Texas Rangers Manager Candidate: Bruce Bochy
With the news that Texas Rangers general manager Chris Young reportedly met with former San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy on Thursday, Inside The Rangers breaks down Bochy’s history as a manager, the pros and cons, and the questions that could be asked about his potential candidacy for the job.
Bruce Bochy
Current job: Special advisor to the San Francisco Giants.
Previous job: Manager, San Francisco Giants (2007-19), San Diego Padres (1995-06).
Managerial record: 2,003-2,029; National League manager of the year, 1996; Eight playoff appearances, four World Series appearances, three World Series title (2010, 2012, 2014). Postseason record of 44-33.
Playing career: Bochy played a decade of Major League Baseball as a catcher with the Houston Astros, New York Mets and San Diego Padres, from 1978-87. He hit .239 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI.
Pros: Bochy led the Giants to three World Series titles and managed a young team where he helped them get progressively better after his arrival and in a World Series in his fourth season. He also managed the Padres to the first World Series in their history. He’s proven he knows how to manage and knows how to get the most of out of players. He also has a good relationship with Rangers general manager Chris Young, having managed Young as a player in San Diego.
Cons: In an increasingly analytical age, Bochy has said that he enjoyed managing more in the earlier years of his career. Unlike his managerial colleague, the former Los Angeles Angels skipper Joe Maddon, he hasn’t written a book about his likes and dislikes about the modern age of analytics. Bochy’s comments, however, were in Maddon’s recently-released book.
Three questions to ask
Does Bochy want one more shot?
At 67, he has a relatively cushy job as a special advisor and with three World Series rings he has absolutely nothing left to prove. No one would blame him for taking a pass. But if he’s hired, the Rangers need to ensure he’s all in.
How can he help these young pitchers?
Granted, development of the young pitching in the organization will be more up to the coaches that the organization, with Bochy’s input, would hire. But he’ll have to manage them once they get to Arlington. The dynamics of using pitchers has already changed in the three years that Bochy has stepped out of the manager’s chair. Plus, would Bochy try and lure his former pitching coach, Dave Righetti, to the Rangers, if hired? Their partnership proved fruitful in San Francisco.
From Boss to Bossed?
Young played for Bochy for a year in 2006 and has expressed his deep respect for him. This hiring would put Bochy in the position of being supervised by a former player. That’s actually not that unusual in sports. But it’s a dynamic that both would need to be comfortable with to move forward. If the pair are talking, it’s probably not that much of an issue.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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