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The San Francisco Giants have started the 2026 season with an 8-12 record, marking their 17th occurrence of such a start in franchise history. Historically, only five of those seasons resulted in winning records.
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The 8-12 start is significant as it marks the 17th time in franchise history the Giants have begun a season this way, with only five instances leading to winning records.
The Giants have started a season 8-12 a total of 17 times throughout their franchise history.
Of the 17 seasons the Giants started 8-12, only five ended with winning records.
The 2004 Giants team notably included Barry Bonds, who played a significant role in their performance that season.

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If the 2026 Giants got to 84-78, theyâd be in a great position for a Wild Card spot. All they need is a couple of MVP-type performances and a couple of All-Star caliber performances from the lineup, absent stellar pitching. But what can I say about the 2004 team (which started 5-5)? Well, the only thing I *firmly* remember about that season is reading in the newspaper (people under 50 donât look up what that is) that the Giants had acquired Wayne Franklin near the end of Spring Training. And then I remember sitting along the first base line at Dodger Stadium on the penultimate game of the season and watching in the 9th inning defensive replacement Cody Ransom commit a critical error after Dustin Hermanson got squeezed, the Giants blow a 3-0 lead and Wayne Franklin surrender a walk-off grand slam to Steve Finley to knock the Giants out of the playoff race. So, personally, I hate the 2004 season and think any team that compares to it is haunted. But also⊠**That team had Barry Bonds on it.** Therefore, you canât really make a comparison or say something like, âSee, the Giants have been in this situation before and it has worked out just fine. Tony Vitello is going to figure out how to manage and the team is going to iron out all its mental lapses and the bullpen will be solidâ just because the 2004 team started 8-12 and wound up 91-71, more than enough to clinch a Wild Card in this era of baseball. You canât say that! It wouldnât make sense! That 2004 team scored 850 runs! The 2021 squad didnât even score that many (804). They played stellar defense (+28.4 Defensive Runs Above Average, per FanGraphs). Their pitching was in the bottom third by fWAR (+12.7 â 21st) and 16th in ERA (4.34). The idea that the 2026 Giants will overcome mediocre pitching with top-5 hitting is a tough one to assert, just given the start. But even if people hit to their career averages, the front officeâs plan was the opposite: middling offensive boosted by stellar pitching. At the end of the day, of course, if the Giants got to 91 wins somehow, weâd all be thrilled, and rightfully so, even if it meant a crushing loss to end the run. By the way, the last three games of the 2026 season are at Oracle Park against the Dodgers. The other Oracle Park era teams donât offer a lot of hope. 2008 was Tim Lincecumâs first year, the first year without Barry Bonds, and with the team still trying to solidify its pitching and defense identity. 2018 was Bobby Evansâ attempt to build a quasi-contender while dancing under the luxury tax line, so, the team added Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria and wound up having the worst **month** in franchise history. With Bobby Evans back in the fold, donât be surprised if heâs back to finish the job (advise in such a way that every month is the worst). 2019 saw Farhan Zaidi try to shake loose the championship era while also putting a somewhat entertaining team on the field. All that really happened was that Kevin Pillar revitalized his career. 2020 was ended by Trent Grisham hitting a walk-off grand slam for the Padres in Oracle Park. Basically, the Giants will have to overcome the historical significance of the bad 8-12 start in a way that defies their present look. Itâs a long season, of course, and it helps that the farm system might actually be able to supplement the major league roster with some legitimate league average help. Thatâs certainly a different situation than the one other teams on this list found themselves in when they started poorly and maybe Bryce Eldridge, Carson Seymour, and, like Gregory Santos will be key contributors this season to actually elevate the teamâs performance. Thatâs hope worth holding onto, even if history only offers anxiety.