Melvin’s first year on the job hasn’t gone as planned.
The San Francisco Giants are on track to miss the playoffs for the seventh time in the last eight seasons. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2016—if you consider winning the one-game Wild Card a series—and haven’t advanced past the divisional round since 2014.
Given the team’s stature and a top-10 payroll, it’s a disappointing outcome. Adding to the frustration, the Giants brought in respected veteran manager Bob Melvin this past offseason. Sitting at 71-73 and 7 1/2 games out of a playoff spot likely isn’t what Melvin envisioned.
In fact, Melvin described this season as the “hardest year” of his managerial career.
“My first year in Seattle was tough because I was a first-year manager,” Melvin told The Athletic. “And we won 93 games. My first year in San Diego was difficult because I came from Oakland, where I’d been for 11 years, and it was a completely different experience.
And we made it to the NLCS. So there was inspiration in moving to a new place. Here, it was entirely different, because this is San Francisco. This is the signature team in the Bay Area. This is everything I dreamed of. So for it not to go well—and my expectation was that it would—makes this probably the hardest year I’ve had.
“Last year was tough in San Diego because of what we accomplished the year before. But this year feels more personal because it’s San Francisco.
In that sense, this has been a very difficult year for me. It’s not over, though. There’s still a lot to accomplish with some of the younger players and the guys we have as we look toward next year. But there are nights when it’s very uncomfortable for me.”
The Giants weren’t expected to dominate the division. The Dodgers entered the season with high expectations, the Padres had a lot of talent, and the Diamondbacks were coming off an NL pennant. Most projections had the Giants competing with the Diamondbacks and Padres for second place, though finishing fourth was also a possibility. The preseason win totals for the Diamondbacks were set at 84.5, while the Giants and Padres were both at 82.5.
It looks like the Padres and Diamondbacks will exceed their win totals, while the Giants are likely to fall short. That’s where the disappointment comes in, especially since finishing second in this division could have meant a wild-card spot.
Some will likely blame Melvin, with criticisms often directed at managers when bullpens underperform. However, the Giants seem to be struggling more with talent than managerial issues, which points more toward the front office than Melvin. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi has been with the team since 2018.
As of Monday, the Giants rank 19th in batting average, 19th in OPS, 19th in home runs, and 29th in stolen bases. Their pitching ranks 21st in ERA and 22nd in WHIP, while they are 27th in defensive efficiency.
Simply put, the Giants aren’t excelling in any aspect of the game. While injuries have played a role, all teams face that challenge. The blame seems to lie more with the Zaidi administration than Melvin, though the manager still shares some responsibility.
Ultimately, the Giants remain a mediocre team for the third straight season.
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