San Francisco Giants: Picking Their All-Time Pitching Staff
If you ask most people who follow baseball today to tell you the first thought that comes to mind when you say the words "San Francisco Giants," they'd probably give you the same answer: pitching.
The Giants have made pitching their foundation and it's paid dividends. In 2010, San Francisco celebrated its first World Series championship since the franchise moved west in 1958 and that success was clearly the fruit borne by the best pitching staff in the game.
With the unparalleled strength of a staff that boasts of Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and potential Comeback Player of the Year Ryan Vogelsong, the Giants are primed to make a run into the playoffs where they will seek to defend their title.
We all know how dominant the current staff is, but what of the storied legacy of arms that came before today's hurlers by the Bay?
Let's explore this rich history by compiling the all-time San Francisco Giants pitching staff ...
Relief Pitchers: No. 6, Stu Miller
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Stu Miller was a dependable relief pitcher for the San Francisco Giants of the early 1960s. He pitched for the Giants from 1957 (the year before they moved from New York to San Francisco) to 1962.
He was a member of the 1962 National League Pennant-winning club that lost to the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.
Relief Pitchers: No. 5, Felix Rodriguez
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Felix Rodriguez was a middle reliever for the Giants from 1999 to 2004. He was an instrumental part of San Francisco's 2002 National League Championship team that lost to the Anaheim Angels in a seven-game fall classic.
During his tenure with the Giants, Rodriguez went 34-19 with a 3.06 ERA. He was as reliable as a relief man can be, and often served as the set-up man for then-Giants closer Robb Nen.
Relief Pitchers: No. 4, Rod Beck (Closer)
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Rod Beck left us too soon. Tragically, the great Giants closer from 1991-1997 died on June 23, 2007 at the age of 38.
While in San Francisco, Beck became one of the best closers in baseball, saving 199 games during his Giants career. As a Giant, Beck went 21-28 with a 2.97 ERA.
He is perhaps best remembered for his handlebar mustache, intimidating stare, and strikeout of Greg Vaughn of the San Diego Padres to clinch the National League Western Division title in 1997.
He will be missed.
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Relief Pitchers: No. 3, Sergio Romo
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Sergio Romo, on the all-time staff? Really?
Yes. And here's why:
In four seasons with San Francisco, Romo has put together an outstanding record of 16-6, with a phenomenal 2.63 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 147.1 innings pitched.
That's lights-out. And it doesn't hurt that he was a member of the best bullpen in baseball in 2010, one that helped the San Francisco Giants become world champions.
Relief Pitchers: No. 2, Robb Nen (Closer)
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Robb Nen succeeded Rod Beck as the Giants closer, and not only did San Francisco not skip a beat from the closer's role, Nen put up even better numbers than Beck.
Nen, a Giant from 1998-2003, posted a 2.43 ERA and recorded 206 saves in five seasons. He led the National League in saves with 45 in 2001.
A three-time all-star and member of the 2002 National League Championship club, Robb Nen is an easy choice for inclusion on the all-time pitching staff.
Relief Pitchers: No. 1, Brian Wilson (Closer)
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As much as one may be tempted to choose the greatest relievers in Giants history by the length of their facial hair, that can be left for another day.
Whether judging by length of beard or by the numbers, Brian Wilson is the number one relief pitcher in San Francisco Giants history.
While Wilson is only in his sixth big league season, he has already accomplished more than many on this list, especially under the pressures of the postseason.
In his young career thus far, Wilson has already accumulated 151 saves and a solid 3.17 ERA. He has 312 strikeouts in 290 innings pitched, and was voted a National League All-Star in 2009 and 2010.
Perhaps even more impressive than his stellar regular season numbers is his indomitable performance in the 2010 postseason. Wilson was utterly unhittable, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 16 punch-outs in 11.2 innings pitched.
He threw the final pitch of the 2010 season, and it fittingly resulted in a swinging strikeout to end the World Series.
