Adversity strikes early in the season, as a fire destroys the Polo Grounds, forcing the Giants to play home games at Hilltop Park until June. But New York still captures the pennant and, in a rematch of the 1905 World Series, faces Philadelphia for the championship.
The "running" Giants, who established a league record with 347 stolen bases, perservered through the rebuilding of the Polo Grounds and posted 99 victories to capture the National League pennant. New York had to play its home games through early June at the park of the American League's New York Highlanders (later the Yankees) after the Polo Grounds burned to the ground in April.
However, New York's offense was limited to only four stolen bases in its six-game World Series defeat to the Philadelphia Athletics, even though the Giants donned menacing black uniforms like they had in their 1905 championship run.
1905 Series hero Christy Mathewson still anchored John McGraw's pitching staff, going 26-13 during the regular season. The Hall of Famer got New York off to a great start vs. Philadelphia in Game 1 of the Fall Classic, tossing a six-hitter in the 2-1 triumph.
The Athletics rebounded to take Games 2 and 3 with Frank "Home Run" Baker clubbing dramatic home runs in both outings.
Then the rains came. The World Series was put on hold for six days due to Mother Nature.
When the Fall Classic resumed exactly a week after Game 3 had been played, Mathewson was outdueled by Chief Bender in 4-2 decision that gave the Athletics a three-games-to-one advantage.
The Giants escaped the inevitable in Game 5 and scored a 4-3 triumph in 10 innings before getting clobbered 13-2 in the series' sixth and final game.
Following the dedication of the fully renovated Polo Grounds, the Giants roll to the second of three straight National League pennants. Even with a host of individual achievements, New York again falls to the American League in the World Series.
The Giants, bolstered by lefty Rube Marquard's modern Major League record 19-game winning streak, lived a storybook 1912 campaign. That's until the 10th inning of the final game of the World Series, when usually reliable center fielder Fred Snodgrass dropped a fly ball that opened the door for a two-run Boston rally that gave the Red Sox the title.
New York, which featured two 20-game winners in Marquard (26) and Christy Mathewson (23), posted 103 victories during the regular season and coasted to the pennant with a 10-game cushion. Larry Doyle was named the league MVP, while catcher Chief Meyers hit for the cycle and Josh Devore stole five bases in a single game.
Newcomer Jeff Tesreau, who won 17 games for the Giants and threw a no-hitter against the Phillies, got the nod in Game 1 but suffered a 4-3 defeat to the Red Sox.
Despite a seesaw contest that saw four lead changes, Game 2 was a wash as it was called due to darkness, thus making the 1912 World Series an eight-game affair.
The Giants evened the score in Game 3, posting a 2-1 victory behind Marquard before the Red Sox got the better of Tesreau again in the fourth contest, this time by a 3-1 count.
Trailing two games to one, the Giants posted 5-2 and 11-4 wins, respectively, in Games 6 and 7.
The Series came down to the 10th inning of the eighth and final game, as the Giants and Red Sox were deadlocked at 1 after nine innings. New York took a 2-1 lead in the top half of the 10th and then all hell broke loose. Boston pinch-hitter Clyde Engle opened the bottom half of the inning with a routine fly ball under which Snodgrass was camped and then dropped.
Boston eventually won the game on a sacrifice fly in the 10th and ruined New York's magical season.
Three 20-game winners lead the Giants to another NL title, but the New Yorkers again come up short in the Fall Classic. Christy Mathewson pitches a phenomenal 68 straight innings without walking a batter before issuing a free pass to the Cardinals' Ed Konetchy.
New York won its third straight National League flag but couldn't get over the hump in the World Series for the third consecutive year, falling four games to one to the Philadelphia Athletics.
After winning the pennant with a 12-game cushion, the Giants were beset by injuries during the Fall Classic. First baseman Fred Merkle was limited to 13 at-bats due to a bad leg. Center fielder Fred Snodgrass played in only two games and made three trips to the plate after suffering from a severe charley horse. Chief Meyers, the Giants' catcher, was shelved for the Series after suffering a fractured finger in practice preceeding Game 2.
The Athletics jumped out to a 1-0 series advantage after shelling Rube Marquard for five runs and eight hits in five innings for 6-4 victory.
Once again, Christy Mathewson provided New York with another fine postseason performance when he tossed a 3-0, 10-inning shutout in Game 2. He even drove in the game-winning run with his single in the 10th.
That was the last highlight for the Giants as the Athletics rolled to the world championship by posting victories in each of the last three contests.
Mathewson, pitching in what would be his final World Series, wound up with a 5-5 lifetime mark in the Fall Classic -- he was 4-0 at one point -- after splitting two decisions in 1913.
Skipper John McGraw was determined to restore his club to World Series glory. However, it would be another four years until the Giants would take the field again in the championship series.
After three disappointing seasons with one of the few highlights being a Major League-record 26-game winning streak in 1916, New York returned to the top of the National League. However, the postseason jinx continued, with the Giants losing their fourth straight World Series.
The Giants' run of bad luck continued in their fourth straight World Series defeat as they fell to the Chicago White Sox in six games.
In the sixth and deciding game, New York was in a scoreless deadlock with Chicago heading into the fourth inning. That's when the Giants' penchant for mistakes at inopportune times reared its ugly head again. This time, Chicago second baseman Eddie Collins led off the frame with a grounder to New York third baseman Heinie Zimmerman, who made a two-base throwing error on the play. Joe Jackson's ensuing fly ball was dropped by right fielder Dave Robertson, positioning White Sox at the corners.
Chicago center fielder Happy Felsch then grounded back to the pitcher, Rube Benton, who saw Collins break from third and threw to Zimmerman in an attempt to get Collins hung up. Zimmerman ran Collins toward the plate, but the runner bounded past catcher Bill Rariden to make it a Zimmerman-Collins race to the plate. The White Sox second baseman won the footrace and distracted the Giants' defense enough to allow the baserunners to advance to second and third. Both Chicago runners would score on an ensuing base hit. That's all the White Sox would need to salt away the world championship as they went on to win Game 6 by a 4-2 count.
Famed Olympian and footballer Jim Thorpe was on the 1917 Giants' club but made only one "appearance" during the World Series in Game 5. He was slated to start in right field but never took the field. The right-handed hitting Thorpe was removed for a left-handed pinch-hitter after the White Sox lifted lefty hurler Reb Russell in favor of right-hander Eddie Cicotte.
