The Giants are having an awful time on the road this season. They are 20-10 at home and 10-17 on the road. (That’s a .370 winning percentage on the road.) And the road losses, despite Sunday’s win, feel as if they are piling up. This stretch of road losses inspired me — no, compelled me — to look for the worst road performances in Giants history. Some tables:
Best Road Teams*
| 1 |
1904 |
.704 |
| 2 |
1912 |
.701 |
| 3 |
1905 |
.654 |
| 4 |
1993 |
.654 |
| 5 |
1911 |
.633 |
Worst Road Teams
| 1 |
1943 |
.276 |
| 2 |
1985 |
.296 |
| 3 |
1946 |
.299 |
| 4 |
1901 |
.319 |
| 5 |
1902 |
.353 |
John McGraw became the Giants’ manager in July 1902. The turnaround, at least in road wins, was pretty quick, and they won pennants in 1904 and 1905.
Worst Road Teams (2nd Place or Better)
| 1 |
1999 |
.457 |
| 2 |
1969 |
.469 |
| 3 |
1971 |
.481 |
| 4 |
1989 |
.481 |
| 5 |
1998 |
.488 |
This is not encouraging. The 1971 and 1989 Giants won their divisions, but with road winning percentages that were not awful the way this season’s is so far.
Biggest Discrepancy Between Home/Road Winning Percentage
| 1 |
1962 |
.238 |
| 2 |
2009 |
.198 |
| 3 |
1945 |
.197 |
| 4 |
1946 |
.195 |
| 5 |
1989 |
.173 |
| 5 |
1985 |
.173 |
| 5 |
1969 |
.173 |
That’s a pretty big discrepancy in 1962, when the Giants won the pennant. But this year’s so far is even bigger, at .297.
Lowest Road Winning Percentage by a 90-Win Team
| 1 |
1969 |
.469 |
| 2 |
1989 |
.481 |
| 3 |
1971 |
.481 |
| 4 |
1967 |
.500 |
| 5 |
1962 |
.506 |
I assume the Giants will need 90 wins to make the playoffs. Maybe more. That means they need to start winning on the road if they want to make the playoffs.
* All tables are for seasons since 1900.