Brian Wilson in an astonishingly short period of time has made his way up the rankings of greatest pitchers in San Francisco Giants history.
Starting Pitchers: No. 5, Rick Reuschel
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By the time he donned a Giants uniform, Rick Reuschel was already a seasoned veteran of the game, in the midst of his 14th big league campaign.
Reuschel was acquired by the Giants in mid-1987, and pitched extremely well for San Francisco until he retired in 1991. While with the Giants, he was voted a National League All-Star in 1989, and compiled a win-loss record of 44 and 30, with a 3.29 ERA. He finished an admirable career with 214 wins.
Reuschel was a member of some of the greatest teams in San Francisco Giants history, particularly the clubs from 1987-1989, with that last team winning the National League Pennant and being swept in the World Series by their cross bay rivals, the Oakland A's.
Starting Pitchers: No. 4, Jason Schmidt
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This is the only list on which you'd ever find Jason Schmidt as the fourth starter. (But keep in mind, we're talking all-time greats here, not your average rotation)
Schmidt reached his potential as a San Francisco Giant. After toiling with the Pittsburgh Pirates for six seasons, he was acquired by San Francisco at the trade deadline in 2001. He quickly became the finest starting pitcher the Giants had seen in decades.
Schmidt was a three-time National League All-Star while with San Francisco, and played a huge role in the Giants' 2002 playoff run, when they came up a game short of a world championship.
Starting Pitchers: No. 3, Gaylord Perry
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The man who is most famous - or infamous - for throwing the spitball is our third starter in the all-time greatest San Francisco Giants rotation.
In the end, after 22 big league seasons, Perry retired with 314 wins.
Starting Pitchers: No. 2, Tim Lincecum
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The Freak. The Franchise. Big Time Timmy Jim.
Whatever you choose to call him, he has managed to become not only the face of the contemporary San Francisco Giants, but has etched his name in the history books, both with the Giants and Major League Baseball, in just his first five big league seasons.
Tim Lincecum is just shy of his 27th birthday, and already he has collected two National League Cy Young awards and a World Series ring.
Lincecum is already a three-time National League All-Star and is likely to be appearing in his fourth All-Star game this July.
What Lincecum accomplished in the 2010 postseason was legendary. It began in his first career postseason start against the Atlanta Braves in Game 1 of the National League Division Series, in which he pitched a complete game shutout with a franchise postseason record 14 strikeouts.
It ended with a ten-strikeout masterpiece in Game 5 of the World Series, when Lincecum recorded the win in the deciding contest, giving San Francisco its first world championship.
Number 55 is just entering his prime, and will in all likelihood be at the top of this list when all is said and done.
Starting Pitchers: No.1, Juan Marichal
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It was July 2, 1963. With the Milwaukee Braves visiting the San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park, a pitching duel was on everyone's mind before the first pitch was thrown, as future Hall-of-Famers Warren Spahn and Juan Marichal were set to take the hill for their respective clubs.
A pitching duel is an understatement for what occured that night.
Both starters threw 15 scoreless frames before Willie Mays finally ended the ballgame with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 16th to give the Giants - and Juan Marichal - perhaps the most well-deserved victory ever earned by a starting pitcher.
Juan Marichal is not only one of the greatest pitchers in San Francisco Giants history, but he is one of the greatest in the history of the game.
The greatest pitcher in San Francisco Giants history was inducted into the Hall-of-Fame in Cooperstown in 1983.
The Future Is Now for the Giants
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While the Giants as a franchise have been blessed with great pitching history, perhaps the greatest staff San Francisco has ever assembled is on the field today.
If this list is compiled 20 years from now, it may very well be monopolized by the members of the current Giants' staff.
Tim Lincecum, Jonathan Sanchez, Matt Cain, and Madison Bumgarner are at once the future and the tremendous present for the pitching-rich Giants, following in the footsteps of true San Francisco greats in the art of pitching.
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