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The Giants finally got their first sweep

It, uh, took a little while

This was all in the pre-Hwang days, of course. The team's good now. Deal with it.
This was all in the pre-Hwang days, of course. The team's good now. Deal with it.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants completed their first sweep of the year yesterday, and boy, that took a long time, didn't it? I know what you're thinking: "I hope that someone on the Internet does the research to find out just how long it's taken every other Giants team in San Francisco to finish their first sweeps of 3 games or more, so I have something to which I can compare this long wait." Well, good news! I did that. It was kinda by accident, since I was only planning on going back far enough to see the last time it took the Giants this long, but ha ha, funny story, it's actually never taken them this many games since they moved out west in 1958.

This is a pretty cursory analysis, of course, and doesn't account for factors like there having been a lot more two game series several decades ago or the first few teams playing 154 games instead of 162, which would mean that those teams are at a disadvantage when it comes to opportunities to complete 3 game sweeps. Turns out that doesn't matter. Let's take a look:

Year Opponent Dates Game number
2017 Rockies 6/26-28 81
2016 Padres 4/25-27 23
2015 Angels 5/1-3 25
2014 Indians 4/25-27 25
2013 Rockies 4/8-10 9
2012 Cubs 6/1-4 55
2011 Rockies 5/6-8 34
2010 Astros 4/5-7 3
2009 A’s 6/12-14 62
2008 Diamondbacks 5/27-29 54
2007 Diamondbacks 4/20-22 17
2006 Astros 5/15-17 41
2005 Rockies 4/8-10 6
2004 Diamondbacks 5/25-27 46
2003 Padres 3/31-4/2 3
2002 Dodgers 4/2-4 3
2001 Padres 4/2-5 3
2000 Diamondbacks 4/21-23 18
1999 Reds 4/5-7 3
1998 Marlins 5/4-6 33
1997 Mets 4/13-14 11
1996 Pirates 5/10-12 36
1995 Padres 5/4-7 12
1994 Pirates 4/4-6 3
1993 Expos 4/30-5/2 26
1992 Reds 4/17-19 12
1991 Astros 4/19-21 12
1990 Mets 5/14-16 34
1989 Phillies 5/26-28 48
1988 Mets 5/13-15 37
1987 Padres 4/6-8 3
1986 Padres 4/17-20 12
1985 Phillies 5/31-6/2 47
1984 Cardinals 5/4-6 28
1983 Pirates 5/6-8 27
1982 Cubs 6/4-6 55
1981 Pirates 8/27-30 79
1980 Cardinals 5/16-18 36
1979 Astros 5/15-17 37
1978 Cardinals 5/12-14 32
1977 Pirates 6/6-8 56
1976 Astros 5/24-26 43
1975 Pirates 5/19-21 38
1974 Astros 4/5-7 3
1973 Braves 4/17-18 14
1972 Dodgers 6/30-7/1 76
1971 Cubs 4/16-18 13
1970 Braves 6/26-28 73
1969 Padres 4/11-13 6
1968 Astros 5/6-9 32
1967 Dodgers 4/28-30 16
1966 Astros 4/15-17 6
1965 Astros 5/14-16 31
1964 Phillies 6/5-7 49
1963 Astros 4/9-11 3
1962 Braves 4/10-12 3
1961 Cubs 5/15-17 29
1960 Pirates 5/6-8 21
1959 Cardinals 4/10-12 3
1958 Dodgers 5/9-13 26

That Dodgers series in 1958 was actually two in San Francisco and two in Los Angeles, like the Giants now do with the A’s every year, but if you don’t want to count that as one series, then it actually did take them longer. Their next sweep was from July 15 through 17 against the Phillies, ending on game 86 of the season.

But other than that, the only time it's taken the Giants longer in a calendar year to complete a 3 or 4 game sweep was 1981, and that was because labor issues meant that two months of games were cancelled. Otherwise, this Giants team, who you'll note is very bad despite the good, fun series that they just played, is the worst in San Francisco history.