Bochy says he misses managing
Former Giants skipper won’t rule out return
Bruce Bochy has three World Series rings, more than 2,000 regular-season victories and a quarter-century of managerial experience.
The legendary former Giants manager sounds interested in adding even more to his resume.
During a radio interview earlier this week, Bochy discussed the possibility of returning to a major league dugout and indicated he’d be open to authoring a new chapter of his career.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss it, especially watching the postseason,” Bochy said. “It’s exciting times. I could see it happening to be honest, but it’s not something right now I’m pushing. But when you’ve been in the game as long as I have and managed as long as I did, you’re going to miss it. And now especially watching these postseason games, so we’ll see what happens.”
Only three teams — the Red Sox, Tigers and White Sox — are looking to hire new managers after a condensed 60-game season, but the White Sox have already indicated they’re searching for an experienced leader with a championship pedigree.
“Ultimately, I think the best candidate or the ideal candidate is going to be someone who has experience with a championship organization in recent years; recent October experience with a championship organization,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn said Monday.
Many analysts assumed the White Sox decision to part ways with manager Rick Renteria would lead them to hire former Astros manager A.J. Hinch or former Red Sox manager Alex Cora, who were both suspended for this season due to their involvements in the sign-stealing scandal that rocked baseball over the offseason. Hinch and Cora might be the early favorites for the job, but Bochy has experience with “a championship organization” and doesn’t carry the same baggage.
Bochy, 65, said he’d be willing to listen to a pitch from the White Sox.
“Sure, I’d listen to anything,” Bochy said. “I can’t say anything, they’re a good team, but I haven’t talked to anybody, it hasn’t been mentioned or anything.”
The White Sox received permission to talk to 76-year-old Hall of Famer Tony La Russa about their opening.
Giants fans may find it hard to stomach seeing Bochy in a different uniform, but many players told this news organization they believed he was still at the top of his game during his last year with the club in 2019.
The Red Sox haven’t given many clues as to how they’ll conduct a manager search while the Tigers have also expressed interest in Cora and Hinch.
Beane may leave A’s: Trailblazing A’s executive Billy Beane could leave the organization if his RedBall Acquisition Corp., a special-purpose acquisition company, completes a successful merger with John Henry’s Fenway Sports Group, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Because Fenway Sports Group is the principal owner of the Red Sox, MLB could deem the merger a conflict of interest for Beane.
The Journal specified that Beane wouldn’t take a job heading up the Red Sox front office, instead focusing on the company’s potential for acquiring additional soccer clubs beyond Liverpool, the current European Premier League champion owned by Fenway.
Beane has long been interested in European club soccer, and this could be his opportunity to increase his involvement in that world beyond his current minority ownership stakes with England’s Barnsley Football Club and the Netherlands’ AZ Alkmaar.
Beane has been with the A’s since 1989, when he joined the team as a free-agent outfielder.
After the 1997 season, Beane succeeded Sandy Alderson as the Athletics’ GM.
In 2015, Beane was promoted to his current position as the A’s executive VP of baseball, making David Forst the team’s GM under his management and the natural successor if Beane were to leave.