10 Most Significant Pitches in San Francisco Giants History

The San Francisco Giants came west in 1958, bringing with them the history associated with a franchise that has been around since the late 1800s.  There have been many significant moments surrounding the Giants over the years, and this slideshow will focus on the most significant single pitches thrown by a Giants hurler since they moved to San Francisco.

Jason Schmidt: June 6, 2006

Jason Schmidt came over to the Giants in one of Brian Sabean’s better trade deadline deals and immediately dominated hitters.  On June 6, 2006, Schmidt took his dominance to a whole new level against the Florida Marlins at AT&T Park.

Schmidt threw a fantastic game but was in jeopardy of squandering his performance as he stood on the mound in the top of the ninth with runners on second and third, no one out and the Giants leading 2-1.  Schmidt commenced to strike out the next three batters to seal the win, but the significance of those three strikeouts went beyond the win.

When Schmidt threw the 3-2 pitch to the Marlin's Jeremy Hermida, and Hermida swung and missed, Schmidt recorded his 16th strikeout of the game.  The strikeout tied him with Christy Mathewson for the most strikeouts in Giants franchise history with 16.  The record had been Mathewson's alone for 102 years as Mathewson accomplished this feat on October 3, 1904.

Tim Lincecum: May 6, 2007

It was a foregone conclusion from the moment he was drafted: Tim Lincecum would be dominating in MLB sooner rather than later.  The manner in which he cruised through his brief minor league stop did nothing but solidify that notion.

Tim Lincecum was summoned to San Francisco in early May of 2007 when fifth starter Russ Ortiz went on the disabled list, and the rest is history.

On May 6, 2007 at AT&T Park against the Philadelphia Phillies on National TV, Tim Lincecum took the mound in the big leagues for the first time.  After he threw a 97 mph fastball that was taken for a strike by Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins, a brand new era in Giants history was ushered in.

Lincecum would make some mistakes in that game, a game the Giants would eventually lose and he would take a no-decision in.  He learned from those mistakes as we all know and has been an elite pitcher in MLB ever since.

Juan Marichal: June 15, 1963

Juan Marichal is a legend and a Hall of Famer.  On June 15, 1963 he was better than he had ever been or would ever be again.

Marichal was dominating the Houston Astros at Candlestick Park in a tight game the Giants would eventually win 1-0.  When Juan Marichal threw the pitch that would be taken by Brock Davis for a looking strike three, he had thrown the only no-hitter of his career and the first for the Giants since moving to San Francisco. 

It was in fact the first no-hitter for a Giants pitcher since Carl Hubbell threw one on May 8, 1929 against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gaylord Perry: September 17, 1968

Gaylord Perry is yet another Hall of Fame pitcher to take the mound for the San Francisco Giants.  He was famous of course for his spit ball, among other things, and on September 17, 1968, he threw a pitch that aligned him with some of baseball's all-time greats.

Perry was pitching at Candlestick Park against the St Louis Cardinals and was locked into a tight battle that the Giants would eventually win 1-0.  Perry struck out Curt Flood looking to end the game and complete the second no-hitter in San Francisco Giants history.

Ed Halicki: August 24, 1975

Ed Halicki is certainly the least accomplished pitcher on this list so far, but on August 24, 1975, he put himself in the record books along with some of the game's all-time greats.

Halicki was pitching against the Mets that day in the second game of a doubleheader at Candlestick Park.  The Giants would win the game handily 6-0.  Halicki finished off his no-hitter that day by throwing a pitch to the Mets' Wayne Garrett, which he grounded to first baseman Willie Montanez who stepped on first to record the 27th out of the game.

Ed Halicki had thrown a no-hitter!

John Montefusco: September 29, 1976

John Montefusco was in his sophomore season in 1976 following up on his Rookie of the Year campaign the season before.  Montefusco took the mound for his final start of the year on September 29, 1976 in Atlanta in front of 1,369 fans.

The final pitch "The Count" threw that day resulted in a lazy fly ball hit by Atlanta's Jerry Royster to right fielder Bobby Murcer.  When the ball settled in Murcer's glove, Montefusco had thrown a no-hitter. 

Royster had walked earlier in the game, and that was what stood between Montefusco's no-hitter and a perfect game.

Jonathan Sanchez: July 10, 2009

Of the five starting pitchers on the Giants staff in 2009, the least likely to throw a no-hitter would have been Jonathan Sanchez.  Sanchez routinely battled wildness in his starts and had never thrown a complete game.  High pitch counts due to walks usually ended his night by the sixth inning. 

On July 10, 2009, he put it all together.

Sanchez was pitching against the San Diego Padres at AT&T Park and was cruising right along.  The Giants would win the game 8-0, but the drama was provided by Sanchez.  He actually carried a perfect game into the eighth inning but an error by third baseman Juan Uribe allowed the only runner of the game to reach.

In the top of the ninth, Sanchez gave up a long drive to center field that was somehow caught against the wall by Aaron Rowand, recording the second out and preserving the no-hitter.  One batter later, Sanchez threw one of his signature curve balls that San Diego's Everth Cabrera took for a called strike three, and Sanchez had thrown the first no-hitter for the Giants in 33 years.

Brian Wilson: October 23, 2010

Brian Wilson gave Giants fans more than their share of torturous situations in 2010, and this night was no different.

With the Giants clinging to a one-run lead and the National League Pennant on the line, Wilson took the mound in front of a raucous sellout crowd in Philadelphia.  Wilson found himself facing the feared Ryan Howard with two men on, two outs and a full count.  Wilson dug deep and threw a perfect slider that froze Howard and was called strike three.

That pitch catapulted the Giants into the World Series for the first time in eight seasons.

Ruben Gomez: April 15, 1958

Ruben Gomez threw the first official pitch for the Giants franchise as San Francisco Giants.  Amid fanfare and excitement, Gomez toed the rubber on April 15, 1958 at Seals Stadium in San Francisco.  His pitch was fouled off by the Dodgers' Gino Cimoli, and Major League Baseball was born in San Francisco.

Brian Wilson: November 1, 2010

Many Giants fans never believed that they would live to see what happened when Brian Wilson threw this pitch on November 1, 2010.

The Giants were leading 3-1 after Edgar Renteria had put them ahead with a three-run home run off Cliff Lee a couple of innings earlier.  The bearded closer, who had a reputation for living on the edge, left that reputation at the door on this night.

When he threw the pitch that Nelson Cruz swung at and missed, the Giants had won the first World Series in San Francisco Giants history and so many demons were exorcised. 

For my money, this was the most significant pitch in San Francisco Giants history.