Outgoing manager will always be a winner to Giants
He’s won three World Series championships. He also has a losing record for his career. As he prepares to manage the Giants one last time today, there’s one thing baseball fans and historians can agree on . . .
SAN FRANCISCO >> It’s not a matter of if but when Bruce Bochy will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
As Bochy wraps up his 25th consecutive season as a major league manager, the San Francisco Giants are preparing an emotional celebration and a tribute to his historic tenure. The only ceremony that will top Bochy’s de facto retirement party on Sunday at Oracle Park is the gathering that will occur in Cooperstown down the road.
Bochy is one of 10 managers with three World Series rings, 11 with 2,000 career wins and 12 with at least eight career playoff appearances. His accomplishments suggest he’s among the best to ever do the job, but it’s impossible to overlook one surprising aspect of his lifetime résumé. Bruce Bochy has a losing record as a manager.
“That’s what makes me even more fortunate,” Bochy said last month. “There was a lot of losses. Over 2,000 losses.”
Regardless of how the Giants finish their final six games this year, Bochy’s career will end with a sub-.500 winning percentage. Unless he pursues another job, Bochy will join Connie Mack — who managed for 53 seasons— as the only 2,000-game winner with a losing record.
Can a losing manager be remembered as one of the game’s ultimate winners, as a Hall of Famer?
“No doubt about it,” said Tony Larussa, the thirdwinningest manager in baseball history and a 2013 Hall of Fame inductee. “And when he is inducted, it will be well-earned because he’s among the very best not only of his generation, but of any generation.
He would have excelled in any era.”
Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner seconds the notion.
“He’s one of the best managers that I’ve seen, and I pay attention to a lot of other guys,” Bumgarner said. “I ain’t going to name any names, but it’s comical watching guys get outsmarted by him.”
This year, Bochy joined Larussa, Mack, John Mcgraw and Sparky Anderson as the fifth person to manage for 25 consecutive seasons without a break. In 13 of those 25 season, Bochy has overseen teams that lost more games than they won.
In sports, losing costs people jobs. But over a quarter-century at the helm, Bochy was never fired. His players attribute his longevity to his world-class ability to find every conceivable advantage.
“You can be the most naturally gifted person in the world, but if you don’t have that deep down burning desire and grittiness and toughness to get the job done in whatever you’re trying to get done, there’s somebody else that probably does, and they’re going to overtake you in what you’re trying to accomplish,” catcher Buster Posey said.
Bochy was never overtaken. He turned three underdog teams into champions, including in 2014, when the Giants opened the postseason on the road after earning the second National League Wild Card berth.
“Winning three World Series in a span of five years is probably going to be his legacy,” shortstop Brandon Crawford said. “And just how long he’s lasted in the game. I feel like you won’t see that as much in the future.”
Bochy’s landmark achievements will fill out his Hall of Fame plaque and earn him a lifetime of standing ovations whenever he returns to Oracle Park. But to overcome a losing record and achieve his status as a legendary figure, Bochy relied on a managerial style that isn’t necessarily common anymore.
In an era in which front offices increasingly have their fingerprints on dayto-day decisions regarding a team’s lineup, rotation and bullpen usage, Bochy was afforded the freedom to manage as he desired.
That luxury endeared him to players, who believe they were given more opportunities to prove themselves and earn Bochy’s trust.
“I think deep down inside if he has a gut feeling, he’ll trust that gut feeling,” closer Will Smith said. “As a baseball player, you’ve got to appreciate that. Sticking with a guy. If he believes you can get out of that inning, he’s going to stick with you. That’s kind of a cool thing to have as a manager.”
Multiple Giants veterans compared Bochy’s style to that of an understanding parent, who hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be a child. Pitcher Jeff Samardzija said Bochy, who spent parts of nine seasons in the big leagues as a catcher, hasn’t forgotten the daily grind of what it’s like for a player enduring the ups and downs of a 162-game season.
“He’s always remembered how hard it is to play this game and be successful at this game, and he definitely picks his times when he stands up for his players, which is definitely noticed,” Samardzija said. “He’s just a players’ coach, which I think is the ultimate compliment.”
That philosophy carries over to the clubhouse, where Bochy picks and chooses his spots to appear. While some managers work diligently to establish their presence, Bochy has earned the admiration of players for respecting their space.
“You don’t want to be a helicopter manager or a helicopter parent,” Posey said. “I think he’s always had a good feel for the right time to say stuff and when to back off a bit.”
Bochy’s rare ability to survive and advance can also be traced to another easily overlooked factor. For most of his tenure in San Diego and throughout his 13year stint in San Francisco, Bochy has been blessed with the support of front offices and ownership.
“I remembered when I signed my first contract, I think I even made a comment, ‘Hey, we’re all going to get fired at some point,’ ” Bochy said. “To be here at this point, I can’t tell you how that happened. But I’m very thankful.”
Close relationships with former Padres general manager Kevin Towers and Giants executive Brian Sabean proved critical in Bochy’s ability to overcome the worst seasons of his career, particularly because he was often able to maximize the talents of overmatched rosters.
“You look back at very difficult years, and to still have the support of the people who stood behind you, it makes you appreciate it even more,” Bochy said.
A handful of the Giants players who have been with Bochy the longest agree that it’s the losing seasons that reveal why the franchise reached unprecedented heights in the best seasons under the manager. When the Giants haven’t had the talent to stack up with teams in opposing dugouts, Bochy hasn’t looked for an excuse.
“For my 10 years here, whether we were pushing for a playoff spot or we were in a spot like we are now, he still wants to win every game,” Posey said.
Bochy has instead searched for advantages, created favorable matchups and found ways to deploy relievers, pinch hitters and substitutes in ways that give the Giants a better chance to emerge with a victory.
“Eventually, he’s going to win the game,” Crawford said.
In his final season with the Giants, Bochy’s team already has amassed 37 onerun wins, the most he’s ever had in 25 seasons. If not for a manager skilled with navigating the nuances of a National League game, some wonder how different the Giants’ overall record would look.
“It’s pretty fun to listen to him and then to see how much he still cares,” Bumgarner said. “It don’t matter. We’re eliminated now, and he don’t back off one ounce. It’s pretty impressive.”
With an unrelenting approach in years his teams didn’t make the postseason, Bochy was well-practiced in seasons they did.
Barring a decision to unretire, Bochy will forever have his name attached to a losing record. The players who suited up for his teams and the fans that watched them closely will all agree, however, that winning is how Bochy will be remembered.
“For my 10 years here, whether we were pushing for a playoff spot or we were in a spot like we are now, he still wants to win every game.” — Giants catcher Buster Posey, who won three World Series championships with Bochy