The San Francisco Giants recent history has been one of failure after failure. It came with one bright spot, however, and that was the 2021 season. That season, they won 107 games, which was truly a shock all around MLB. This year, they’re becoming a threat in the NL West, and winning series after series. Still, the Giants of 2023 hardly stand up to a comparison with the Giants of 2021. At least not yet. The final word on the subject will come in October. But for now, their current performance is only a faint image of two years ago.
Still, there are lessons that can be learned from a comparison. The Giants fell short at the moment when it mattered in their playoff series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Now, they’re looking at another chance to win a championship. In a sense, this year projects to be a second chance of 2021.
Giants’ Comparison Between 2021 and 2023
A Subtle Similarity
At first, it may seem like there is not much of a comparison that can be drawn. For one thing, the Giants are without players such as Kevin Gausman, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Evan Longoria. Veteran resurgence was key. But every era in baseball has its end. Posey’s retirement seemed a bit premature but the rest departed by more natural means. Maybe they should have re-signed Gausman in the 2021-22 offseason, but that is a different discussion.
So we can’t say that the Giants overall strategy to win is the same. As previously mentioned, there is an end to every era in baseball. The Giants had to transition from one era to the next. By the way, it shouldn’t be taken for granted that this didn’t involve another four-year playoff drought. This year started like it might just be that way. Now, a failure to at least make the playoffs would be a tragedy indeed.
The 2023 San Francisco Giants pic.twitter.com/u7YkSM9KtX
— KNBR (@KNBR) June 21, 2023
But it’s important to remember the most significant thing about 2021. Not many expected the Giants to be contenders. The division race was supposed to be a close battle between the Dodgers and San Diego Padres alone. And yet the Giants blew everybody’s mind with an unprecedented level of success.
The previous pessimism must have been aggravated to the point of exasperation after they dropped their opener to the Seattle Mariners after blowing a five-run lead. It is a small comparison with the bad April of 2023, but it still gives you a sense of the same feeling. The point is that the 2021 Giants did not allow themselves to stay in the dust, and neither are the current Giants. If their recent sweep of the Dodgers was wonderful, their respective series wins against the Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks tell us it’s time to have a party.
Optimism Existed in Both Years From Deep Thinkers
The Giants hopes seemed dashed for a while after their complete failure to do what they intended in the offseason. But thanks to the analytical thinkers, we got a different perspective. Dan Szymborski reported favorable ZiPS projections. He was honest about the deficiencies. But he still projected the Giants as having a good chance.
Now, we see that the Giants have a chance to go far beyond what most fans thought they would do. True, the Dodgers helped them a bit by having an unusually realistic year. But they came back against reasonably improbable odds.
2021 is the high-point in the Giants’ recent history. Think back to spring training. The short answer would have been that they’d probably be rebuilding. Which fans could be expected to keep their jets cool about it? It was one of the last years in which they’d be able to see the traditional veteran players they loved so well.
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The excitement of 2020, too, no doubt rung fresh in everybody’s mind. The Giants had fallen from a playoff spot by one game. Who could be okay with going back to “normal” rebuilding life?
In all of this, though, many did not give up hope. Several media outlets placed emphasis on the Giants’ rotation. And it turned out to be the key, along with offensive performance and home runs.
Where to Go From There
In a very real sense, we’re seeing something incredibly similar in the Giants’ 2023 season that we did in 2021. Sometimes, you have to think deeply to get the full picture. This comparison should give a positive image of all of that. 2021 started with a Wild Card spot being the best outcome that one could hope for. But the Giants kept cruising. They didn’t make it to the World Series that year. But things aren’t over. If they keep on doing what they’re doing in 2023, it may be that the best is yet to come.
Photo Credit- Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports
Players Mentioned- Kevin Gausman, Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, Evan Longoria
