Rangers made great call naming Padres legend Bruce Bochy manager

The San Diego Padres have not been a franchise that has typically bulldozed through the National League. Still, the managerial skills of Bruce Bochy helped make this team one of the most feared organizations in baseball during the 1990s. Bochy and Hall of Famer Dick Williams are the only two men to lead San Diego to the World Series.

While a younger generation of Padre fans might remember Bochy as a thorn in the teams’ side who kept piling up the championships with the San Francisco Giants, No. 15’s steady hand in the dugout is one of the main reasons franchise immortal Tony Gwynn was able to play in a World Series in the twilight of his career.

Bochy, who is going to manage Team France in the World Baseball Classic, might have gotten the itch to return to the major leagues. Luckily, one of the few managerial job openings in the league came calling, and Bochy appears ready to put his unique spin on the gig.

Bochy has come out of retirement, signing a three-year contract with the Texas Rangers. An ex-Padre orchestrated this deal, as former All-Star pitcher Chris Young is the GM of the Rangers. Bochy will take the reigns talented, albeit inconsistent, young team, much like he did in San Diego.

Former San Diego Padres manager Bruce Bochy joins the Rangers.

Bochy’s hiring is a continuation of the recent trend of hiring greybeard veteran managers to take over young teams with potential. While Dusty Baker has been a huge success with the Astros, Tony La Russa was a colossal failure in his second term managing the White Sox.

While Bochy failed to win more than 77 games in a season during his final three years with the Giants, that can be attributed to some bad injury luck and the front office’s inability to provide him with consistent power threats. Texas is a slightly different situation.

While the Rangers don’t have names like Gwynn and Greg Vaughn in the lineup, Bochy will have one of the best double-play tandems in the league (if not the outright best) in Marcus Semien and Corey Seager. With several top pitching prospects in the minors, Bochy could get this team kicked into high gear.

Anyone looking at Bochy’s sub-.500 career win-loss record and using that as evidence that he is not a good manager is foolish. Bouchy has taken multiple teams to the World Series amid lackluster spending from the front office. The Rangers will likely splash the cash to get Bochy all he needs to be a success in Texas.

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