Bochy to manage Rangers
The Texas Rangers have hired Bruce Bochy as their manager, bringing the threetime World Series champion with 2,003 career victories out of a short retirement to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons.
Texas made the surprising announcement Friday, barely two weeks after its season ended. Bochy agreed to a three-year contract.
Bochy, 67, hasn’t managed since 2019, when he stepped away after 13 seasons and those World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants.
The first championship came in five games against Texas in 2010, and the Giants won again in 2012 and 2014.
Rangers general manager Chris Young was a pitcher for San Diego in 2006, which was Bochy’s final season with the Padres before going to San Francisco.
“As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident,” Young said. “It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington.”
Bochy was 951-975 in 12 seasons with the Padres (1995-2006) and took them to the last World Series in 1998.
A former big league catcher, he had a 1,052-1,054 record in San Francisco from 2007-19.
The Rangers said they’d hold an introductory news conference Monday.
Bochy said in a statement he was excited to be joining the team after several days of extensive conversations with Young and a meeting with owner Ray Davis.
“Their vision and commitment to putting together a club that can contend and win year in and year out is impressive, and I became convinced I wanted to be a part of that,” Bochy said. “If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation. I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”
Blue Jays
By his own admission, John Schneider never amounted to much as a baseball player.
Schneider fulfilled a dream he’d pursued for 15 years since giving up on playing and choosing to coach instead.
Toronto’s former bench coach, Schneider was named the 14th manager in Blue Jays history, signing a three-year contract with the team he led on an interim basis for 78 games last season.
Schneider’s contract includes a team option for 2026.“I’ve said it before, this is a dream scenario for me,” Schneider said. “I couldn’t ask for a better situation. This organization has made me feel like a family member since day one. I’m just extremely humbled and honored to lead this group and hopefully achieve our goal of winning a World Series.”
Schneider’s contract includes a team option for 2026.
Drafted by Toronto in 2002, Schneider was a minor league catcher for six seasons before becoming a minor league manager in 2009.
He spent 10 seasons managing in the minors, winning championships at three levels, before joining the Blue Jays’ big league staff as major league coach in 2019. He became bench coach before the 2022 season.
Schneider, 42, went 46-28 as interim manager after replacing Charlie Montoyo in July.
Toronto finished as the top AL wild card at 92-70 but was swept out of the playoffs by visiting Seattle, blowing an 8-1 lead in the second game and losing 10-9.
The Blue Jays have won 90 games in back-to-back seasons for the first time since doing it three consecutive years from 1991-93,.
Astros
Houston right- hander Lance McCullers Jr. sustained a small cut to his throwing elbow after being hit with a bottle during the team’s celebration after winning the AL Division Series.
“Unfortunately, after the victory in Seattle, I caught a spare champagne bottle to the elbow bone,” McCullers said.
He’s OK, but had some swelling after the incident so the team chose to give him an extra day to rest.