The most infamous SF Giants player who has been snubbed by Cooperstown is unquestionably However, there are two former Giants who many fans may have forgotten sported the orange and black who have strong Hall of Fame cases.
These players are pitcher and outfielder .
Reuschel is remembered as a Chicago Cub and for good reason as he spent all or parts of twelve seasons as a Cub. He had some great seasons on the North Side, though. In his 1977 All-Star campaign he had a record of 20-10 in 37 starts. He pitched 252 innings and had an ERA of 2.79. He also pitched 8 complete games, 4 of which were shutouts. It was a different time, wasn’t it?
Two forgotten SF Giants have an argument to make the Hall of Fame
“Big Daddy,” the nickname he was given for his large figure, was traded to the Giants in 1987. He spent the last four seasons of his career in San Francisco and turned in some solid seasons. In 1989 he was an All-Star with a record of 17-8 with a 2.94 ERA in 32 starts and 208 and 1/3 innings pitched. Of course, fans may remember that Reuschel got knocked around in the 1989 All-Star Game, giving up home runs to Bo Jackson and Wade Boggs to start the game. He is just one of many Giants pitchers who has struggled in All-Star Games over the years.
That was the same year the Giants made the World Series and lost to the Oakland A’s. Reuschel was the losing pitcher in Game 2, giving up 5 earned runs.
For his career, he had a record of 214-191 with a 3.37 ERA. He also had a career WAR of 68.1. Those are solid career numbers, solid enough to make a case for him to be in Cooperstown.
Turning to Lofton, he was not with the Giants but he was part of the team that made it to the 2002 World Series. He hit well for the Giants that season, slashing .267/.353/.406 with 3 home runs, 9 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. He also hit a in Game 5 of the NLCS that sent the Giants to the World Series.
In his career, he had a batting average of .299 and had a very impressive 622 stolen bases. He was also a great defensive center fielder which comes as no surprise given his speed. He was only all the ballot once back in 2013, but perhaps a reappraisal of his career later on will garner a different result.
Neither of these players is remembered primarily as a Giant, but both made key contributions that helped the team make it to the World Series even though the team ultimately came up short on both occasions.