|
There was something poetic about the way the Giants lost their first three World Series in San Francisco. That poetry is still part of the team’s history, but the futility it represented ended with yesterday’s victory. There is no banner to raise for frustration, and you can ask any Cubs fan if you don’t believe me. It’s been over a hundred years for them.
In 1962, when I was 13 and the Giants were only four years gone from New York, they tied the Dodgers for first place at the end of the season and won a three-game playoff series before meeting the Yankees in the World Series. The seventh and deciding game was played at Candlestick Park, and the Yankees led 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth, but the Giants had the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Willie McCovey hit a scorching line drive that should have driven in both runs and given the Giants the championship, but it was caught by a leaping Bobby Richardson for the last out.
That was the Giants’ last time in the World Series until 1989, when they won the league pennant with a powerful team of charismatic stars. Big hitters. But they couldn’t solve the Athletics’ pitching staff and lost the first two games in Oakland. There was an electric feeling in the stands at Candlestick before game three was scheduled to start. I know, because I was there. And then the earthquake hit. Ten days later, the Series resumed, and the Giants went quietly.
In 2002, the Giants were famously five outs away from a sixth game victory that would have given them the Series. They had a 5-0 lead in that game, but the Angels came back to win that game and game seven. This wasn’t only the most recent time the Giants lost the World Series, but it was the most frustrating. That team also had some great hitters, including Barry Bonds at the peak of his power surge. He dominated the postseason that year, but it wasn’t enough. |
