The Unbelievable Stat Plaguing the Struggling Giants More Than Any Other

San Francisco's inability to draw walks is reaching historic levels.

The Giants are setting an unprecedented pace in the walks department. | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Things have not gone particularly well for Tony Vitello in his first year managing the Giants.

San Francisco stumbled right out of the gate, scoring one total run in a three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees to start the year, which served as a preview of things to come as they continue to feature the worst offense in baseball at 3.46 runs per game—.23 runs lower than anyone else. As a result they are off to a 20-30 start and already trail the National League West-leading Dodgers by 11 games.

San Francisco actually ranks 11th out of 30 teams with a combined batting average of .244 yet is dead last in on-base percentage (.291). So drawing walks has not be a meaningful part of the attack. To an apparently historic level.

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Giants hitters have drawn 105 free passes in 50 games. The Blue Jays, second worst in the department, have worked 144. Five teams have earned over 200 walks and three have more than doubled the Giants' total.

ESPN researcher Paul Hembekides dove into the numbers and came away with some pretty startling data, which he shared with Buster Olney on the Baseball Tonight podcast.

San Francisco has a walk rate of 5.7% compared to the MLB average of 9.4%.

"If we're going to do a little back-of-the-napkin math," Hembekides said. "On a scale from which 100 is average, the Giants league-adjusted walk rate is 63. That figure, 63, renders the Giants as the most walk-adverse lineup since 1879."

Walk rate this season:
Giants (5.7%) | MLB avg (9.4%)

On a league-adjusted basis (63 BB+), it’s the most walk-averse lineup in 147 years. Really. pic.twitter.com/OHuP1wCMdx

— Paul Hembekides (Hembo) (@PaulHembo) May 21, 2026

If that sounds bad, that's because it is. Things get worse when you see that there are other teams who swing with more frequency and chase more pitches than the Giants. It means opposing pitchers are basically saying 'here it is, we aren't afraid of you hitting it' on a nightly basis.

Baseball is a great sport for so many reasons. The first MLB team to ever hire someone to come from college into the dugout has somehow overseen an unfortunate feat not seen since the year Thomas Edison was getting his big lightbulb idea off the ground. What a rich tapestry.

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