Offseason

• December 30, 1970: Ron Hunt
  Ron Hunt
  Ronald Kenneth Hunt is a former Major League Baseball player. A second baseman who also played third base sparingly, Hunt played for the New York Mets , Los Angeles Dodgers , San Francisco Giants , Montreal Expos and St...
  
   was traded by the Giants to the Montreal Expos
  Washington Nationals
  The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...
  
   for Dave McDonald
  Dave McDonald
  David Bruce McDonald is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. McDonald attended school at the University of Nebraska and was signed by the New York Yankees in . He played with the Yankees in and with the Montreal Expos in .-External links:*...
  
  .

Regular season

The Giants battled their arch rival, the Los Angeles Dodgers

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...

, throughout the season for the NL West Division lead. The Giants led by 8.5 games on September 1. In mid September the Dodgers won 8 in a row, including 5 over the Giants to narrow the gap to one game. On the final day of the season, rookie Dave Kingman

Dave Kingman

David Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. The towering 6' 6" Kingman was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s...

 homered, leading the Giants to a win over the San Diego Padres

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

 to take the division crown, allowing Juan Marichal

Juan Marichal

Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Playing for the San Francisco Giants most of his career, Marichal was known for his high leg kick, pinpoint control and intimidation tactics, which included aiming pitches directly at the opposing batters'...

, Willie Mays

Willie Mays

Willie Howard Mays, Jr. is a retired American professional baseball player who played the majority of his major league career with the New York and San Francisco Giants before finishing with the New York Mets. Nicknamed The Say Hey Kid, Mays was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979, his...

, and Willie McCovey

Willie McCovey

Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...

 to play in the post season for the last time together.

Notable transactions

• May 29, 1971: George Foster was traded by the Giants to the Cincinnati Reds
  Cincinnati Reds
  The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
  
   for Frank Duffy and Vern Geishert
  Vern Geishert
  Vernon William Geishert is a retired American professional baseball player. A , right-handed pitcher, he appeared in 11 Major League Baseball games for the California Angels in ....
  
  .
• June 1, 1971: Bob Heise
  Bob Heise
  Robert Lowell Heise is a former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Mets , San Francisco Giants , Milwaukee Brewers , St. Louis Cardinals , California Angels , Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals...
  
   was traded by the Giants to the Milwaukee Brewers
  Milwaukee Brewers
  The Milwaukee Brewers are a professional baseball team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently playing in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
  
   for Floyd Wicker
  Floyd Wicker
  Floyd Euliss Wicker is a retired American professional baseball outfielder. Wicker attended East Carolina University; he batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood and weighed ....
  
  .
• June 8, 1971: 1971 Major League Baseball Draft
  1971 Major League Baseball Draft
  -First round selections:The following are the first round picks in the 1971 Major League Baseball draft.* Did not sign- Background :The June 1971 draft was a productive one, even though none of its top ten choices yielded players who would have memorable major league careers...
  
  
  • Frank Riccelli
    Frank Riccelli
    Frank Joseph Riccelli is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, for the San Francisco Giants, and and for the Houston Astros. He later pitched in the Senior Professional Baseball Association.-Sources:...
    
     was drafted by the Giants in the 1st round (18th pick).
  • Willie Prall
    Willie Prall
    Wilfred Anthony Prall is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Prall was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the third round of the 1971 Major League Baseball Draft, then was traded to the Chicago Cubs in in exchange for catcher Ken Rudolph...
    
     was drafted by the Giants in the 3rd round.

Roster

1971 San Francisco Giants
Roster
Pitchers		Catchers Infielders		Outfielders		Manager Coaches

Player stats

= Indicates team leader

Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs scored; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases

Pos	Player	G	AB	R	H	Avg.	HR	RBI	SB
C		142	453	58	114	.252	19	72	1
1B		105	329	45	91	.277	18	70	0
2B		152	630	63	172	.273	4	52	12
3B		136	429	47	119	.277	5	57	2
SS		157	601	74	141	.235	8	46	4
LF		141	504	80	133	.264	15	65	18
CF		136	417	82	113	.271	18	61	23
RF		155	619	110	178	.288	33	102	26

Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
	36	105	28	.267	3	8
	47	93	26	.280	2	11
	35	73	13	.178	1	5
	21	28	5	.179	0	2
	41	115	24	.278	6	24
	9	21	3	.143	0	1
	7	13	3	.231	0	2
	13	11	0	.000	0	0

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	37	280	16	12	2.76	158
	37	279	18	11	2.94	159
	27	140	7	10	3.79	79
	24	110.2	5	9	4.16	63

Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
	45	185	9	6	2.92	65
	22	80.1	5	3	4.03	41
	23	61	2	2	4.57	32

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	ERA	SO
	67	12	9	18	2.97	85
	39	2	2	4	3.02	38
	17	1	1	0	3.57	16

National League Championship Series

The Pittsburgh Pirates win the series, 3-1, over the Giants.

Game	Score	Date	Location	Attendance
1	Pittsburgh - 4, San Francisco - 5	October 2	Candlestick Park	40,977
2	Pittsburgh - 9, San Francisco - 4	October 3	Candlestick Park	42,562
3	San Francisco - 1, Pittsburgh - 2	October 5	Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...	38,322
4	San Francisco - 5, Pittsburgh - 9	October 6	Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium Three Rivers Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1970 to 2000. It was home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's Major League Baseball franchise and National Football League franchise respectively.Built as a replacement to...	35,487

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Great Falls