Former New York Giants manager John McGraw who has the most wins of any manager in MLB history (photo from facebook)

 Hitters & Plump Pitchers:  Weighing in on the All-Time Gargantuan Giants::

By Tony the Tiger Hayes

Just as there is no “crying in baseball”, there’s no place for “fat shaming”  either. Not only is mocking someone’s weight mean-spirited and cruel, in baseball, a wispy waistline, six-pack abs and  sculpted biceps and thighs don’t necessarily guarantee success. 

Chunky former All-Star John Kruk nailed it when he responded to a rude question regarding his weight, retorting: 

“Lady, I’m not an athlete, I’m a professional baseball player.”

The baseball Hall of Fame – from Babe Ruth and Hack Wilson to C.C. Sabathia and Tony Gwynn  – is filled with many jumbo sized legends. 

The Giants recently debuted husky 23-year-old LHP Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson. The chunky 6’1, 270 pound Canadian kid has a vast midriff rivaling the Great White North in expanse. 

In his MLB debut, “Tugboat” tossed two scoreless innings. His future is bright in San Francisco. 

So we decided there’s no better time than to take to a look at the Top 10 New York/San Francisco Giants all-time players with BMI’s that might give members of the World Health Organization heart palpitations.

• John McGraw. We start with the O.G.: Obese Giant. The pudgy legendary manager helmed the Giants for 30 years during the franchise’s height of popularity in New York City, winning World Series titles in 1905 and 1921-22. Though he was sinewy during his playing days, McGraw developed an impressive boiler as Giants field general from 1902-32. 

• Tom Sheehan. When Bill Rigney was abruptly dismissed as manager in mid-1960. Giants president Horace Stoneham seeming gave the interim skipper job to the first person he turned to at the saloon, team adviser and drinking buddy Sheehan.

At that point the portly  Sheehan  was 66 and had not worn a big league uniform in more than  three decades. 

 Sheehan, was so roly-poly, the Giants didn’t immediately have a uniform large enough to fit him. So Sheehan managed his first few games in an Orange & Black satin wind breaker and his own gaberdine slacks. 

• Herman Franks. Unlike “Ballpark Franks” that “plump when you cook them” former New York Giants catcher Franks was already plump when he took over the Giants managerial reins in 1965. 

• John Pregenzer. For a period from 1963 to 1964, Pregenzer – a gargantuan 6-foot-5, 250 pounder – made headlines when a 30-something year-old San Francisco Chronicle newsroom employee named Novella O’Hara started the “John Pregenzer Fan Club” upon hearing the Giants had acquired the unestablished spectacles-sporting pitcher from Pittsburgh for the low, low price of $100. 

• Rick Reuschel. “Big Daddy” came as advertised. A behemoth 6’3, 260 pounder, Rick resembled a beefy tuba player in a polka band. But the comically large right-hander was deceiving with his athleticism. A  fantastic pitcher, Reuschel significantly helped the Giants to division title in 1987 and the division and NL crowns in 1989 while never missing a meal in North Beach. 

• Livan Hernandez. After defecting from his native Cuba in the mid-1990s it was rumored that the once angular RHP ate nothing but Big Macs for a solid year. By the time he arrived in San Francisco, livin’ large Livo was a plus-sized pitcher. Though he is probably best known for losing game 7 of the 2002 World Series, Hernandez posted a winning ledger in his five seasons with the club.  

• Juan Uribe. Unlike the slight Jose Uribe who held down the Giants shortstop job in their late ‘80s glory days, cousin Juan was burly  and thickset, but also a winning player and a major component of the Giants 2010 world championship club, smoking a career high 24 home runs and contributing many key hits in the postseason. 

• Sidney Ponson. After his first game with the Giants – after being acquired from Baltimore in mid-2003 – the bloated Sir Sidney was spotted  on Fisherman’s Wharf chowing down on a plate of Hooters chicken wings. The beer and fried food aficionado wasn’t asked back in 2004.   

• Gene Machi. There are well-rounded athletes and then there are simply round athletes like 6’0, 260 pound relief pitcher Machi who helped the 2014 Giants to a third World Series title in five years, posting a 7-1 record in a team high 71 games. 

• Rod Beck. This easy to love stout closer was a beer guzzling, cigarette smoking regular dude. With his ample belly, trailer trash  mullet  and a fu Manchu  ‘stache Beck was was one of most original looking Giants ever. 

Pablo Sandoval. Early on in his Giants career, team officials tried like hell to keep the rotund Sandoval’s weight down. But at a certain point they just gave up and it really didn’t seem to make a difference. The “Kung Fu Panda” hit whether he was in shape or not. Pablo was a major contributor to three Giants World Series winning clubs, taking home MVP honors in the 2012 Fall Classic sweep of Detroit.