Thoughts on Bruce Bochy

Bruce Bochy's remarkable managerial career is winding down.  The honors and gifts from opposing teams are rolling in.  The 2000 Win milestone gives him another achievement accomplished only by MLB managers who are members of the Hall of Fame.  With his farewell season nearing an end, it seems like a good time to reflect on his remarkable career and his place in the history of baseball in general and the Giants in particular.  I write this off the top of my head, so bear with me if I get a detail or two not quite right.

My first recollections of Bruce Bochy were from his days as a catcher for the Padres.  His playing career and early managerial career is so tied to the Padres in my mind, I did not realize he started his MLB career with the Astros and also played for the Mets before coming to the Padres.  When he took over as manager of the Padres, I recall him having a massive physical presence in the dugout and an incredible level of intensity.  His teams always seemed to have great bullpens, although he had the luxury of having Trevor Hoffman for the ninth inning the whole time he was in San Diego.  Somewhere along the line he developed a reputation for being overly loyal to washed up veteran players.  I seem to recall an issue with Vinny Castilla at 3B being the flashpoint for that, but in looking up Padres stats from those days, I don't really see any great young players Castilla was blocking.

After the Felipe Alou era, the last thing I wanted to see managing the Giants was another old school, out of touch guy who was going to stick with washed up veterans.  I wanted someone like Ron Wotus or Wendell Kim who had paid their dues managing in the minor leagues and who might have an appreciation for younger players.  Steve Decker seemed like the type of manager who would advocate for and develop from the farm system.  I was not happy when instead, Brian Sabean hired Bruce Bochy.  I did not want a recycled veteran hating manager and I wanted Brian Sabean fired.  I am happy to say I was wrong on both counts and boy, was I ever wrong!

Bochy's first two seasons, 2007 and 2008 were tough for Giants fans used to the glories of the Bonds era.  Giants oriented bloggers and message boards were almost unanimously calling for a complete regime change.  Derogatory terms like "Melonhead" and "Bochylism" were part of the daily discourse.  I don't recall exactly when I started to change my mind about Bochy and Sabean.  With Sabean, it was about the time Pablo Sandoval broke out and I could see Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner coming up in the minors to eventually join the core of Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum and Pablo Sandoval.  With Bochy, it was more they way he zeroed in on Brian Wilson for the Closer role and nurtured Sergio Romo's career.  I recalled how Bochy put together the Padres bullpens and said to myself, "hey!  This guy has a way with putting together pitching staffs!"  I also caught a building sense that players trusted Bochy and liked playing for him which was 180 degrees opposite from the Felipe Alou era.

As the homegrown core came together, Bochy proved adept at not only bringing rookies on board but finding critical roles for castoffs from other organizations.  Andres Torres, Juan Uribe, Gregor Blanco, Ryan Vogelsong, Pat Burrell, Michal Morse are just some of the names that come to mind.  Not only did he give playing time to rookies and young players, he took the initiative to go to the veteran players and convince them it was in their own best interest to not only eschew hazing but to mentor the young guys because their success was necessary if the vets wanted to win.

MLB Managers basically have to do two things:  1.  Keep 25 guys focused on the game instead of killing each other in the clubhouse and 2.  Manage the pitching staff.  Bruce Bochy did both of those as well or better than any manager in baseball history.  Giants "clubhouse chemistry" was legendary during his tenure and he absolutely got the most out of his pitching anyone could possibly get.  He seemed to have a 6'th sense about when pitchers were getting overused and when they weren't being used enough.  He nurtured his pitching through entire seasons and with remarkably few injuries. Time and again I saw him outmaneuver opposing managers to get the matchups he wanted including fellow Hall of Famers Bobby Cox and Joe Torre.  His use of his LHP's in the 2010 NLCS to neutralize Chase Utley and Ryan Howard were the difference in my mind.

Many things contributed to the Giants 3 championships during Bruce Bochy's managing tenure, but nobody should underestimate the brilliance of his managing as a difference maker.  In almost every postseason series, he clearly outmaneuvered the opposing managers.  They made mistakes.  He didn't.  He got the matchups he wanted.  They didn't.  Of course, he couldn't have done that without Brian Sabean going out and getting the lefty relievers Bochy needed to get those matchups, but given the resources, Bochy got the most out of them.

I'm not sure the timing of Bochy's retirement was entirely his choice, but to his credit, he seems to have embraced it and even used it as a motivating factor for the team.  Some of the early griping from fans has resurfaced and many are happy to see him go.  Every career comes to an end and this seems like the right time for Bochy to end his, but for those who can't wait for another manager, all I have to say is be careful what you wish for.  Bruce Bochy is not going to be easy to replace!