The Giants played in a World Series in six of the first seven decades of the 20th century. The franchise began as the Gothams in new York City in 1883. After two seasons under that moniker, they became the Giants for good and stayed in New York until 1958. The team won NL flags in 1889, but were mostly unsuccessful during the 1890s.

The 1970s were the first decade in which the team failed to reach a World Series, despite a playoff appearance in 1971.

The 2001 season began with Barry Bonds hitting home runs at an alarming pace. It ended with Bonds breaking Mark McGwire's three-year old record for home runs in a season. Bonds finished with 73 dingers and even more impressively, he eclipsed Babe Ruth's 80-year old mark for slugging. The Giants were in the hunt until the final week of the season, but failed to win the NL West or a wild card spot.

In 2002 few felt Bonds could perform an encore, but he surprised most experts. At the age of 39 he won his first batting title, hitting .370 with 46 homers. He scored 117 runs and drove in 110, despite receiving 68 intentional walks and 198 walks overall. His .582 on-base percentage shattered the previous record of .553 by Ted Williams, and he posted a .799 slugging percentage, the fourth highest in history. The production helped carry the Giants to the NL Wild-Card, holding off the Dodgers. The rest of the team, with the exception of Jeff Kent, slumped offensively in 2002, but the pitching - especially the bullpen - picked up the slack. In the NLDS against the Braves, the Giants took Game One and then fell behind two games to one, before winning the last two games to give Dusty Baker his first post-season series victory. It was the first time Bonds had tasted post-season success, as well. In the NLCS against the Cardinals, the Giants won in five games behind series MVP Benito Santiago, who came through nearly every time Tony LaRussa intentionally walked Bonds.

The 2002 World Series was a match-up of Northern California vs. Southern California: the Giants vs, the Anaheim Angels (making their first WS appearance). Bonds seemed to be answering his critics when he blasted a home run on his first WS swing in Game One, and the Giants triumphed, 4-3. The Angels took the next two games before San Francisco responded with wins in games four and five at Pac Bell. Kent blasted a pair of homers in Game Five to lead the G-Men within one victory of their first SF Fall Classic win. But that win never came.

In Game Six the Giants held a 5-0 lead with one out in the 7th inning, on the strength of homers by Shawon Dunston and Bonds (his fourth of the series), but the Halos came back. Anaheim rallied with three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to storm back for a stunning 6-5 win. It was the greatest comeback by a team facing elimination in World Series history. The Giants lost Game Seven 4-1, as their offense numbly went through the motions. A disappointed Bonds had gotten close to his World Series title goals, and the Bay Area felt the sting of the Game Six collapse. The future of the team was in doubt as the off-season dawned, with Kent a free agent and Dusty Baker rumored to be headed for the Mets.

In 2004 the San Francisco Giants finished in 2nd place in the National League West Division with a 91-71 record.

In 2006 the Giants finished with a 76-85 record and in 3rd place in their division.