It’s been 60 years since the Giants franchise moved to San Francisco. To celebrate this milestone, KNBR put together a poll, Teams of the Decades, to let you decide the best players at each position in each decade.
Fans can select one position player, three outfielders, and eight pitchers from each decade, starting from the 1960s all the way through the 2010s. Voting ends on January 5 and the results will be announced in the guides handed out at KNBR-Giants FanFest on Saturday, February 10 at AT&T Park.
While making an appearance on Murph & Mac Tuesday morning, former Giant and now broadcaster Mike Krukow, who was at one point the leader in voting for the 1980s team, shared how he’d vote for the top Giants players of the 1980s:
Catcher: “Bob Brenly was the best guy I ever threw to.”
First base: Will Clark; who in his first four years in the Major Leagues from 1986-1989 was in the running for Rookie of the Year, MVP three times, and was a two-time All-Star with a combined .304 batting average.
Second base: Instead of picking his broadcasting partner and former teammate Duane Kuiper, Krukow picked Robby Thompson, who wore the Giants uniform for 11 years.
Third base: One year after Clark’s rookie season, Matt Williams debuted in 1987 and went on to become a four-time All-Star with 247 home runs in 10 years with the Giants.
Shortstop: “That’s a tough one. I’m going with [Jose] Uribe.”
Outfield: “That’s hard. I’m going to go with Kevin Mitchell, Chili Davis, and Jeff Leonard.”
Pitching: After the painstaking process of having to narrow 20 choices down to eight, Krukow made his decision on the top Giants pitchers from the 1980s.
“I’d put Don Robinson,” Krukow said. Robinson spent five of his 15 seasons in the Major Leagues with the Giants, where he went 42-33 with a 3.56 ERA.
“I think Rick Reuschel never really got his true applause,” Krukow said. “He was so good.”
“[Scott Garrelts] was amazing,” Krukow said. “That’s some of the best stuff I ever saw.” He spent 10 years with the Giants, his best season coming in 1989 when he went 14-5 and led the National League with a 2.28 ERA.
“That threesome when I first saw the Giants in 1982, they had Al Holland, Garry Levelle, and [closing pitcher] Greg Minton,” Krukow said. “They were lethal. They were unbelievable.” The trio went 27-14 from the bullpen with a combined 2.61 ERA. While Lavelle registered eight saves and Holland five, Minton was tied for third in the Major Leagues with 30.
When it came down to his final choice, Krukow ran into trouble.
“There are four guys who are right there, who are great pitchers and great competitors,” Krukow said. “And they’re friends. [Bill] Laskey and [Atlee] Hammaker, they were the nicest guys I ever played with. [Mike] LaCoss was good for the Giants. Vida [Blue] was fantastic.”
In the end, he picked Dave Dravecky, whose final start in the Major Leagues was cut short when a cancerous tumor weakened his left arm to the point where it broke after pitching six innings against the Montreal Expos in mid-August 1989. “If it wasn’t for what he did in 1989,” Krukow said. “The Giants don’t get to the World Series.”
To listen to the full interview check out the podcast below, and skip to 9:00 for Krukow on the Teams of the Decades poll.