The 2010 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2010 season. The 106th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Texas Rangers and the National League (NL) champion San Francisco Giants; the Giants won the series, four games to one, to secure their first World Series championship since and their first since relocating to San Francisco from New York City in 1958, ending the Curse of Coogan's Bluff. The series began on Wednesday, , and ended on Monday, .
In their respective League Championship Series, the Rangers and the Giants eliminated the 2009 World Series teams—the New York Yankees and the Philadelphia Phillies—each in six games. The Rangers' victory in the AL Championship Series gave the franchise its first World Series appearance in its 50-year history, dating from their inauguration as the second Washington Senators club in 1961. Meanwhile, the victory in the NL Championship Series gave the Giants their fourth World Series appearance since moving to San Francisco prior to the 1958 season; their most recent appearance had been in the 2002 World Series, when they lost to the Anaheim Angels in seven games. Coincidentally, the Giants and Rangers faced off in the first regular-season interleague game, on , 1997, at the Ballpark in Arlington; Rangers reliever Darren Oliver, then in his first stint with the club, threw the game's first pitch.
The Giants had home-field advantage for the World Series (the first NL champions since ), because the NL won the All-Star Game, 3–1, on . For the second consecutive year, Series games were scheduled for earlier start times to attract younger viewers. First pitch was just before EDT for most games, with Game 3 starting at EDT as part of a "family night" promotion and Game 4 starting at EDT to accommodate Fox's NFL coverage.
San Francisco landmarks, such as Coit Tower, the Ferry Building, and San Francisco City Hall, were illuminated with orange lighting at night during the postseason. An exclusive VIP party was held on the eve of the World Series at the California Academy of Sciences (in Golden Gate Park); most media were not allowed near the event. San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom made a friendly wager with Arlington mayor Robert Cluck, agreeing that "the losing city's mayor will travel to the winning city and join the winning city's mayor in a day of support for local youth and community service initiatives, with both mayors wearing the jersey of the World Series Champion team." With three games slated in Arlington, this marked the 5th time the same city hosted both a World Series game and the upcoming Super Bowl (Los Angeles –67, Minneapolis –92, Atlanta –2000, Tampa –09).
Background
Texas Rangers
The Rangers and their fans had a long history of futility and disappointment. Enfranchised in 1961 as the second iteration of the Washington Senators, the team only had one season with a winning percentage above .500 out of 11 seasons in Washington, D.C.. The team relocated to Arlington, Texas, for the 1972 season but failed to make the postseason for over 20 years. Despite being 10 games under .500, the Rangers were leading the American League West division on , 1994, when the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike began and the remainder of the season was cancelled. They went on to win three division titles in 1996, 1998, and 1999, but were eliminated by the New York Yankees in the ALDS each time, having only won one game out of all three series combined. The Rangers' last postseason appearance before 2010 was in 1999. At the time, the Rangers were the only team to have never advanced past the first round of the playoffs and one of three (the others being the Seattle Mariners - who are still without a World Series appearance, and the Washington Nationals - who most recently won the World Series in 2019) to have never appeared in the World Series.
Heading into 2010, the Rangers were plagued with off-field issues. During spring training, manager Ron Washington admitted to prior cocaine use and failing a drug test during the 2009 season. Additionally, the team's owner, Tom Hicks, had financial problems dating back to 2008, which culminated in the team declaring bankruptcy in May and being sold to a partnership led by Chuck Greenberg and team president Nolan Ryan in August.
In the offseason, Iván Rodríguez, Marlon Byrd, Omar Vizquel, and Andruw Jones all departed due to free agency. Kevin Millwood was traded to the Baltimore Orioles for Chris Ray, who in turn was traded to the Giants mid-season. Notable offseason additions to the Rangers included starting pitcher Rich Harden, previously of the Chicago Cubs; starting pitcher Colby Lewis, previously of Nippon Professional Baseball's Hiroshima Toyo Carp; and designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero, previously of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Notable midseason roster moves include the aforementioned trade of Chris Ray to San Francisco in exchange for catcher Bengie Molina, and the trade of Justin Smoak and three minor-leaguers to the Seattle Mariners for starting pitcher Cliff Lee and relief pitcher Mark Lowe. The Rangers also traded two minor leaguers to the Florida Marlins in exchange for Jorge Cantú, and Joaquín Árias to the New York Mets in exchange for Jeff Francoeur.
The Rangers spent most of the season in first place in the American League West, with both the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Seattle Mariners failing to live up to expectations by ESPN critics. They took first place for good on , following a brief one-day stint in first place by the Angels, and finished the season with a 90–72 record, nine games ahead of the second-place Oakland Athletics. Their .556 winning percentage was the lowest among all eight 2010 postseason teams.
