San Francisco Giants History and Information
In sharp contrast to the New York years, the Giants' fortunes in San Francisco have been mixed. Though recently the club has enjoyed relatively sustained success, there have also been prolonged stretches of mediocrity, along with two instances when the club's ownership threatened to move it out of San Francisco. Most disappointingly for the large fan base that they have maintained ever since their arrival in the city, the Giants have as yet failed to win a World Series title for San Francisco.After a brief sojourn in Seals Stadium, the Giants moved to Candlestick Park (sometimes known simply as "The Stick"), a stadium built on a point in San Francisco's southeast corner overlooking San Francisco Bay. The new stadium quickly gained a reputation for being one of the most inhospitable in baseball, with swirling winds and cold temperatures making for a torturous experience; the radiant heating system installed never worked. Candlestick Park's reputation was sealed during the 1961 All-Star Game, when gusts of wind blew pitcher Stu Miller off the mound. The Giants no longer play at Candlestick Park, which has been renamed Monster Park and remains the home of the San Francisco 49ers football team.The Giants may never have won a World Series since moving to San Francisco, but they have been close, playing in three of them. In 1962, they lost by 4 games to 3 to the New York Yankees, losing the final game in the bottom of the ninth, 1-0, in a pitchers' duel. With Matty Alou on first base and two outs, Willie Mays sliced a double down the right field line. Rightfielder Roger Maris, whose 61 home run season in 1961 has historically overshadowed his great defensive work, quickly got to the ball and rifled a throw to the infield, preventing Alou from scoring the tying run.All Willie McCovey needed was a single. He hit a screaming line drive that was snared by second baseman Bobby Richardson, bringing the Series to a sudden end. Earlier in the inning, a failed bunt by Felipe Alou had ultimately resulted in Matty not scoring on Mays' double, which started a lifelong dedication to fundamentals on Felipe's part. In addition, to rub salt in the wound, Richardson was not originally positioned to catch the drive, he only moved there (three steps to the left) in reaction to a foul smash by McCovey on the previous pitch.Giants fan Charles Schulz made a rare reference to the real world in one of his Peanuts strips soon afterward. In the first two panels, Charlie Brown and Linus are sitting on a porch step, looking glum. In the last panel, Charlie cries to the heavens, "Why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just three feet higher?" Some weeks later, same scene. This time, Charlie cires, "Or why couldn't McCovey have hit the ball just two feet higher?"
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