# 1988 San Francisco Giants season

The 1988 San Francisco Giants season was the Giants' 106th season in Major League Baseball, their 31st season in San Francisco since their move from New York following the 1957 season, and their 29th at Candlestick Park. The team finished in fourth place in the National League West with an 83–79 record, 11½ games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

## Offseason

* December 1, 1987: Brett Butler was signed as a free agent with the Giants.
* December 1, 1987: Joel Youngblood was signed as a free agent by the Giants.
* December 21, 1987: Phil Ouellette was released by the Giants.
* January 8, 1988: Atlee Hammaker was signed as a free agent by the Giants.

## Regular season
### Opening Day starters

* Mike Aldrete
* Brett Butler
* Will Clark
* Dave Dravecky
* Candy Maldonado
* Francisco Meléndez
* Kevin Mitchell
* Robby Thompson
* José Uribe

### Season standings

vteNL West :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 94 | 67 | .584 | — | 45‍–‍36 | 49‍–‍31 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 87 | 74 | .540 | 7 | 45‍–‍35 | 42‍–‍39 |
| San Diego Padres | 83 | 78 | .516 | 11 | 47‍–‍34 | 36‍–‍44 |
| San Francisco Giants | 83 | 79 | .512 | 11½ | 45‍–‍36 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Houston Astros | 82 | 80 | .506 | 12½ | 44‍–‍37 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Atlanta Braves | 54 | 106 | .338 | 39½ | 28‍–‍51 | 26‍–‍55 |

### Record vs. opponents

1988 National League recordvte Sources: :
| Team | ATL | CHC | CIN | HOU | LAD | MON | NYM | PHI | PIT | SD | SF | STL |
| Atlanta | — | 5–7 | 5–13 | 5–13 | 4–14 | 4–8 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 5–5 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 3–9 |
| Chicago | 7–5 | — | 6–6 | 7–5 | 4–8–1 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–11 |
| Cincinnati | 13–5 | 6–6 | — | 9–9 | 7–11 | 5–7 | 4–7 | 9–3 | 7–5 | 10–8 | 11–7 | 6–6 |
| Houston | 13–5 | 5–7 | 9–9 | — | 9–9 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 8–4 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–6 |
| Los Angeles | 14–4 | 8–4–1 | 11–7 | 9–9 | — | 8–4 | 1–10 | 11–1 | 6–6 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 7–5 |
| Montreal | 8–4 | 9–9 | 7–5 | 6–6 | 4–8 | — | 6–12 | 9–9–1 | 8–10 | 4–8 | 7–5 | 13–5 |
| New York | 8–4 | 9–9 | 7–4 | 7–5 | 10–1 | 12–6 | — | 10–8 | 12–6 | 7–5 | 4–8 | 14–4 |
| Philadelphia | 6-6 | 10–8 | 3–9 | 4–8 | 1–11 | 9–9–1 | 8–10 | — | 7–11 | 4–7 | 7–5 | 6–12 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–5 | 11–7 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 6–6 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | — | 8–4 | 8–4 | 11–7 |
| San Diego | 10–8 | 4–8 | 8–10 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 7–4 | 4–8 | — | 8–10 | 6–6 |
| San Francisco | 13–5 | 7–5 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 5–7 | 8–4 | 5–7 | 4–8 | 10–8 | — | 7–5 |
| St. Louis | 9–3 | 11–7 | 6–6 | 6–6 | 5–7 | 5–13 | 4–14 | 12–6 | 7–11 | 6–6 | 5–7 | — |

### Notable transactions

* June 1, 1988: Steve Decker was drafted by the Giants in the 21st round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft. Player signed June 6, 1988.
* June 8, 1988: Jeffrey Leonard was traded by the Giants to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ernest Riles.
* July 15, 1988: Mark Wasinger was released by the Giants.

