From Super Bowl Favorites to Bottom Feeders: How the Giants’ Year Crumbled

In 2026, the San Francisco Giants endured their worst season in franchise history, and a preseason prediction from one writer proved to be precisely wrong. The team began that campaign on March 25, 2026. Half a year after that, the writer returned to examine 26 forecasts made ahead of Opening Day, and the outcome was a blend of spectacular failure and a couple of unexpected hits.

The forecasts were arranged by degree, with the largest errors gathered at the lower end. The author acknowledged that the sharpest observation in the whole piece appeared before the predictions started, in the opening: “Because if you’re a Giants fan who doesn’t have optimism on March 25, when will you have it?”.

The Worst Prediction

The biggest error in the forecast was a straightforward one: the Giants were projected to end second in the NL West and reach the postseason. The reality was quite different. They fell short of the playoffs by 23 games and wound up 26 games back of second place in the division.

Four Major League teams — among them the Giants — sat within 26 games of first place. The Giants trailed second place by 26 games, even though second place was the farthest removed from first place in their division.

Santos Failed Completely

One failed forecast concerned reliever Gregory Santos. The author insisted that signing Santos to a Minor League contract ranked among the best moves of the offseason, despite his rough Spring Training, his start to the season in the Minors, and his repeated call-ups and options.

With no corresponding move, he was put on the designation list and taken off the 40-man roster since the Giants preferred 39 players over employing him. No team claimed him.

The season’s final numbers for Santos included five innings on the mound, one strikeout, an ERA of 3.60, a FIP of 4.50, and a fWAR of 0.0. The writer observed that, to be fair, that did make him one of the team’s most dependable relievers.

Eldridge Surpassed Expectations

The writer’s forecast about Bryce Eldridge went astray in an entirely favorable fashion. What was anticipated as a middling campaign turned out better than expected. That blurb on Eldridge concluded with the remark, “He’ll see pitches and gameplans that he’s never been exposed to before. He’ll struggle to tread water. And if he holds his own, just at an average level, that will be a sign of how good he is, not how bad he is.”, which now reads as a sign of how far his play exceeded initial expectations.

Instead, Eldridge looked more than comfortable. He controlled at-bats, controlled the zone, outsmarted pitchers, drew walks, and hit for both average and power. His 131 wRC+ ranked 25th out of 205 Major League hitters (minimum: 400 plate appearances), directly ahead of Fernando Tatis Jr. and Kyle Schwarber.

Adames and Devers Struggled

The prediction was that Willy Adames and Rafael Devers would open the season on fire. Each came with worries attached. Adames carries a record of slow beginnings, endured a terrible start to his Giants career in 2025, and his Spring Training did not go well. Devers, meanwhile, had been quite poor in his first month with the Giants and appeared lost during his time in Scottsdale.

Both struggled early, and the prediction was wrong.

The Sister Story

The author related a story about his sister, who has little knowledge of sports. She once texted him from a bar bathroom after a college football coach began hitting on her, asking whether there was any intelligent topic she could raise.

An hour after she proposed a rule allowing the shortstop to run backwards into the goal for extra points, she called back to castigate him for embarrassing her in front of an attractive man. The account is factual.

The Final Count

A wide range of predictions were made, and some proved to be off the mark while others landed with surprising accuracy. The writer admitted that owning up to errors in public carries little glory, but given how much bad news came from ownership down to the broadcast booth, it seemed only fitting to take part in the admission.

In his closing remarks, the author invited readers to share their opinion on how foolish he was in the comments. He did not offer any pledge to get better.

What We Make Of It

What matters here is being honest. The author made no attempt to twist the misses or hide behind minor victories. Instead, he laid out the failures, explained what caused each one to go wrong, and laughed at himself throughout.

The comparison table below shows how the predictions landed:

It is refreshing when a writer admits being wrong. It is simple to recall predictions that come true, but facing the ones that do not is part of the job. The Giants had a disastrous season, and the predictions were a disaster for the writer. Both were real, and admitting them is enough on its own.

Source material: “Revisiting my preseason predictions,” Yahoo Sports.

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