San Francisco Giants

The New York Giants were one of baseball's founding franchises, joining the National League in 1883 and quickly becoming the sport's most prestigious club under manager John McGraw, who led the team from 1902 to 1932. McGraw's Giants won five World Series titles and ten pennants, and the Polo Grounds became one of baseball's most famous venues.

The franchise produced a parade of legends: Christy Mathewson, the gentleman pitcher who won 373 games; Bill Terry, the last NL player to hit .400 (1930); Mel Ott, whose 511 home runs were a NL record for decades. But the greatest Giant arrived in 1951 when Willie Mays was called up from the minors.

Bobby Thomson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" - a walk-off home run against the Dodgers in the 1951 playoff - is one of baseball's most famous moments and capped one of the sport's greatest comebacks, as the Giants erased a 13.5-game deficit. The 1954 Giants won the World Series, with Mays's over-the-shoulder catch of Vic Wertz's deep drive - simply known as "The Catch" - becoming one of the most iconic images in sports.

Mays was a transcendent talent - arguably the greatest all-around player in baseball history. His combination of power, speed, defense, and pure joy on the field made him a national treasure. When the franchise moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, Mays went with it, bridging the franchise's two identities.

The Giants arrived in San Francisco for the 1958 season and played at Candlestick Park, a wind-swept venue by the bay that would become both beloved and reviled. Mays, Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and Orlando Cepeda formed a nucleus that made the Giants one of the NL's best teams in the 1960s. The 1962 team reached the World Series, losing to the Yankees in seven games when McCovey lined out sharply to end Game 7.

The franchise experienced long stretches without postseason appearances - 27 years between the 1962 and 1989 World Series. The 1989 Fall Classic against the crosstown A's was famously interrupted by the Loma Prieta earthquake before the A's completed a sweep. Barry Bonds arrived via free agency in 1993 and transformed the franchise into a perennial contender, winning four consecutive NL MVP awards from 2001 to 2004.

Bonds's pursuit of the all-time home run record was the franchise's most compelling drama of the late 1990s and 2000s. His 73-home run season in 2001 shattered Mark McGwire's record, and he eventually surpassed Hank Aaron's career record with his 756th home run in 2007, though his achievements were clouded by steroid allegations.