In the postseason, the third-seeded Rangers faced the top-seeded Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. The Rangers won the first two games at Tropicana Field by wide margins, bringing the Rays to the brink of elimination; however, the Rays won the next two games at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington to force a deciding Game 5 at Tropicana Field. Game 5 was another decisive Rangers victory, as ace Cliff Lee stymied the Rays and the offense struck Rays ace David Price once again. This was the first postseason series win in franchise history; additionally, the Rangers were the last team that had never won a postseason series. In the ALCS, the Rangers faced the wild-card winning New York Yankees, to whom they had lost all three of their previous postseason appearances. The Yankees had swept the second-seeded Minnesota Twins in their ALDS. The Rangers held a 5–0 lead in Game 1, only to see the Yankees come back and beat them 6–5. However, the next three games were all blowouts, as the Rangers took a 3–1 series lead. The Yankees won Game 5 by a large margin, but were once again routed in Game 6, 6–1, behind a series-winning hit by Vladimir Guerrero. Josh Hamilton's MVP performance included four home runs, tying an ALCS record, and helped the Rangers reach their first World Series. It also marked the first time since that the AL West champion won the pennant. The Angels' win was as the wild card team.
San Francisco Giants
Like the Rangers, the Giants and their fans had a long history of futility and disappointment since their move from New York City to San Francisco before the 1958 season. The Giants had won their last World Series against the Cleveland Indians in . After moving to San Francisco, enraged Giants fans in New York allegedly placed a hex on the franchise, starting the Curse of Coogan's Bluff that would last for over 50 years. Within that period, they made it to the World Series three times, but lost each time. These included a seven-game loss to the New York Yankees in , a four-game sweep by their cross-bay rival Oakland Athletics in that was marred by the Loma Prieta earthquake, and another seven-game loss to the Anaheim Angels in after being six outs away from the title in Game 6 with a 5–3 lead in the bottom of the eighth. Their last postseason appearance was in 2003, when they lost to the eventual World Series champion Florida Marlins in the NLDS.
The Giants entered 2010 with a strong pitching staff led by two-time Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum and a solid bullpen spearheaded by closer Brian Wilson. Notable offseason acquisitions included free agents Mark DeRosa, previously of the St. Louis Cardinals; and Aubrey Huff, previously of the Detroit Tigers. Over the course of the season, the Giants' front office made a series of moves to bolster their offense. Free agent Pat Burrell was signed in late May after he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays, while Buster Posey—who had started the season at Triple-A Fresno—was called up in late May and became the starting catcher after the Giants traded Bengie Molina to the Texas Rangers. In August, José Guillén was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Royals, and Cody Ross was claimed off waivers from the Florida Marlins.
The Giants spent much of the early part of the season in second or third place in the National League West standings, trailing the San Diego Padres and on occasion the Los Angeles Dodgers or Colorado Rockies. They entered the All-Star break in fourth place, trailing the Padres, Rockies, and Dodgers. However, they finished July in second place behind the Padres, with a record of 20–8 for the month. On , the Padres began a ten-game losing streak that allowed the Giants to gain some ground. The Giants tied the Padres for first place on and the two teams traded the top spot for the next 15 days. Then, the Giants took the lead for good on , when they began a four-game winning streak coupled with the Padres' three-game losing streak. The Giants were three games ahead of the Padres going into the final weekend of the season, a three-game set between the two teams that the Padres needed to sweep in order to force a tie-breaker. The Padres won the first two games, but the Giants prevailed in the final game, 3–0, to clinch the franchise's seventh NL West championship.
In the Division Series, the second-seeded Giants faced the wild card-winning Atlanta Braves, who had also clinched a postseason berth on the last day of the regular season. Each game was decided by one run, with the Giants winning the series three games to one. The Giants won behind Lincecum's 14 strikeouts in Game 1 and earned come-from-behind wins in Games 3 and 4. In the NLCS, the Giants were heavy underdogs to the two-time defending National League champion Philadelphia Phillies, the overall #1 seed in the postseason. Ross' two home runs in Game 1 off Phillies ace Roy Halladay helped the Giants win the opener 4–3. They lost Game 2, but rebounded in Game 3 thanks to Matt Cain's strong performance and more timely hitting by Ross. Game 4 saw the Giants win on a walk-off sac fly by Juan Uribe. With the Phillies winning Game 5, 4–2, the series was sent back to Philadelphia. The Phillies took a 2–0 lead in the first inning of Game 6, but the Giants tied the game in the third and their steady bullpen held the Phillies' offense scoreless the rest of the way. This effort by the Giants bullpen included relief appearances by Tim Lincecum and Madison Bumgarner, who were both part of the Giants playoff rotation. In the eighth, Uribe hit a home run to right that barely cleared the wall and gave the Giants a 3–2 lead. Wilson came on for a five-out save to clinch the series. This marked the first time that the NL West champion had made it to the World Series since the Arizona Diamondbacks did so in (the Giants' 2002 appearance and the Colorado Rockies' appearance were both as wild card winners).
Summary
Matchups
Game 1