San Francisco Bay Area

The Bay Area is one of the most beautiful and important sports areas in the country. Covering three major cities—Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose—the Bay Area has played home to some of the most prestigious franchises around.

By now, you know the drill. The point of this slideshow is to hone in and talk about the top 20 athletes in the history of the Bay Area.

SAN FRANCISCO — One night after Madison Bumgarner lit up AT&T Park by taking a perfect game into the eighth inning, Tim Hudson was electric. Stretch-run energy buzzed through the Giants clubhouse in that old, familiar way.

The San Francisco Giants have the best record in the majors (despite getting swept by the Colorado Rockies at home this past weekend), but it's still important to monitor the organization's farm system, which will largely dictate whether the team is able to replicate its recent success in the forthcoming seasons.

Accurately predicting a draft in any sport for any team is difficult, but when it comes to the San Francisco Giants in the 2014 MLB draft, the task becomes even more challenging.

With the 2014 MLB draft less than three weeks away, it's time to take a look at who the San Francisco Giants should target and which players could end up in the team's farm system by season's end.

Thanks to the Giants' 76-86 record last season, they'll pick 14th in the draft, which gives them an excellent shot at cashing in on the abundance of pitching talent available early in the draft.

The Los Angeles Dodgers have to be growing tired of Madison Bumgarner, don’t you think?

With the finalization of Bruce Bochy's 25-man roster, it's time to take a look at where the San Francisco Giants' top prospects landed following the all-important decision. Only a few lucky youngsters cracked San Francisco's 2014 big league squad, with the majority of the top talents sent back to the minor leagues to continue to hone their skills.

Since coming to San Francisco, the Giants have had a roller coaster ride, with moments of euphoria and crushing defeat.

Nevertheless, Giants fans will undoubtedly admit that the 21st century has been especially kind to them, especially over the last few seasons. Even so, the previous several decades weren't so pleasant for fans out west.

Let's take a look at some of the biggest moments for the Giants since they moved out to San Francisco.

When the San Francisco Giants signed free agent outfielder Michael Morse on Dec. 17, the move signified Brian Sabean's desire to fix something that wasn't entirely broken. Yes, the addition of Morse to the lineup will surely bring power that would-be starter Gregor Blanco could never provide. The Giants have also struggled in the power-hitting department as of late.

2014 is an even year, so the San Francisco Giants have to win the World Series. Right?

Not exactly, but San Francisco does have the pieces in place to make a playoff run if all goes well. Several players in particular will be important in making 2014 a season to remember, unlike 2013.

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