Bruce Bochy
Current San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy knows a thing or two about Major League Baseball. Bochy played nine seasons as an MLB catcher for the Houston Astros, New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres. In 1995, Bochy got his first crack at being a skipper in MLB as he was hired by the Padres. In his second season in San Diego, Bochy led the Padres to their first National League West Title since 1984. In 1998, Bochy would lead the Padres to their best regular season in franchise history as they won 98 games which is still the gold standard in San Diego. That year would also see the Padres win the NL Pennant for only the second time in the history of the team. But the Padres front office has never been committed to paying players which makes it tough for them to remain in contention. And after making it to the World Series in 1998, the Padres would not have another winning campaign until 2004. For 2005 and 2006, Bochy would lead San Diego to consecutive NL Western Division Titles for the first time in franchise history, but he wasn’t on the same page with then Padres general manager Sandy Alderson and he decided to leave. It didn’t take Bochy that long to find a job as he was hired to be the manager of the San Francisco Giants in 2007.
In his first two seasons in San Francisco, Bochy was able to navigate through the controversy that was surrounding outfielder Barry Bonds and the underachievement of starting pitcher Barry Zito who was a big free agent signing. By 2009, the Giants had a winning record and they would return to the playoffs in the following season.
The Giants has a strong starting pitching staff in 2009 and I said it then that if they were to make the playoffs they would be a tough out because of it. The Giants would win the NL West in 2010. San Francisco would beat the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series before upsetting the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS. All that would stand between the Giants and their first World Series Championship since 1954 when they still called the Polo Grounds in New York City home would be dispatching the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic. The Giants would take care of the Rangers in five games and Bochy had won the World Series Title that was so elusive for him in San Diego.
A broken ankle that was suffered by Giants catcher Buster Posey in 2011 would derail the Giants chances to repeat as World Series Champions, but the team rebounded 2012. In the 2012 MLB Playoffs, the Giants would erase an 0-2 series deficit in the NLDS to the Cincinnati Reds as they won three straight games on the road. The Giants would then overcome a 3-1 series deficit in the NLCS to the St. Louis Cardinals before sweeping the Detroit Tigers in the Fall Classic for their second title in three years. The Giants would only win 76 games in 2013, but wouldn’t you know that they have rebounded this season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers were the team to beat this season in the NL West. The Giants only won 88 games this season and they had to settle for a wild card spot. And just as it was in their last two trips to the postseason, the Giants only needed to qualify for the playoffs as they are a dangerous team.
For the NL Wild Card Game, the Giants found themselves on the road to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates entered the postseason as one of the hottest teams in baseball, but Bochy and the Giants were unfazed by this as they had their ace in starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner who would be on the bump for the start. Bumgarner won 18 games in the regular season and he is a candidate to win the National League’s Cy Young Award this season. Bumgarner lived up to those expectations as he went the distance against the Pirates and he only allowed four hits while not surrendering a run as the Giants steam rolled the Pirates 8-0. The Cardinals would enter the NLCS against the Cards as the defending NL Champs. The Giants and Cardinals are the only two franchises to represent the NL in the World Series since 2010. The Giants would not be deterred as they would take care of the Cardinals in five games. Now the Giants are preparing for their third World Series appearance in five years as they are set to meet the Kansas City Royals this week.
For Bochy he has gone from being a man that was flying under the radar with the Padres to a man that will have his name mentioned with those of some of the elite managers in MLB history that includes Joe Torre, Tony La Russa, and Tommy Lasorda. But unlike the Padres, the Giants and their general manager Brian Sabean have given Bochy the resources needed for him to succeed as a manager. The Giants had the third highest payroll in baseball this season, but aside from that they simply have a system that works.
The Giants have built their team around pitching and once they get to the postseason it is a combination of their arms along with timely hitting that has propelled San Francisco to a pair of World Series Titles. But the main reason why Bochy is not a household name isn’t because the Giants are a West Coast team as it is mainly because of who he is. Bochy is a laid back manager that stays out of the spotlight as much as possible because for him it is all about the players. Bochy treats his players like the men that they are and thus he gets results that he wants and needs. On top of that Bochy simply knows when to push the right buttons as he knows when to leave a pitcher in and when to take a hurler out. The same can be said for Bochy’s decision making as far as making substitutions in the lineup as in each World Series appearance under him the Giants have mainly had a different cast of characters. In 2010, the Giants were led by starting pitchers Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Posey, and third baseman Pablo Sandoval. The Giants also had unsung heroes on the squad such as Aubrey Huff and Edgar Renteria who had the series winning home run. In 2012 it was Sandoval who’s three home runs in Game 1 of the World Series got the Giants going and they never looked back as they swept the Tigers. Now Bochy’s Giants still have Posey, Sandoval, and outfielder Hunter Pence, but they are still finding unsung heroes like first baseman Brandon Belt, pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, and utility man Travis Ishikawa who hit the game-winning, walk-off three-run homer to propel the Giants to the World Series in Game 5.
The Giants are a team of unsung heroes as they are simply taking their cue from their manager.
Source: Baseball-reference.com, Spotrac.com
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