Home Team: The Turbulent History of the San Francisco Giants

By: Robert F. Garratt

Narrated by: Mark Rossman

In 1957, Horace Stoneham took his Giants of New York baseball team and headed west, starting a gold rush with bats and balls rather than pans and mines. But San Francisco already had a team, the Seals of the Pacific Coast League, and West Coast fans did not immediately embrace the newcomers.

Starting with the franchise’s earliest days and following the team up to recent World Series glory, Home Team chronicles the story of the Giants and their often topsy-turvy relationship with the city of San Francisco. Robert F. Garratt shines light on those who worked behind the scenes in the story of West Coast baseball: the politicians, businessmen, and owners who were instrumental in the club’s history.

Home Team presents Stoneham, often left in the shadow of Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley, as a true baseball pioneer in his willingness to sign black and Latino players and his recruitment of the first Japanese player in the Major Leagues, making the Giants one of the most integrated teams in baseball in the early 1960s. Garratt also records the turbulent times, poor results, declining attendance, two near-moves away from California, and the role of post-Stoneham owners Bob Lurie and Peter Magowan in the Giants’ eventual reemergence as a baseball powerhouse. Garratt’s superb history of this great ball club makes the Giants’ story one of the most compelling of all Major League franchises.

©2017 Robert F. Garrat (P)2018 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"A great read and great baseball history." (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Touches all the bases. Must-reading for any baseball fan.” (Hank Greenwald, the voice of the Giants, 1979-96, and author of This Copyrighted Broadcast)

“A must for any baseball fan.” (Marty Lurie, Giants pre- and postgame radio host of the Bay Area's KNBR 680)

A great in depth look into the history of the Giants Franchise

The history of the Giants is an intriguing one. And this retelling does it justice. Even giving insights to things I didn’t know. A great read and highly recommended to any fans of the Giants.