Ending of a 56-year curse: How the San Francisco Giants upset the world of Baseball

Here's one for you Baseball Fans,

It was their first championship in 56 years, and their first as a San Francisco team. And The San Francisco Giants won it as a team. Not a consortium of superstars, but a cohesive blend of rising stars and rejects from former World Champions Florida Marlins and the Tampa Bay Rays.

In five games, the Giants cruised past the high-powered Texas Rangers for the franchise’s first World Series title since moving out west from New York 52 years ago. Apart from the 4-2 loss in Game 3, the Giants controlled the entire series, defeating ace Cliff Lee twice. Lee had never lost in the postseason prior to this series and for a team that smacked the cover off the baseball against the Rays and the Yankees, the Giants’ pitching was too much for Texas to handle, as the self-described “group of misfits” was victorious.

The Giants became the first team since the 1966 Orioles to throw two shutouts in the World Series, giving them four for the postseason. Only two other teams, both legendary, ever threw that many in a postseason - The 1998 Yankees, winners of a record 125 games, and the 1905 Giants, the franchise's first championship team.

But not only did the Giants end their 56 year barren run, they also showed the world of Baseball that championships can be won by simply sticking to the basics. They did not have the big hits of 8-time Golden Glove winner Barry Bonds and did not spend insane amounts of money to poach talent from other Major League teams. Instead, they stuck to the one key principle which would please any Baseball purist. Good batters win games, good pitchers win championships.

The Giants' win was the payoff for years on an organizational emphasis on pitching. Not only drafting them in spades but also developing them with counter-culture ideas that run in sharp contrast to the training of other pitching prospects across the league. San Francisco has only one blanket rule for its minor leaguers - no more than 100 pitches in a game. The organization also puts a heavy emphasis on throwing fastballs, believing that young hurlers should add or refine secondary pitches later as they are needed to get major league hitters out. "One thing the Giants are great at is pretty much leaving you alone and working with what you have," Matt Cain says. "A lot of organizations might try to change guys right away. Not the Giants."

As they stand today, the Giants are different. Though they managed to beat Lee twice and C.J. Wilson once, their offense was at one point the reason why they seemed bound to fail. And this leaves the Giants in a unique position. They don’t need that 40 plus home run or 70-steal guy to spark their offense. With their pitching, they need a cohesive unit that can complement each pitcher’s talents properly and effectively. San Francisco is a well-put together team. They have dominant pitching and the mentality that any guy can come in and help this team win.

And as we all know, in order to win championships, one must first have the belief that they can do. That’s what the Giants have and will continue to develop on as the years go on by. The Yankees will still be the favourites for the title in 2011, but the Giants can spring yet another surprise if they can find a batting team to complement their young and impressive pitching rotation.

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