America’s pastime is nearing its 2025 conclusion. As September rolls around, MLB playoff races are nearing the finish line, and teams are scrambling to catch a berth in October. San Francisco hasn’t seen an “orange October” in four years. Is this season an exception, or is Giants baseball in October once again a pipedream?
The San Francisco Giants, the team that dominated the early 2010s by capturing three World Series championships in just five seasons, are infamous for struggling to find championship-level play since then (with the notable exception of the 2021, 107-win season). This season, local fans across the city were in for another rollercoaster with their hometown team. The Giants came into the season with high hopes after signing All-Star Shortstop Willy Adames, future Hall of Famer (though past his prime) Justin Verlander, bench bat Jerar Encarnacion, and superstar slugger Rafael Devers. The new president of baseball operations, future Hall of Famer and former Giants backstop Buster Posey, has given the franchise new hope and has shown no fear of taking big swings. After six long years of Farhan Zaidi’s poor spending and stingy management, Posey immediately showed fans he’s about winning. Posey’s bold free agency moves and trades—actions Giants fans hadn’t seen in years—set expectations for playoff implications high.
However, after a hot start to the season, success fell flat during the unusually cold summer months in the Bay. Following the acquisition of Devers in June, the Giants found themselves in a slump so bad they might have just been lying dead in a ditch: 18-33, the worst record in all of baseball in the 51 games after their blockbuster trade. MLB analysts were skeptical whether the Giants had even won the trade and if dealing for an unhappy superstar was a doomed plan from the get-go. Willy Adames, like Devers, was struggling to find his bat in pitcher-friendly Oracle Park. Catcher Patrick Bailey showed no improvement at the plate, seemingly finding a way to sink further from rock bottom as his batting average dipped from .223 in 2024 to under .200 for the majority of 2025. Jung Hoo Lee, the top free agent signing from 2024, struggled to hit for a high average, which was his main tool coming from the KBO (Korean baseball league). Verlander, who didn’t capture his first win until July 23rd, started with a disappointing 0-8 record. Everything that could go wrong went wrong.
The never-ending pain of summer ball found a pleasant break when fall rolled around. In the first week of September, the Giants found themselves within just one game of the Mets for the final Wild Card spot, and two games above .500. Buzz about the Giants was flying all across the baseball world. The hopes that had faded since the start of the season found new life. Outfield Rookie Drew Gilbert became the young sparkplug in the clubhouse. Players were seen smiling on the field and having fun. Verlander turned his ship around, improving to a 3-3 record in his past 12 starts. Adames and Devers found their stride and were hitting homers seemingly in every game. As a team, they homered in 18 straight games, setting a franchise record dating back to their time in New York. Giants baseball became fun to watch again. Nevertheless, the Giants found a way to be the Giants and stumbled back down to four games under .500 (77-81 as of 9/23). They rediscovered how to struggle at the wrong time and failed to capitalize on opportunities to win games that were right in front of them. While this season had bright patches, heartache was the majority.
Giants fans have once again had to watch another exciting, yet unavoidably disappointing season, left with nothing but questions for the offseason and a bitter taste in their mouths. The 2025 season rollercoaster wasn’t a fun one for the club or its fans, and finishing with another 81-81 record, or most likely worse, seems imminent.