San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants are one of the most storied teams in baseball. Founded in 1879 as the New York Giants, the team has won five World Series Championships and twenty National League Pennants. Based in San Francisco since 1958, the team plays in the Western Division of the National League.

At a San Francisco Giants Game

The Giants -- the New York Giants -- were one of the first baseball franchises. Established in 1879 as rivals to the American Leagues' New York "Metropolitans" (today’s Mets), the early Giants players included some of the game's most fabled players, such as Casey Stengel, Jim Thorpe, Christy Mathewson, and later, Willie Mays. The New York Giants won five World Series Championships and seventeen National League Pennants before moving to San Francisco in 1958.

The San Francisco Giants have performed reasonably well over the years, winning three National League pennants, six Western Division titles, and one Wild Card berth, but have never matched the team's early grandeur.

The San Francisco Giants broke one of baseball's racial barriers in 1981 when the team signed Frank Robinson as their manager. Robinson's four years as manager were not stellar, but he paved the way for many an African-American manager.

Most recently, the San Francisco Giants are best known as the home of Barry Bonds. Signed by the Giants in 1992, this son of baseball all-star Bobby Bonds (and godson of Willie Mays) is considered by many to be one of the sports all-time best players. He’s hit more home runs than all but Hank Aaron and holds eight Golden Glove (defensive) awards, the most ever for a third baseman. Bonds greatness is not without controversy. He has been widely accused of enhancing his performance with steroids and other drugs banned by major league baseball. The outcome of this controversy remains to be seen.

The San Francisco Giant's logo is a giant baseball with a script "Giants" written across it. The team colors are black, orange, gold, and cream. As with most teams, they play in light-colored uniforms at home and dark-colored ones when they are away.

The team's mascot is "Lou Seal", a large gray seal. The name, a play on "Lucille", honors the San Francisco Seals, the legendary Pacific Coast League (PCL) team which played at several venues in San Francisco until 1957, as well as Lou Brinson, a longtime Giants equipment manager who was killed in a Spring Training traffic accident in the 1970s. The Seals' last venue was Seals Stadium where the Giants played their first two seasons. Lou Seal appears at all home games.

The Giants have sent fifty players to the Baseball Hall of Fame, more than any other major league franchise. Most of these hall-of-famers, however, come from the New York days. Among the Giants inductees are:

• Casey Stengel
• Willie Mays
• Gaylord Perry
• Cristy Mathewson
• Roger Hornsby
• Mel Ott

The Giants play in downtown San Francisco in AT&T Park, their tenth home since the franchise was created. The modern field, located in the "South of Market" (SOMA) district, replaced Candlestick Field, a sometimes windy field located on the edge of San Francisco Bay. AT&T Park, which sports a life-size statue of Willie Mays, is easily accessible from all over the Bay Aea, via BART trains and busses.

Tours of the field are offered every day at 10 am and 12:30 pm, except on game days, and feature the press box, the practice field, luxury suite, bull pen, and home and visitors clubhouses.

Tickets for home games run from affordable bleacher seats to not-so-affordable, but with a great view of the field, infield club level seats. Facilities at the park including ATM machines, a wide variety of concessions, a full-service restaurant, and several team shops.

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