### Roster
## Player stats
### Batting
#### Starters by position

Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| C | Bob Melvin | 92 | 273 | 64 | .234 | 8 | 27 |
| 1B | Will Clark | 150 | 529 | 163 | .308 | 35 | 91 |
| 2B | Robby Thompson | 138 | 477 | 126 | .264 | 7 | 48 |
| SS | José Uribe | 141 | 493 | 124 | .252 | 3 | 35 |
| 3B | Kevin Mitchell | 148 | 505 | 127 | .251 | 19 | 80 |
| LF | Mike Aldrete | 139 | 389 | 104 | .267 | 3 | 50 |
| CF | Brett Butler | 157 | 568 | 163 | .287 | 6 | 43 |
| RF | Candy Maldonado | 142 | 499 | 127 | .255 | 12 | 68 |

#### Other batters

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
| Bob Brenly | 73 | 206 | 39 | .189 | 5 | 22 |
| Ernest Riles | 79 | 187 | 55 | .294 | 3 | 28 |
| Chris Speier | 82 | 171 | 37 | .216 | 3 | 18 |
| Jeffrey Leonard | 44 | 160 | 41 | .256 | 2 | 20 |
| Matt Williams | 52 | 156 | 32 | .205 | 8 | 19 |
| Joel Youngblood | 83 | 123 | 31 | .252 | 0 | 16 |
| Kirt Manwaring | 40 | 116 | 29 | .250 | 1 | 15 |
| Donell Nixon | 59 | 78 | 27 | .346 | 0 | 6 |
| Harry Spilman | 40 | 40 | 7 | .175 | 1 | 3 |
| Francisco Meléndez | 23 | 26 | 5 | .192 | 0 | 3 |
| Phil Garner | 15 | 13 | 2 | .154 | 0 | 1 |
| Charlie Hayes | 7 | 11 | 1 | .091 | 0 | 0 |
| Tony Perezchica | 7 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 1 |
| Rusty Tillman | 4 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 1 | 3 |
| Ángel Escobar | 3 | 3 | 1 | .333 | 0 | 0 |
| Jessie Reid | 2 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Mark Wasinger | 3 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |

### Pitching
#### Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Rick Reuschel | 36 | 245.0 | 19 | 11 | 3.12 | 92 |
| Kelly Downs | 27 | 168.0 | 13 | 9 | 3.32 | 118 |
| Mike Krukow | 20 | 124.2 | 7 | 4 | 3.54 | 75 |
| Mike LaCoss | 19 | 114.1 | 7 | 7 | 3.62 | 70 |
| Dave Dravecky | 7 | 37.0 | 2 | 2 | 3.16 | 19 |
| Trevor Wilson | 4 | 22.0 | 0 | 2 | 4.09 | 15 |
| Dennis Cook | 4 | 22.0 | 2 | 1 | 2.86 | 13 |

#### Other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
| Don Robinson | 51 | 176.2 | 10 | 5 | 2.45 | 122 |
| Atlee Hammaker | 43 | 144.2 | 9 | 9 | 3.73 | 65 |
| Terry Mulholland | 9 | 46.0 | 2 | 1 | 3.72 | 18 |
| Jeff Brantley | 9 | 20.2 | 0 | 1 | 5.66 | 11 |

#### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
| Scott Garrelts | 65 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 3.58 | 86 |
| Craig Lefferts | 64 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2.92 | 58 |
| Joe Price | 38 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 3.94 | 49 |
| Randy Bockus | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.78 | 18 |
| Roger Samuels | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.47 | 22 |
| Larry Sorenson | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.86 | 9 |
| Ron Davis | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4.67 | 15 |

## Award winners

* Will Clark, National League Leader, Runs Batted In (109)
* José Uribe SS, Willie Mac Award
All-Star Game

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Phoenix Firebirds | Pacific Coast League | Wendell Kim |
| AA | Shreveport Captains | Texas League | Jack Mull |
| A | San Jose Giants | California League | Duane Espy |
| A | Clinton Giants | Midwest League | Bill Evers |
| A-Short Season | Everett Giants | Northwest League | Joe Strain |
| Rookie | Pocatello Giants | Pioneer League | Jack Hiatt |