The Giants and Their City - by Lincoln A Mitchell (Paperback)

About the Book

"The San Francisco Giants have been one of the most successful franchises in baseball in the 21st century, as evidenced by the three World Series championship flags flying in the breeze over Oracle Park-one of the most beautiful baseball venues in the world. However, the team was not always so successful on or off the field. The Giants and Their City tells the story of a Giants franchise that had no recognizable stars, was last in the league in attendance, and had more than one foot out the door on the way to Toronto when a local businessman and a brand-new mayor found a way to keep the team in San Francisco. Over the next 17 years, the team had some very good years but more than a few terrible ones, all while trying to make a home in a city with a unique and confounding political culture. The Giants and Their City tells the story of the team's struggles to win ballgames, find its way back to the playoffs, and also to stay in San Francisco when, at times, it wasn't clear the city wanted them. Lincoln A. Mitchell tells us a baseball story about beloved Giants players-like Vida Blue, Willie McCovey, Kevin Mitchell, and Robby Thompson-and includes interviews with Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Dianne Feinstein, John Montefusco, Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Krukow, Dave Dravecky, and Bob Lurie, among others. He describes important events in Giants history, such as the Mike Ivie grand slam, the Joe Morgan home run, the 1987 playoffs, the 1989 team, the Dave Dravecky game, and the earthquake World Series. A uniquely San Francisco story, The Giants and Their City also demonstrates how sports teams and cities often have very complex relationships"--

Book Synopsis

Searching for a home and a homerun-an overlooked era of Giants and San Francisco history

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the most successful franchises in baseball in the twenty-first century as evidenced by the three World Series Championship flags flying in the breeze over Oracle Park, one of the most beautiful baseball venues in the world. However, the team was not always so successful on or off the field. The Giants and Their City tells the story of a Giants franchise that had no recognizable stars, was last in the league in attendance, and had more than one foot out the door on the way to Toronto when a local businessman and a brand new mayor found a way to keep the team in San Francisco. Over the next 17 years, the team had some very good years, but more than few terrible ones, while trying to find a home in a city with a unique and confounding political culture.

The Giants and Their City relates how the team struggles to win ballgames, find its way back to the playoffs, but also to stay in San Francisco when, at times, it wasn't clear the city wanted them. This book is a baseball story about beloved Giants players like Vida Blue, Willie McCovey, Kevin Mitchell, and Robby Thompson, and includes interviews with Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Dianne Feinstein, John Montefusco, Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Krukow, Dave Dravecky and Bob Lurie among others. The book features descriptions of important events in Giants history like the Mike Ivie grand slam, the Joe Morgan home run, the 1987 playoffs, the 1989 team, the Dave Dravecky game and the earthquake World Series. It's also a uniquely San Francisco story that shows how sports teams and cities often have very complex relationships.

From the Back Cover

Searching for a home and a homerun--an overlooked era of Giants and San Francisco history

The San Francisco Giants have been one of the most successful franchises in baseball in the twenty-first century as evidenced by the three World Series Championship flags flying in the breeze over Oracle Park, one of the most beautiful baseball venues in the world. However, the team was not always so successful on or off the field. The Giants and Their City tells the story of a Giants franchise that had no recognizable stars, was last in the league in attendance, and had more than one foot out the door on the way to Toronto when a local businessman and a brand new mayor found a way to keep the team in San Francisco. Over the next 17 years, the team had some very good years, but more than few terrible ones, while trying to find a home in a city with a unique and confounding political culture.

The Giants and Their City relates how the team struggles to win ballgames, find its way back to the playoffs, but also to stay in San Francisco when, at times, it wasn't clear the city wanted them. This book is a baseball story about beloved Giants players like Vida Blue, Willie McCovey, Kevin Mitchell, and Robby Thompson, and includes interviews with Art Agnos, Frank Jordan, Dianne Feinstein, John Montefusco, Will Clark, Kevin Mitchell, Mike Krukow, Dave Dravecky and Bob Lurie among others. The book features descriptions of important events in Giants history like the Mike Ivie grand slam, the Joe Morgan home run, the 1987 playoffs, the 1989 team, the Dave Dravecky game and the earthquake World Series. It's also a uniquely San Francisco story that shows how sports teams and cities often have very complex relationships.

Review Quotes

"The Giants and Their City is a fun book to read. It is about the San Francisco Giants and San Francisco, the city. It is also about something more than that. By looking at the team and one team owner, Bob Lurie, the author, Lincoln Mitchell, explains how baseball has changed over the years. This book should be read by anybody who loves baseball; especially SF Giants fans!! They'll learn a lot about MLB, the Giants, and my pal, Bob Lurie." --Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants 1951-1952, 1954-1972

"Mitchell captures both the ups and downs of the Giants on the field but also the history of how the Giants found a way to stay in this unbelievable city." --Will Clark, San Francisco Giants 1986-1993

"Lincoln Mitchell tells a compelling and dramatic story about how Bob Lurie, then the owner of the San Francisco Giants, first saved baseball for the Bay Area in 1976, then somehow, remarkably, managed to dodge all the difficulties that faced the club, the sport, as well as the city over the ensuing 16-plus years to keep it there. Bob was clearly one of the most constructive and important voices in Major League Baseball during that period." --Allan H. "Bud" Selig, commissioner emeritus, Major League Baseball

"Twenty years into their marriage, the city of San Francisco and its Major League Baseball team, the Giants, hit a rough patch that lasted a quarter of a century. The city and the team were like entwined but exasperated lovers, clinging to each other one minute and slamming doors the next. Lincoln Mitchell, a native son and gifted storyteller, weaves a tale of power, politics, fandom, money, and a cast of characters that saved, sold, and saved this storied franchise. It's about a team that came THIS close to leaving and a city that wouldn't let it go." --Joan Ryan, author of Intangibles: Unlocking the Science and Soul of Team Chemistry

This book is a great read for fans and baseball scholars, most especially for Giants fans. As this book makes abundantly clear, a "home" for the Giants was never clear after leaving New York, and the era beginning in the 1970s was an era that "made it possible for that home to be San Francisco.". Even for non-Giants fans, the book is a great reminder of the common spirit shared among baseball enthusiasts. --Nine: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture

About the Author

Lincoln A. Mitchell is a native San Franciscan and Giants fan since the mid-1970s. He is an adjunct research scholar at Columbia University's Arnold A. Salesman Institute of War and Peace Studies and the author of five books, most recently San Francisco Year Zero: Political Upheaval, Punk Rock, and a Third-Place Baseball Team.