Remembering 2004, the Last Year a San Francisco Giant Hit 30 Home Runs

Rejoice, Giants fans. You finally have something to look forward to! The Giants identity morphed around always being the bridesmaid and never the bride after whiffing on stars in free agency every year, resulting in a dreadfully boring platoon style of play on the field even following a franchise best 107 win season. This offseason, the Giants were able to bolster their roster by adding former Gold Glove third baseman Matt Chapman, Korean star Jung Hoo Lee, flame thrower Jordan Hicks, and former Cy Young winners Robbie Ray and Blake Snell. The one signing that makes me happiest, however, is slugger Jorge Soler. 

The Giants never ending ferris wheel of Opening Day left fielders since Barry Bonds retired is an annual joke for Giants fans, but what doesn’t get talked about enough is that the Giants haven’t had a player hit 30 home runs in a season since Bonds in 2004. That's 20 years! Two entire decades have passed since a Giant was able to hit 30 home runs, which is incredible considering the franchise boasts three World Series championships in that stretch. 

If Soler can stay healthy, he should be the first Giant since Bonds won MVP in 2004 to break the 30 home run milestone eluding the orange and black for so long. 

In what feels like an eternity, the world has gone through substantial change in twenty years. The NASA Mars Rover finally landed on Mars, MTV still played music videos, and Internet Explorer was the top web browser. Here is a look back at what the world looked like when the Giants had someone hit 30 home runs. 

Important events in the American political landscape includes George Bush’s re-election as president of a United States still reeling from the aftermath of 9/11 with uncertainties about homeland security, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage, and the CIA admits there was no imminent threat of weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. invaded Iraq. 

The top five grossing films of a year where the average cost of a movie ticket was $6.21 were: Shrek 2, Spider-Man 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Pixar’s The Incredibles, and The Passion of the Christ in that order.

Other blockbuster hits included massive comedies in Mean Girls, Anchorman, White Chicks, Napoleon Dynamite, Dodgeball, and Shaun of the Dead; iconic dramas like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Million Dollar Baby, and The Notebook; Sundance darlings like Saw and The Machinist; and other big hits like Scooby-Doo 2, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie, Friday Night Lights, National Treasure and The Polar Express. 

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings: Return of the King won the Academy Award for best picture. An absurd movie year that still has influence over movies and our culture in 2024. 

Usher's influence on American airwaves couldn't be ignored in 2004. The Billboard Hot 100’s number one and two songs belonged to Usher with "Yeah" and "Burn" which would earn him the Grammy for best record, R&B song and album the following year. Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” Maroon 5’s “This Love,” Outkast’s “The Way You Move” and “Hey Ya,” and of course Hoobastank’s “The Reason” all cracked 2004’s top ten. 

Other notable songs and prominent artists include Green Day’s ultra popular “American Idiot” album, and Kelly Clarkson released her most iconic song “Since U Been Gone.”

The Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime Show was also iconic but not because of the music.

That Super Bowl isn't remembered as Tom Brady’s second title over the Carolina Panthers, it's remembered for Janet Jackson's nip slip. Justin Timberlake causing Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction caused a national stir on perceived indecency on broadcasting, freaking out the FCC. MTV, who was blacklisted by the NFL from doing any future halftime shows, enforced a blacklist of their own banning Jackson's videos and songs from their channel. “Janet Jackson” was the most searched internet term in 2004 because of the nip slip, and the incident was the most replayed and recorded moment in TiVo history. 

Modern technology has seemingly exploded out of the stone age since TiVo’s reign as a dominant television entity, which preceded both Facebook and Gmail's world changing launch in 2004. The Motorola Razr, listed at a then pricey $500, was the coveted phone in the era preceeding smartphones. And why would anyone need a smartphone yet? Nintendo and Sony released the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation Portable (PSP) at the backend of 2004. Entertainment was everywhere. You could go to a store and purchase the original Star Wars trilogy on DVD, which was released for the first time in 2004 netting over $100 million in sales on the first day. 

Other iconic forms of entertainment that seem ancient now includes the release of a titan in geek culture, World of Warcraft. On the New York Times Best Sellers list, The Da Vinci Code spent its second consecutive year at the top. The series finale for Friends and the pilots for both Sex and the City and Lost aired, while controversy followed Ashlee Simpson when she was caught lip synching on SNL. 

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck splitting up defined the tabloids, Jude Law graced magazine covers after being named the Sexiest Man Alive, Martha Stewart was sent to prison for insider trading, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was the sitting Governor of California. 

In the sports world, Athens hosted the Summer Olympics where the most decorated Olympic athlete in history Michael Phelps would win his first of 23 gold medals. Lance Armstrong won his sixth of his seven consecutive Tour de France winning more than any other cyclist history. Nike partnered with Armstrong releasing the iconic “Livestrong” bracelets that were sold to raise money for his cancer foundation after beating cancer himself. 

In the MLB, Barry Bonds arguably had the best year of his legendary career. He slashed .362/.609/.812 hitting 45 home runs, 101 RBI, and had a record breaking year in OPS, OBP, and walks en route to his record seventh MVP award. He also passed his godfather, legendary Hall of Fame Giants centerfielder Willie Mays, on the all-time home run list with only Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron ahead of him. 

The MLB also had one of the most notable playoff series of all time, as the Boston Red Sox won four games in a row to overcome an unprecedented 3-0 deficit in the ALCS eventually breaking the Curse of the Bambino by winning their first World Series since 1918. 

It's truly remarkable that the U.S. had yet to have an African-American president, smartphones hadn’t been invented, and Billy Mays was still in infomercials the last time a San Francisco Giant has hit 30 home runs in a season. Hopefully Jorge Soler or anyone else on the Giants can end this unfortunate streak. Cheers to twenty years of having no thump in the lineup, and hopefully there won’t be twenty more.