The Giants Encyclopedia (1999) [+]
Jan 08 2024
The Giants Encyclopedia (1999, 2003) is a big 500+ page hardcover book covering the history of the San Francisco Giants from founding in New York to the present (1999 season for first edition and I saw that there is a 2003 edition that goes to 2002).
Chapters
Through the Years - Year by year history. Season record, placement, manager, and attendance. Half to a couple of pages describing the season. A lot of it seems like box score statistics (baseball is great in that you can have a scorecard that pretty much describes what happened during a game) and season statistics written out in narrative form though a lot also seems to be from newspaper sources and historical records.
Owners and Executives - Biographies of owners, general managers, and some long-time employees.
Prominent Managers
Players Roll Call - A big section with lots of significant players. I think as long as they had at least a couple of significant seasons with the Giants they are included so you do get players that were good for a few years but better with other teams.
Famous Broadcasters
World Series Stories - Each World Series written up narratively with statistics if available (early WS's only have box scores, later also have player game statistics.
Playoff Pictures - Sort of the same as World Series chapter but since baseball playoffs are more recent this is a shorter chapter than you'd think.
No Hitters - Each no-hitter game gets a story section.
Ballparks and Stadiums
Bibliography
Appendices - 150+ pages of lists and statistics including career Giants statistics for many (all?) players.
Overall this is a great resource for San Francisco Giants fans who want to know the history. Writing style is readable and the content is interesting.
Chapters
Through the Years - Year by year history. Season record, placement, manager, and attendance. Half to a couple of pages describing the season. A lot of it seems like box score statistics (baseball is great in that you can have a scorecard that pretty much describes what happened during a game) and season statistics written out in narrative form though a lot also seems to be from newspaper sources and historical records.
Owners and Executives - Biographies of owners, general managers, and some long-time employees.
Prominent Managers
Players Roll Call - A big section with lots of significant players. I think as long as they had at least a couple of significant seasons with the Giants they are included so you do get players that were good for a few years but better with other teams.
Famous Broadcasters
World Series Stories - Each World Series written up narratively with statistics if available (early WS's only have box scores, later also have player game statistics.
Playoff Pictures - Sort of the same as World Series chapter but since baseball playoffs are more recent this is a shorter chapter than you'd think.
No Hitters - Each no-hitter game gets a story section.
Ballparks and Stadiums
Bibliography
Appendices - 150+ pages of lists and statistics including career Giants statistics for many (all?) players.
Overall this is a great resource for San Francisco Giants fans who want to know the history. Writing style is readable and the content is interesting.