ESPN came out with a poll naming the all-time team for each squad. For 
the Giants and Dodgers they excluded their New York past and named a 
team from the California past and present. 
 
First off, I disagree with this premise because it is unfairly excluding the 
past. A team is great because of what it has done in the past and in the 
present. Tradition is important in every sport, but more so in baseball 
because it is America's oldest sport and tradition dictates the rules of 
the game. For my all-time Giants Team, here it is:
 
C - Walker Cooper - Longevity, clutch hitter, and a home run king. The 
man could hit and throw with the best of them. But if Santiago has a 
couple of more years left in him, he could replace Cooper. 
 
1B - Bill Terry/Willie McCovey - This is a tough one so I'll decide to 
platoon these two Hall of Famers. Terry was the superstar for the NY 
Giants throughout the 30's and he was the last National League 
Ballplayer to hit over .400. As for "Stretch," he holds the S.F. Giant 
record for most homers and he was the rock at first base for many years 
for the SF Giants. For those who believe Will Clark should have been 
picked, while Clark was a great clutch hitter, he was not a hall of fame 
ballplayer like these two guys.
 
2B - Jeff Kent - He's a damn hick but the man can play baseball. Went 
on a unprecendented tear in his six seasons with the Giants. The only 
Giant middle infielder to win the MVP during the 20th Century.
 
SS - Rich Aurilia - The one slugging shortstop with above average 
defense the Giants franchise has ever had. 
 
3B - Matt Williams - Misfortune plagued this great all-star, if it wasn't 
for the strike in 1994, he had a great shot at breaking Maris's record. 
 
RF - Mel Ott - What else can you say about the man other than he 
hit 511 homers, and his number is retired.
 
CF - Willie Mays - Who else would anyone pick? He's the greatest 
Giant of all time.
 
LF - Barry Bonds - Here's the man who can possibly take away Mays's 
claim of being the greatest Giant of all time. He's an incredible ballplayer 
who's vastly underappreciated. The guy is in the top 10 of the greatest 
baseball players of all time. 
 
SP1 - Christy Mathewson - He was the first superstar. The guy had one 
hell of a record as a pitcher, over 300 wins, 2,000 plus strikeouts, and a 
clutch pitcher. Additionally, a true patriot, fought in WWI.
 
SP 2 - Juan Marichal - The greatest pitcher of his time, for sheer 
longevity although Koufax was near perfect but only pitched for 5 years. 
The man is the greatest Domincan ballplayer. 
 
SP 3 - Carl Hubbell - A hall of famer who invented the screwball. His 
nickname was the Meal Ticket because the Giants rode him to wins 
throughout the 30's. In the 1932 All Star Game, Hubbell struck out Ruth, 
Gehrig, Foxx all in their prime. 
 
SP 4 - Gaylord Perry - Everyone knew he was throwing a spitter but still 
no one could catch him. Another hall of fame pitcher for the Giants. 
 
RP - Robb Nen - The typical fearsome closer who makes it exciting when 
trying to nail down those final 3 outs. Proved he had balls when pitching 
with a bum shoulder during the second half of the 2002 season. 
 
Manager - John McGraw - With all due respect to Dusty and Leo 
Durocher, here's the man who managed the most World Series Champion
ballclubs for the Giants. If the Giants would have won last year, then I 
would have picked Dusty.

        

- June 11, 2003 

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