both primarily outfielders, and his son Moisés was also primarily an outfielder; all but Jesús have been named All-Stars at least twice. His son Luis, in turn, managed the New York Mets.
Jesús María Rojas Alou was a Dominican professional baseball outfielder. During a 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he played for the San Francisco Giants (1963–68), the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics (1973–74), and the New York Mets (1975). He was the youngest of a trio of baseball-playing brothers that included Felipe and Matty.
Mateo "Matty" Rojas Alou was a Dominican professional baseball player and manager. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1974. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) with the Taiheiyo Club Lions from 1974 through 1976. Alou was a two-time All-Star and the 1966 National League batting champion.
The 1962 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1962 season. The 59th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the defending American League (AL) and World Series champion New York Yankees against the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants. The Yankees won the series in seven games for the 20th championship in team history. It is best remembered for its dramatic conclusion in Game 7; with runners on second and third base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Giants’ Willie McCovey hit a hard line drive that was caught by Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson to preserve New York's one-run victory. Yankees pitcher Ralph Terry was named the World Series Most Valuable Player.
Brian R. Sabean, nicknamed "Sabes", is a baseball executive for the New York Yankees. He serves as executive advisor to the general manager and senior vice president Brian Cashman. Before coming to the Yankees, he was the executive vice president of baseball operations of the San Francisco Giants. He served as the team's general manager for eighteen seasons, from 1997 to 2014. He succeeded general manager Bob Quinn. The Giants had a winning record in thirteen of the eighteen seasons in which Sabean served as general manager. Prior to his tenure, the team had suffered losing seasons in five out of six years. He is a native of Concord, New Hampshire.
Charles Stoneham "Chub" Feeney was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. Feeney was vice president of the San Francisco Giants, president of the National League (NL), and president of the San Diego Padres during a 40-plus year career in professional baseball. He narrowly missed being elected Commissioner of Baseball in 1969.
The 1962 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 80th year in Major League Baseball, their fifth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their third at Candlestick Park. The team finished in first place in the National League with a record of 103 wins and 62 losses. They finished the season tied with their arch-rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, for first place in the league, necessitating a three-game tiebreaker playoff to determine the pennant winner. The Giants won two of the three games to take their first National League title since moving to San Francisco, making the Giants the first NL Champions of the 162-game schedule era. They went on to the 1962 World Series, where they lost in seven games to the New York Yankees. The Giants had 1,552 hits in the regular season, the most in the club's San Francisco era.
The 1958 San Francisco Giants season was the franchise's first season in San Francisco, California and 76th season overall. The Giants' home ballpark was Seals Stadium. The team had a record of 80–74 finishing in third place in the National League standings, twelve games behind the NL Champion Milwaukee Braves.
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 1961 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 79th year in Major League Baseball, their fourth season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 2nd season at Candlestick Park. The team finished in third place in the National League with an 85 wins and 69 losses record, eight games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds. The Giants were managed by Alvin Dark. As of 2021, this remains the only Giants season in franchise history in which two players each hit 40 or more home runs.
The 1963 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 81st year in Major League Baseball, their sixth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their fourth at Candlestick Park. The team finished in third place in the National League with an 88–74 record, 11 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 1966 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 84th year in Major League Baseball, their ninth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their seventh at Candlestick Park. The Giants finished second in the National League with a record of 93 wins and 68 losses, a game-and-a-half behind their arch-rivals, the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
The 1967 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 85th year in Major League Baseball, their tenth year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their eighth at Candlestick Park. The team finished in second place in the National League with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses, 10½ games behind the NL and World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1968 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 86th year in Major League Baseball, their 11th year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their ninth at Candlestick Park. The team finished in second place in the National League with an 88–74 record, 9 games behind the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants' opponents scored 529 runs against them, the fewest in franchise history for a 162-game season. The Giants shut out the opposition 20 times, a record for the club's era in San Francisco.
The 1969 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 87th season in Major League Baseball, their 12th season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their tenth at Candlestick Park. The team finished second in the newly established National League West Division with a record of 90–72, 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves, their fifth consecutive season of finishing second. The Giants set a Major League record which still stands for the most double plays grounded into by a team in a single game, with 7 against the Houston Astros on May 4.
The 2005 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 123rd year in Major League Baseball, their 48th year in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their sixth at SBC Park. The team finished in third place in the National League West with a 75–87 record, 7 games behind the San Diego Padres.
The Rojas family, more commonly known in English-speaking America by their matronym, Alou, is a prominent Major League Baseball family from the Dominican Republic. The family name in the Dominican Republic is the paternal family name of Rojas, but Felipe Alou and his brothers became known by the name Alou when the Giants' scout who signed Felipe mistakenly thought his matronym (Alou) was his surname. The Rojas Alou brothers' maternal grandfather, Mateu Alou, was an immigrant from Felanitx, Spain, who immigrated to the Dominican Republic in 1898. In 1963, while all playing for the San Francisco Giants, Felipe, Matty and Jesus became the first all brother outfield in the Major Leagues.
The 1962 National League tie-breaker series was a three-game 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.