100 Things Giants Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die

by Bill Chastain

Most San Francisco Giants fans have taken in a game or two at AT&T Park, have seen highlights of Willie Mays’ basket catch on YouTube, and were thrilled by the team’s World Series wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014, but even the die-hardsthose who remember which pitcher started the first home game in San Francisco’s history, have attended a spring training game at Scottsdale Stadium, or know how many home runs Barry Bonds hit into McCovey Cove during his record-setting careerwill appreciate this ultimate resource guide for true fans of the San Francisco Giants. For both boosters from the days of Bobby Thomson and recent supporters of Bruce Bochy, Matt Cain, and Buster Posey, these are the 100 things all fans need to know and do in their lifetime. Longtime sportswriter Bill Chastain has collected every essential piece of Giants knowledge and trivia, as well as must-do activities, and ranks them from 1 to 100, providing an entertaining and easy-to-follow checklist that leads the way to achieving fan superstardom. This updated World Series edition features the Giants' unforgettable 2014 season.

Genres: Sports, Baseball

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Bill Chastain began his journalism career as a freelance writer shortly after graduating from Georgia Tech in 1979. Some of the more notable publications where his stories have appeared over the years include: Razor Magazine, Nation’s Business, SPORT Magazine, and Inside Sports. Chastain worked as a sports reporter for The St. Petersburg Times and The St. Petersburg Evening Independent before going to The Tampa Tribune in 1990, where he worked for twelve years as a columnist and sports reporter. While with the Tribune he also served as a correspondent for Sports Illustrated. Currently he covers Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays for MLB.com.

Reviews

[Mark Mancini]

NINE-INNING BOOK CHALLENGE, Bottom of the Third.

I've read more entertaining books in this series (that guy who wrote the "Mets Fans" version was flat-out hilarious), but I still had an enjoyable time. Even though I am beyond pissed at how badly the Giants organization botched their 2026 Pride Night, they remain my favorite club and I love diving into their history. Say Hey!

RATING: Three out of Five Garlic Fries

[William Cheung]

Written in 2010 before the championships is very meaningful even before the amazing run the Giants had. Willie Mays is the GOAT. Loved the trivia as well. Learned a lot about my favorite team!

[Sahil]

A history of Giants Baseball through 100 people, moments, and activities to do. Learned about Mel Ott, Christy Mathewson, and other giants legends from their time in NY and early SF.

[James]

In the book 100 things giants fans should know and do before they die they talk about 100 important events about the san Francisco Giants. My favorite part was when they talked about Willie mays. The reason I liked it was because I was fascinated by how he went to fight in ww2 and still was able to play baseball after. He also had many accomplishments in his baseball career. He hit over 550 home runs and he won 12 gold gloves. He is considered one of best all around baseball players in the history baseball.

I would recommend this book to people who love baseball and want to know more about
it.

I liked how the author gave specific details about the event he described. He told exactly what happened and he didn't leave any details out.

[Jess Deitz]

Amazing book. I'm a young Giants fan and missed the glory days of Christy Mathewson, Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and others, so reading some of the stories and milestones that they all reached was the reason for me reading this book. It was very well written and informative. Good book for all Giants fans, and any fans of the beautiful game.

[Brittany]

Go Giants!