Joe Posnanski completed his exhaustive, encyclopedic list of the 100 greatest baseball players of all time on Monday, and the Giants find themselves very well represented. In addition to 15 players on the list having worn their uniform at one point, two of the top five players, and the top player, were long-time Giants.
That 15 number does come with a not so slight caveat, however. Six of the players — Carlos Beltran, Gary Carter, Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn, Randy Johnson and Rogers Hornsby — played a single season or fewer for the San Francisco/New York Giants. Carlton was around for just six games. Joe Morgan was on the Giants for just two seasons towards the end of his career.
The remaining eight contributed to the Giants franchise in a more significant way. Seven have had their numbers retired. Johnny Mize is the odd man out on the list, spending four and a half years of his war-shortened prime with the club in the mid-40s.
Here’s the list with links to Posanski’s corresponding write-ups. We highly recommend you read those when you get the chance:
No. 98 Carlos Beltran
No. 86, Gary Carter
No. 76, Willie McCovey
No. 69, Monte Irvin
No. 68, Gaylord Perry
No. 64, Johnny Mize
No. 63, Steve Carlton
No. 49, Warren Spahn
No. 36, Christy Mathewson
No. 32, Mel Ott
No. 28, Randy Johnson
No. 21, Joe Morgan
No. 17, Rogers Hornsby
No. 3, Barry Bonds
No. 1, Willie Mays
