Bruce Bochy’s squad finished the year with a modest 86-76 record, ending the season four games back in the Wild Card and eight games back in their division. The San Francisco Giants fate that season was foreshadowed in May when Buster Posey’s home-plate collision with Scott Cousins, which resulted in a fractured fibula and torn ligaments in his ankle which required season-ending surgery.
Despite a shorthanded squad proving unable to defend their World Series title, 2011 was not a waste by any definition as that season laid the foundation for San Francisco’s next two championships.