After his return to the majors, Maglie was integral to the success of the New York Giants teams of the early 1950s, gaining a reputation as one of the game's best pitchers despite being 33 before he ever pitched a full season in the majors.
He made the team out of spring training in 1950, but manager Leo Durocher used him sparingly the first part of the year, unimpressed right away with his new pitcher.
Maglie emerged as the "bulwark" of the Giants' bullpen in the first part of the 1950 season.
On July 21, he got a chance to start and worked 11 innings, emerging the victor in a 5–4 triumph over the Cardinals.
After that, he became part of the starting rotation.
From August 16 through September 4, he threw 45 consecutive scoreless innings, narrowly missing the National League (NL) record of ​45 ¹⁄₃ straight scoreless innings set by Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, also of the Giants, in 1933.
Included in the streak were four straight shutouts, the most by a major leaguer since Doc White threw five straight in 1904.
Hubbell congratulated Maglie after the game, and as of 2020, the streak was still the eighth-longest in major league history (tied with Cy Young's 1904 streak and White's 1904 streak).
After losing a game on July 16, Maglie won 11 decisions in a row, not losing again until September 21, his final loss of the season.
Though not used as a starter regularly until July 21 and making just 16 starts, he led the NL in winning percentage (.818), ERA (2.71), and shutouts (five).
He had an 18–4 record (his 18 wins were the eighth-most in the NL), and he gave up 169 hits in 206 innings pitched.
He finished 10th in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting after the season.

By the 1951 season, Maglie had emerged as the ace of the Giants' staff.
After back-to-back losses in April, he won nine games in a row from April 30 through June 5.
After allowing a leadoff triple to Pete Castiglione on May 4, he allowed no further hits in a complete game, 5–1 victory over the Pirates.
On May 27, he gave up just two hits in a 2–0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Three hits were all he allowed on June 26 in a 4–0, shutout victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
He was named to the All-Star Game, the first of two consecutive selections.
In the thick of a pennant race with the Dodgers, the Giants trailed by 11 games on August 11.
Beginning August 12, Maglie won five decisions in a row and only lost one more game the full season, posting an 8–1 record and a 2.50 ERA down the stretch as the Giants forced a tie with the Dodgers at the end of the season.
Against the Boston Braves on September 29, Maglie outpitched Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, allowing five hits and no runs in a 3–0 shutout victory.
Maglie and teammate Larry Jansen tied for the NL lead with 23 wins, and Maglie lost just six games while ranking among the league leaders in win percentage (.793, topped only by Preacher Roe's .880), ERA (2.93, topped only by Chet Nichols's 2.88), strikeouts (146, topped only by Don Newcombe's and Spahn's 164), and innings pitched (298, topped only by Robin Roberts's 315 and Spahn's ​310 ²⁄₃).
He finished fourth in NL MVP voting.

The Dodgers played the Giants in a best-of-three tie-breaker series at the end of the year, and Maglie started the deciding third game on October 3.
He allowed a run in the first but settled down after that, retiring 11 batters in a row at one point.
He allowed three more runs in the eighth and was pinch-hit for by Hank Thompson in the bottomg of the inning with the Giants trailing 4–1.
However, the Giants rallied in the ninth, ultimately winning on Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World home run.
The Giants faced the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series, and Maglie started Game 4 but took the loss after giving up four runs in five innings, including a fifth-inning home run to Joe DiMaggio that reporter James Hirsch called "the turning point of the game."
The Giants lost the series in six games.

After his stellar 1951 season, Maglie wanted a $40,000 contract from the Giants, but the team only wanted to pay him $32
After his return to the majors, Maglie was integral to the success of the New York Giants teams of the early 1950s, gaining a reputation as one of the game's best pitchers despite being 33 before he ever pitched a full season in the majors. He made the team out of spring training in 1950, but manager Leo Durocher used him sparingly the first part of the year, unimpressed right away with his new pitcher. Maglie emerged as the "bulwark" of the Giants' bullpen in the first part of the 1950 season. On July 21, he got a chance to start and worked 11 innings, emerging the victor in a 5–4 triumph over the Cardinals. After that, he became part of the starting rotation. From August 16 through September 4, he threw 45 consecutive scoreless innings, narrowly missing the National League (NL) record of ​45 ¹⁄₃ straight scoreless innings set by Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, also of the Giants, in 1933. Included in the streak were four straight shutouts, the most by a major leaguer since Doc White threw five straight in 1904. Hubbell congratulated Maglie after the game, and as of 2020, the streak was still the eighth-longest in major league history (tied with Cy Young's 1904 streak and White's 1904 streak). After losing a game on July 16, Maglie won 11 decisions in a row, not losing again until September 21, his final loss of the season. Though not used as a starter regularly until July 21 and making just 16 starts, he led the NL in winning percentage (.818), ERA (2.71), and shutouts (five). He had an 18–4 record (his 18 wins were the eighth-most in the NL), and he gave up 169 hits in 206 innings pitched. He finished 10th in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting after the season. 
By the 1951 season, Maglie had emerged as the ace of the Giants' staff. After back-to-back losses in April, he won nine games in a row from April 30 through June 5. After allowing a leadoff triple to Pete Castiglione on May 4, he allowed no further hits in a complete game, 5–1 victory over the Pirates. On May 27, he gave up just two hits in a 2–0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Three hits were all he allowed on June 26 in a 4–0, shutout victory over the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was named to the All-Star Game, the first of two consecutive selections. In the thick of a pennant race with the Dodgers, the Giants trailed by 11 games on August 11. Beginning August 12, Maglie won five decisions in a row and only lost one more game the full season, posting an 8–1 record and a 2.50 ERA down the stretch as the Giants forced a tie with the Dodgers at the end of the season. Against the Boston Braves on September 29, Maglie outpitched Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, allowing five hits and no runs in a 3–0 shutout victory. Maglie and teammate Larry Jansen tied for the NL lead with 23 wins, and Maglie lost just six games while ranking among the league leaders in win percentage (.793, topped only by Preacher Roe's .880), ERA (2.93, topped only by Chet Nichols's 2.88), strikeouts (146, topped only by Don Newcombe's and Spahn's 164), and innings pitched (298, topped only by Robin Roberts's 315 and Spahn's ​310 ²⁄₃). He finished fourth in NL MVP voting.
The Dodgers played the Giants in a best-of-three tie-breaker series at the end of the year, and Maglie started the deciding third game on October 3. He allowed a run in the first but settled down after that, retiring 11 batters in a row at one point. He allowed three more runs in the eighth and was pinch-hit for by Hank Thompson in the bottomg of the inning with the Giants trailing 4–1. However, the Giants rallied in the ninth, ultimately winning on Bobby Thomson's Shot Heard 'Round the World home run. The Giants faced the New York Yankees in the 1951 World Series, and Maglie started Game 4 but took the loss after giving up four runs in five innings, including a fifth-inning home run to Joe DiMaggio that reporter James Hirsch called "the turning point of the game." The Giants lost the series in six games.
After his stellar 1951 season, Maglie wanted a $40,000 contract from the Giants, but the team only wanted to pay him $32
Sal Maglie