The San Francisco Giants perfectly sum up their season with historic record

The San Francisco Giants have set a National League record that is a perfect summary of what has been a weird rollercoaster of a 2019 season.

The San Francisco Giants were supposed to be predictable in 2019. After all, this was a team that few expected to compete or even sniff the playoff race.

It simply seemed like another year of below-average play was in order as the Giants looked to rid themselves of the old guard and move into a new era. That new era would be captained by Farhan Zaidi who entered the season as the team’s new president of baseball operations.

Zaidi brought with him a change in ideology not seen by the Giants in quite some time. Gone were the old-school minds of Bobby Evans and Brian Sabean and in stepped the analytical, new-school brain of Zaidi.

The younger Zaidi brought with him a sense of unpredictability — one that would contrast with the Giants’ usual run-of-the-mill play in recent years. And that unpredictability allowed the Giants organization to become, well, unpredictable.

After an expected slow start to the season, the Giants bats exploded in July just ahead of the trade deadline. San Francisco would finish the month with a 19-6 record securing a .760 winning percentage — among the best in the MLB.

Their success would force Zaidi and the Giants front office into making a difficult decision — one that no one thought they would have had to make just one month prior.

Do they sell their assets as planned or look to buy and compete for the playoffs?

Of course, the emotional aspect was at play here. This season was and still is manager Bruce Bochy‘s final season before he retires. And many fans couldn’t bear to see Giants legend Madison Bumgarner dealt at the deadline — especially after the month that the team had just had.

Hope was still alive. There was optimism not seen by this organization in years. This was the unpredictability — perhaps spurred on by Zaidi or perhaps simply a product of a gritty, resilient group of players.

The Giants decided to compete making a win-now trade while also setting themselves up nicely for the future. They traded for second baseman Scooter Gennett to sure up the second base position but still made moves to sell some of their more desirable pieces for prospects.

While Gennett’s time in San Francisco would be short, perhaps the trade that looks the best in hindsight in the move that sent Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black to the Milwaukee Brewers for middle infielder Mauricio Dubon.

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Dubon looks like a key cog in the lineup going forward while the Giants were lucky to receive anything in return for the package of Pomeranz and Black — let alone a top-five prospect in the Brewers organization.

Nonetheless, this was unpredictable. Bumgarner remaining with the Giants past July was unpredictable. As was the emergence of players like Alex Dickerson and Mike Yastrzemski.

This unpredictability wouldn’t be for naught, however. Sure, the Giants would eventually fall out of playoff contention leaving any sense of optimism for the season in the past. Before August was over, July felt like a distant memory.

That said, that unpredictability would turn historic for San Francisco. The Giants would set a National League record by deploying 64 different players throughout the entirety of the season.

We’re burying the lede a little here but it’s important just to see that level of unpredictability at work.

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64 players is a staggering number — one that ranks second all-time tied with the 2014 Texas Rangers. Somehow, the Seattle Mariners managed to field a whopping 67 players this season to set the MLB record.

Barring any sudden changes, it’s unlikely the Giants reach that figure.

For this to occur, the Giants need to have fielded a number of incredibly obscure players this season. We’re talking claiming Aaron Altherr off waivers only for him to strike out in his only plate appearance.

Or how about the four-game experiment that was Michael Reed? And if we’re talking experiments who could forget the infamous Connor Joe experiment? Heck, even the ambidextrous god himself, Pat Venditte, pitched in two games back in May.

Yes, it’s been a season of unpredictability for the San Francisco Giants — one that few saw coming. And if the Farhan Zaidi era brings this level of unpredictability next year, then we’re in for a fun season.

Here’s to the Giants breaking their record in 2020.