Gary Crawford San Francisco: Brandon Crawford San Francisco Giants

Is this the Giants’ best-ever infield? A comparison

By Kevin Lynch on February 24, 2016 at 11:41 AM

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Otto Greule Jr / Getty Images

IMAGE 1 OF 8 | GIANTS INFIELD THEN VS. NOW

First base: Will Clark vs. Brandon Belt — William Nuschler Clark, aka The Thrill, saw his production ebb by the early 1990s. In 1993, Clark’s last year as a Giant, he hit .283 with 14 home runs and for the second straight year, 73 RBIs, in an injury marred season (132 games). He was known for his lofty fly balls to the warning track. Clark was only 29 at the time, but he never replicated his early success as a Giant. The next season he departed for Texas.

Chronicle baseball writer John Shea mused recently that the Giants’ 2016 infield could remind many of the team’s 1993 foursome. If all goes well, the Giants will open 2016 with an all-homegrown infield. And the last time that happened as Shea pointed out? 1993.

Back then, it was Will Clark 1b, Robby Thompson 2b, Royce Clayton SS, and Matt Williams 3B. So how does that crowd compare to the projected 2016 infield of Brandon Belt 1b, Joe Panik 2b, Brandon Crawford SS, and 3b Matt Duffy?

The 1993 four was older, more highly decorated, and more potent at the plate. Both groups are comparable in terms of defense. Barry Bonds was in the first year of his Giants career in 1993 and, not surprisingly with such a powerful lineup, the Giants sent baseballs careening all over Candlestick Park.

The team won 103 games, giving them the ignominious distinction of being the only team in the divisional playoff era to win over 100 games and not win the National League West. That crown went to the Braves, a team that won 104 games.

Off the field, ’93 was momentous for the Giants as they staved off a move to the Florida Suncoast Dome after Major League Baseball rejected an offer by then-owner Bob Lurie to uproot the team. That’s when savior Peter Magowan and a group of investors rode in to save the Giants, which eventually assured the team a new ballpark and recent World Series riches.

In order for the Giants to fulfill their even-year World Series title mandate, the infield needs to approach what the 1993 group accomplished. While the 2016 Giants will likely rely on pitching to fuel their success, their infield will be essential for a championship assault.

If the comparison is extended to include catcher, a vast gap exists between Buster Posey and the scrappy Kurt Manwaring. But just keeping it to the infield four, which would you rather have – the potential of the 2016 version, or the 1993 infield?

Twitter: @klynch49