For months, the all-time single-season franchise record for home runs has been in the Giants’ sights. And for weeks, a new record has felt inevitable.
With Brandon Belt’s towering first-inning slam and his three-run go-ahead blast in the fifth, the 2021 San Francisco Giants have hit home runs No. 235 and 236 to become the most powerful lineup in franchise history.
The Mayses and McCoveys, Bondses and Kents, Pences and Sandovals, Clarks and Williamses have ceded their places in the record books to this 2021 homer-by-committee club.
“I think just getting contributions from the entire team,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said after SF’s series-opening 7-2 win in Denver. “All the position players, from Captain Belt leading the way and all our bench guys have shown some pop. A lot of times in big situations.”
With a week left, the Giants can only add to their historic home run total. But here’s how they broke the record:
(statistics accurate as of Belt’s second slam)
Career years
Up and down the lineup, from the wiley veterans to the upstart younger contributors, Giants hitters have smacked more home runs than ever.
Eleven Giants have set or matched career-highs in home runs this season. The list: Brandon Belt (29), Mike Yastrzemski (25), Brandon Crawford (22), Wilmer Flores (18), LaMonte Wade Jr. (18), Darin Ruf (15), Alex Dickerson (13), Austin Slater (11), Steven Duggar (8), Donovan Solano (7), and Thairo Estrada (7).
That’s nearly the entire lineup. It’s been a convergence of individual apexes adding up to a franchise best.
Double-digit club
Ten Giants have hit at least 10 homers, and three — Belt, Crawford and Buster Posey — have exceeded 20. It’s far from the days of Bonds accounting for a massive bite of the home run pie chart.
No one over 30
The egalitarian band of bash brothers is unprecedented. No MLB team has ever hit at least 240 home runs in a season without a single player eclipsing 30. Belt, at 29, will likely get there in the next week but until then, this team’s balance is unmatched.
Off the bench
Austin Slater said pinch hitting is one of the hardest things to do in sports (manager Gabe Kapler agrees). Coming off the bench cold, without seeing game action for hours, makes it difficult for hitters to establish timing. Better technology, data and pitch-simulating machines have made it easier than when Kapler played, but it’s still an art.
But SF has made it look easy. The Giants have hit 17 pinch homers, matching the all-time record set by the 2016 St. Louis Cardinals. Slater, who tied the record against the Padres, and Dickerson have each hit three home runs off the bench, tied for the most on the club. In the National League, pinch-hitting power is especially an advantage.
Clutch with a Capital C
A season with so many home runs for a historically successful team will naturally include some big ones, but these Giants have shown a special propensity for late-game drama.
In plate appearances in the seventh inning or later with the Giants tied, ahead by one or the tying run at least on deck, San Francisco has smacked 33 home runs.
Mike Yastrzemski leads the way with five in such situations. Wilmer Flores has four, and three in the ninth inning.
Even at a disadvantage…
The Giants have blasted 93 of their 236 home runs in two-strike counts. That’s nearly the same as their count when hitters are ahead (96). Even when a pitcher thinks he has the Giants on the ropes, he really doesn’t.
Game-changers
Go-ahead slams have been their thing. The Giants have hit 188 homers in either tie games or down one run, including both of Belt’s on Saturday.
Every team should fear hitters like Late-Night LaMonte, Donnie Barrels and The Captain in high leverage spots.
“The one thing that stands out to me is so many of the home runs have been meaningful game-changers,” Kapler said on Sept. 24. “I can’t help but think about the ones that changed scores dramatically, tied ballgames for us, won ballgames for us.”
In bunches
The Giants have hit at least four home runs in a single game 17 times in 2021, most in MLB. In the series-opener against the Rockies, SF hit four, accounting for six of its seven runs.
Setting the tone
The Giants are 72-14 (.837) when scoring the first run of the game — best in MLB.
The Giants have hit seven home runs to leadoff games, and 39 in the first inning overall. Tommy La Stella’s career-high three as the leadoff man have gotten SF started right out of the gates.
No dependency
The Giants are 18-20 in games they don’t leave the ballpark. While that record doesn’t jump off the page, it shows that SF can compete even without going yard.
Hitters haven’t sacrificed on-base percentage for power, instead exercising plate discipline to work pitchers deep in counts and put good swings on good pitches. The Giants are tied for fifth in MLB in on-base percentage (.329).
They have a lineup full of professional hitters who follow the game plans.
“I think the coolest thing about it is, you’ll have (teams that will) hit home runs but strike out a bunch,” pitcher Alex Wood said. “They can’t get any other type of hits. That’s why our plate discipline, pairing that with the slug and the home runs and the power that our guys are giving us on a daily basis, is really unique.”
