So, having done so for hitters, I thought I should give pitching trios their due. Here is a list of the top ten Giant pitching trios since 1900, ranked by Baseball Reference’s “runs above average” (RAA), which is the number of runs better than average a pitcher is, adjusted for quality of opposition, park factors, and the quality of the pitcher’s own defense, and then centered so that the league average is zero.
| Best Pitching Trios Since 1900 by Runs Above Average |
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| Year | Total RAA | Name | RAA | Name | RAA | Name | RAA |
| 1903 | 145 | J McGinnity | 75 | C Mathewson | 64 | R Ames | 6 |
| 1912 | 108 | C Mathewson | 45 | R Marquard | 33 | J Tesreau | 30 |
| 1965 | 106 | J Marichal | 59 | B Shaw | 24 | B Bolin | 23 |
| 2009 | 106 | T Lincecum | 50 | M Cain | 40 | J Affeldt | 16 |
| 1911 | 101 | C Mathewson | 46 | R Marquard | 36 | R Ames | 19 |
| 1966 | 94 | J Marichal | 51 | G Perry | 25 | B Bolin | 18 |
| 1913 | 89 | C Mathewson | 39 | R Marquard | 25 | J Tesreau | 25 |
| 1954 | 89 | J Antonelli | 44 | M Grissom | 23 | S Maglie | 22 |
| 1904 | 88 | J McGinnity | 53 | C Mathewson | 21 | L Taylor | 14 |
| 1933 | 88 | C Hubbell | 51 | H Schumacher | 27 | H Bell | 10 |
1903 was a phenomenal year, with Joe McGinnity and Christy Mathewson accounting for more value than any three pitchers in any of the other years. The pair had another outstanding year in 1904. We see the usual names — Mathewson, Hubbell, Marichal. (How did the Giants not win the pennant in 1965? I think there’s a future post there somewhere.) 2009 of course was a fabulous year for Lincecum and for Cain. What of 2010, when Giants pitching carried them to a World Series victory? No trio dominated that staff. In fact, seven pitchers had a RAA that was double digits above average:
| M Cain | 25 |
| T Lincecum | 19 |
| J Sanchez | 19 |
| M Bumgarner | 16 |
| B Wilson | 16 |
| S Casilla | 11 |
| S Romo | 11 |
If my grandfather was alive, he’d go with the 1912 crew…he saw them live.