The Giants are looking to build off last year’s success, though bettering their results from 2021 could be a tall order in a division occupied by the Dodgers, owners of the league’s highest payroll at $273 million, and Padres, among other contending clubs in a loaded NL West.
How did the Giants, a team with zero in the way of expectations (virtually every Vegas sportsbook had them finishing under .500), shock the baseball world with a franchise-record 107 wins last season? By thinking outside the box, embracing the sport’s analytics revolution (the seeds of which were planted by “Moneyball” pioneer Billy Beane just up the road in Oakland) by zigging where other teams zag.
That begins with the Giants’ analytics staff, who have taken up residence at the team’s spring training facility in Scottsdale, working out of an office labeled “Nerds.”
From defensive positioning to maximizing lineups with advanced data, the self-proclaimed “Nerds” had their fingerprints all over the Giants’ surprise run last year, helping San Francisco capture its first division crown since 2012. The Giants weathered some tough losses this offseason—ace Kevin Gausman departed in free agency while former MVP Buster Posey announced his retirement—though the additions of Joc Pederson and Carlos Rodon along with the return of All-Star shortstop Brandon Crawford should again make San Francisco a force to be reckoned with.
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