An MLB Network analyst recently ranked who he believed to be the five best teams in baseball and the Giants didn’t make the cut. Do Giants fans think the team is underrated in sports media?
Good morning, baseball fans!
The San Francisco Giants have been off to an unexpectedly strong start to the 2025 season. Which is fun! They are also still third (well, technically tied for second) in their division at the moment, which is annoying. The National League West is annoying. You’ve got three of the best teams in baseball right now all lumped up together at the top, wearing themselves out to be competitive while other
Recently, Tyler Maher of Sports Illustrated wrote about how MLB Network analyst (and former Giants player) Mark DeRosa did not include them on his list of the best teams in baseball at the moment. DeRosa did admit that leaving them off the list was a snub, but said he couldn’t bring himself to include them.
Making his list were the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and New York Mets, which are obvious picks given their records. He also includes the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, which are maybe less obvious picks.
The Cubs (as of the time this is being written) have the same record as the Giants and Dodgers, but are leading their division (which the Dodgers are not, at least for now) so I can understand that. The Yankees may be leading the AL East, but none of the American League division leaders have a better record than the Giants at the moment. Also the Giants recently took a series from the Yankees in New York. I feel like they should get the edge on that, but that’s just my opinion and DeRosa is entitled to his.
But that brings me to a bigger point and the question for today. Do you think the Giants are underrated? Personally, I think so. And not just for this season because it’s obviously very early. But it feels like even when they are as good as it gets (the championship era and 2021 being specific examples) it feels like they have still just been afterthoughts to flashier teams.
That said, I recognize my bias here and allow for the likelihood of irrationality. Everyone thinks their team is getting a raw deal. We think the umpires are giving our pitchers a bad zone (and conveniently look the other way when they do the same to the other team); NBA fans think the refs are not calling fairly against their team, etc.
I know that in the grand scheme of things, one person’s rankings a month into the season doesn’t really matter. But I do think that baseball media, in general, tends to overlook the Giants.