2021 San Francisco Giants

2021 San Francisco Giants / Franchise: San Francisco Giants / BR Team Page

Record: 107-55, Finished 1st in NL Western Division (2021 NL)

Clinched Division: October 3, 2021, vs. San Diego Padres

Managed by Gabe Kapler

Coaches: Craig Albernaz, Andrew Bailey, Kai Correa, Donnie Ecker, Mark Hallberg, Dustin Lind, J.P. Martinez, Alyssa Nakken, Nick Ortiz, Antoan Richardson, Justin Viele and Ron Wotus

Ballpark: Oracle Park

Season Highlights

The 2021 San Francisco Giants achieved the unthinkable when they finished the month of April in first place in the NL West with a record of 16-10, one half-game ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Everyone had predicted that the division race would go down as an epic fight between the Dodgers and the San Diego Padres, two teams that had loaded for bear in the off-season, and when the Dodgers started off 13-2, it looked like they would run away leaving everyone else in their dust. However, the Dodgers soon stumbled, and the Giants, who had played steadily well from the start, began to pull closer and eventually passed them on April 30th. The question was whether they could keep this up.

Keep it up they did, even though the Dodgers put up a spirited run while the Padres disappointed. On September 13th, they were the team in the major leagues to clinch a spot in the postseason with a 9-1 win over San Diego. However, they were still not assured of a division title, as the Dodgers were still close and could still conceivably nip them at the finish. What was certain was that one of these two exceptional teams would be forced to play in the Wild Card Game - and then to face the other one if they won that game. The Giants did not back up into the playoffs: their win of September 13th was their 8th straight, and during that stretch they had outscored their opponents, 71-27. They had been the first team to reach 90 wins that season, and were at 94-50, 2 1/2 games in front of Los Angeles at that point. In the end it took until the final day of the regular season, October 3rd, but the Giants did win the division title, finishing ahead of the Dodgers with a franchise record 107 wins (against 55 losses).

Awards and Honors

• All-Star: Brandon Crawford, Kevin Gausman and Buster Posey
• NL Comeback Player of the Year Award: Buster Posey
• NL Gold Glove: Brandon Crawford (SS)
• NL Silver Slugger Award: Buster Posey (C)
• NL Manager of the Year: Gabe Kapler

Further Reading

• 2022 San Francisco Giants Media Guide, pg. 519
• Maria Guardado: "Giants first to punch postseason ticket", mlb.com, September 14, 2021. [1]
• Maria Guardado: "How they got here: Deep Giants beat odds", mlb.com, September 14, 2021. [2]
• Maria Guardado: "'Pretty amazing' Giants claim NL West crown", mlb.com, October 3, 2021. [3]
• Sarah Langs: "Can the surprising Giants keep this up?", mlb.com, July 4, 2021. [4]
• Mike Petriello: "How 2021's most shocking contender did it: San Francisco is 2nd-biggest overperformer of last 15 years", mlb.com, July 26, 2021. [5]
• Manny Randhawa: "Here's why Giants' HR pace is unprecedented", mlb.com, August 20, 2021. [6]

2021 MLB season by team