The 2000 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 118th season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

and their 43rd season in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

since their move from New York following the 1957 season. The Giants finished in first place in the

National League West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

with a record of 97 wins and 65 losses, which was the best record in the major leagues in 2000. They lost the

National League Division Series In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring ...

in four games to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

. The team played their first season in newly opened Pacific Bell Park. The Giants had 889

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(RBI), the most in franchise history, while their 925 runs scored is the most in the club's San Francisco era.

Offseason

* December 12, 1999: Bobby Estalella was traded by the Philadelphia Phillies to the San Francisco Giants for Chris Brock.

Regular season

Opening Day starters

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Transactions

*June 5, 2000:

Boof Bonser John Paul "Boof" Bonser (born October 14, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and Oakland Athletics. High school career Bonser attended Gib ...

was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 1st round (21st pick) of the 2000 amateur draft. Player signed July 3, 2000. *July 3, 2000: Jalal Leach was signed as a free agent with the San Francisco Giants.

Roster

Pacific Bell Park

* The opening series took place from April 11–13, 2000 against the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

(the same team the Giants faced in their final series at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 ...

), and the Giants were swept in three games. In the first game of that series, the Giants lost 6-5, highlighted by three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s from the Dodgers' Kevin Elster. * The most prominent feature of the ballpark is the right field wall, which is high in honor of former Giant

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (born May 6, 1931), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid" and "Buck", is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). Regarded as one of the greatest players ever, Mays ranks second behind only Babe Ruth on most all-tim ...

, who wore number 24. Because of the proximity to the

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water f ...

, the right field

foul pole A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

is only from home plate. The wall is made of brick, with fenced off archways opening to the Cove beyond, above which are several rows of arcade seating. The fence angles quickly away from home plate; right-center field extends out to from home plate. Atop the fence are four pillars with fountains atop. These four pillars will burst jets of water when a Giant hits a home run. * Lining the foul portion of the wall are rubber chickens, which are put up by fans whenever a Giants player (especially

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...

) is

intentionally walked In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by ''IBB'', is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the ...

. The fans do this to show that the opposing team is "chicken" for not pitching right to the Giants players. To some old-timers, the right field area vaguely suggests the layout at the

Polo Grounds The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built fo ...

. This deep corner of the ballpark has been dubbed "death valley" and "triples alley." Like its Polo Grounds counterpart, it is very difficult to hit a home run to this area, and a batted ball that finds its way into this corner often results in a triple. * Beyond right field is a section of the bay, dubbed McCovey Cove after famed Giants

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Willie McCovey, into which a number of home runs have been hit on the fly. As of September 17, 2007, 45 "Splash Hits" had been knocked into the Cove by Giants players since the park opened; 35 of those were by

. Opponents had hit the water on the fly 15 times;

Todd Hundley Todd Randolph Hundley (born May 27, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and outfielder. He was a two-time All-Star who played for 14 seasons with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. Early life Hundley was born i ...

of the

was the first visitor to do so on June 30, 2000. Luis Gonzalez of the

and

Cliff Floyd Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst who co-ho ...

of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

are the only visiting players to do so twice, while Carlos Delgado of the

has performed the feat three times. Across the cove from the ballpark is McCovey Point and China Basin Park, featuring monuments to past Giants legends.

Player stats

Batting

''Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Other batters

''Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in''

Starting pitchers

''Note: G = Games; IP = Innings pitched: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

Other pitchers

''Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

=Relief pitchers

= ''Note: G = Games: W = Wins: L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts''

National League Divisional Playoffs

San Francisco Giants vs. New York Mets

New York wins series, 3-1.

Award winners

* Ellis Burks, Outfield, Willie Mac Award

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or d ...

*Jeff Kent, Second Base, Starter *Barry Bonds elected to start but unable to play de to injury National League Most Valuable Player: Jeff Kent, Second Base

Farm system

Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'', 3rd edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America, 2007

References

External links

2000 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Reference

2000 San Francisco Giants team page at Baseball Almanac
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000 San Francisco Giants Season National League West champion seasons San Francisco Giants seasons San Francisco Giants Season, 2000 San Francisco Giants Season, 2000 2000 in San Francisco San Fran