San Francisco Giants Top Ten: A Dominican Dandy and Cha Cha lead the way
By Tab Bamford
The Dominican Dandy and the Baby Bull immediately come to mind when one thinks about the Latino legacy of the Giants franchise. The two Hall of Famers were the product of the Giants’ scouting of Latin America in the early days of racial integration. In fact, the Giants were the first major league franchise to build a talent pipeline in the Dominican Republic, hiring former Negro League team owner Alejandro “Alex” Pompez as their Latin American scout and eventual director of international scouting.
The Giants roster of the 1950s and 1960s featured Latino players acquired through Pompez’s scouting. In addition to their ace pitcher Juan Marichal came Felipe Alou and his brothers Jesús and Mateo (“Matty), among others, from the Dominican Republic. Joining Orlando Cepeda from Puerto Rico on the Giants would be Rubén Gómez. José Págan, and Valmy Thomas. The Giants also reaped benefits from Cuba with José Cardenal and Rigoberto “Tito” Fuentes the key contributors.
How have the Giants maintained their Latino legacy? Do any of the current Giants make their Latino Top 10? To figure out the franchise’s Latino Top 10, we kept it simple by using WAR (as calculated by Baseball-Reference.com) as our metric of choice. And while this is one measure of the impact of these players, you might have your own opinion as to who deserves to higher (or lower) on that team’s Top 10
Anyone missing? Surprised some are higher or lower than expected? Let us know.
NY / San Francisco Giants
1. Juan Marichal
14 years in San Francisco, 62.5 WAR, 10-time All-Star
Dominican Republic
One of the most dominant pitchers of the 1960s, Marichal’s stat sheet makes his Hall of Fame status undeniable. Indeed, by today’s standards some of his statistics are nearly unthinkable. He started 446 games for the Giants and completed 244 (55 percent) of those games. Marichal struck out 2,281 batters in 3,443.2 innings and won 238 games, which stood as the all-time record for a Dominican-born pitcher until Bartolo Colon recently surpassed the mark.
2. Orlando Cepeda
Nine years in San Francisco, 30.4 WAR, six-time All-Star, 1958 NL Rookie of the Year
Puerto Rico
“The Baby Bull” also made it onto our top ten for the Cardinals, but the legend began in San Francisco. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1958 when he led the league with 38 doubles and drove in 96 runs. He appeared in his first of six consecutive All-Star Games the following year when he first hit the 100 RBI plateau. His best season in San Francisco came in 1961 when he led the league with career highs in home runs (46) and RBI (142); he finished that season the runner-up to Cincinnati’s Frank Robinson for the Most Valuable Player Award. Cepeda hit 226 home runs, drove in 767 and scored 652 runs in 1,114 games with the Giants.
3. Darrell Evans
Eight years in San Francisco, 21.5 WAR, one All-Star Game
Mexico / US
Evans appears on two of our top ten lists so far (Tigers and Giants). And while he is remembered for his postseason heroics in Detroit and the terrific start of his career in Atlanta, Evans appeared in more games as a member of the Giants than either of the other two. In 1,094 games, Evans collected 952 hits, scored 534 times and drove in 525 runs with 142 home runs.
4. Pablo Sandoval
Nine years in San Francisco, 20.4 WAR, two-time All-Star, three-time World Series champion
Venezuela
The Panda has been one of the more beloved Giants of the last ten years, with his postseason heroics going down as some of the most clutch hitting in postseason history. His legacy-defining performance came in Game One of the 2012 World Series, when he clubbed three home runs against the Tigers. The only active member of the Giants to make our list, he represented San Francisco at the All-Star Game in 2011 and 2012.
5. Felipe Alou
Six years in San Francisco, 17.2 WAR, one All-Star
Dominican Republic
Alou played six seasons with the Giants before being traded to the Milwaukee Braves. He batted .286 as a Giant. His lone All-Star selection came in 1962 when he batted .316 hit 25 home runs and drove in 98 runs. Made history on September 15, 1963, appearing alongside brothers Jesús and Mateo in the Giants outfield, the first time three brothers appeared in an outfield together during an MLB game.
6. Rubén Gómez
Six years with the Giants, 15.4 WAR, 1954 World Series champion
Puerto Rico
Gómez played the first five years of his career as a member of the New York Giants before making the move to California with the team before the 1958 season. In 1954 he posted a career-best 17-9 record with a 2.88 ERA and four shutouts as the Giants went all the way.
7. Johnny Cueto
Three years in San Francisco, 9.3 WAR, one All-Star Game
Dominican Republic
Cueto signed with the Giants in 2016 and made an immediate impact. He represented the Giants in the All-Star Game that summer and led the league with five complete games, the highest total of his career. He won 18 games as the Giants advanced to the postseason. Injuries have limited him over the last year and a half, and unfortunately may have ended his 2018 campaign early.
8. Russ Ortiz
Six years with in San Francisco, 9.2 WAR
US
Ortiz played the first five years of his career with the Giants from 1998-2002 before departing for Atlanta. Though he was drafted as a closer, he converted well to a starter and won at least 14 games over his first four full seasons as starter, including an 18-9 campaign in 1999. Ortiz struck out 739 in 973.2 innings pitched over 166 appearances for the Giants, winning 69 times.
9. José Uribe
Eight years in San Francisco, 8.9 WAR
Dominican Republic
Uribe’s best season came in 1986 when he set career highs in games played (157), RBI (43) and stolen bases (22). He appeared in 1,038 games for the Giants and slashed .241/.299/.316 with 98 doubles, 34 triples, 19 home runs and 299 runs scored.
10. Marvin Benard
Nine years in San Francisco, 8.6 WAR
Nicaragua
Benard, who works on the broadcast team with number ten on our list, spent his entire playing career with the Giants. He had three seasons of at least 20 stolen bases and set career highs in doubles (36), home runs (16) and RBI (64) in 1999. He scored 441 runs and stole 105 bases in 891 games in his major league career.
WHO DID WE MISS? WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE? TELL US IN THE COMMENTS!
Featured Image: Diamond Images