The San Francisco Giants are one of the first teams that come to mind when you’re looking for a semi-competent club that sometimes plays well, but isn’t exactly the poster-child of Major League Baseball. That’s why it’s so shocking to see them with the best record in baseball for more than three months, with a brief break when the Dodgers overtook them for a single day. The Giants quickly bounced back however, and are now once again at the top of the MLB pyramid. 

The Giants haven’t played this well since 2014, and before that since 2012 with another great season in 2010. Before that, however, they hadn’t won a World Series since 1954. Could this season be a one-off, or could meaningful changes to the Giants’ roster be actively changing the way they perform? To start, they have the most home runs in the league, and they aren’t going to slow down any time soon. The Giants had 200 home runs as of September 4th. 

They have an immaculate win-loss ratio of 107-55, which, while being only 1 win above the Dodgers, is still the best record in baseball, and earned them the division title. 

If there were to be a poster-child of the MLB, it would be the Dodgers. It takes only one look at the @mlb account on Instagram to realize that. And it’s for good reason. 

The Dodgers are usually the leader of the NL West and one of–if not the–best teams in the league. MLB would be stupid to use any other team as a favorite. But that isn’t what the Dodgers are this season. They’ve been trailing the Giants in 2nd place since the end of April, and they haven’t made any ground since late August, when the Brewers won against the Giants multiple times, knocking them, temporarily, into 2nd place. The Giants quickly reclaimed their spot at the top after three contests against the Dodgers in early September. At the end of it all, the Giants ended up clinching the division, sealing the Dodgers in 2nd place for the 2021 season.

“A combination of veteran players and good trades have helped the Giants a ton this season” Junior Riley Bieling said.

The MLB doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge the Giants’ new-found prowess, though, and it shows (Seriously, there’s a problem). But they’d be stupid to continue this way. The Giants clinched a playoff spot in mid-September, being the first team in the league to do so. Based on the way they have performed in the regular season, things look good for them in the playoffs. 

The Dodgers aren’t the Giants’ only threat, though. The Brewers have been giving them a tough time since the pre-season, and they haven’t stopped. The Rays are also a pretty big opponent, trailing the Dodgers for the 3rd-best record in baseball by 2 wins.

None of these have slowed the Giants down this season, though, and I don’t think they will start any time soon, especially now that they’ve clinched a spot in the playoffs, and won their division, the National League West. If the Giants can keep up the way they’ve been playing in the 2021 season, the playoffs should be no sweat off their backs.