BRUCE BOCHY

Texas Rangers

Three-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy was hired as the 20th full-time skipper in Texas Rangers history on October 21, 2022, receiving a three-year contract covering the 2023-25 seasons.

“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to welcome Bruce and Kim Bochy to the Texas Rangers,” said Rangers Executive Vice President & General Manager Chris Young at the time of the announcement. “In his 25 years with San Diego and San Francisco, Bruce was one of the most successful and respected managers in Major League Baseball. With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches, and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort. His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity is unmatched.

“As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident. It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington.”

Bochy is the first manager to join the Rangers after having previously won a World Series title in that capacity. In addition, he is the first Texas manager to assume the role with previous Major League managerial experience since Buck Showalter was hired on October 11, 2002. Bochy is managing for the first time since 2019, which was his final year at the helm with the San Francisco Giants. He has spent the past three seasons as a Special Advisor for the Giants, and managed Team France in the World Baseball Classic qualifier that took place in Germany this past September.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining the Texas Rangers,” said Bochy when he joined the Rangers. “Over the last several days, I’ve had extensive conversations with Chris Young and other individuals in the organization, and I had the chance to meet with 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.

“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.

Bochy, who celebrates his 68th birthday on April 16, is one of only ten managers in Major League history to have guided teams to at least three World Series titles, and the other nine individuals on that list have all been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Bochy’s Giants won the World Series in 2010 (vs. Texas), 2012 (vs. Detroit), and 2014 (vs. Kansas City). He is one of five managers in MLB history to lead a team to three titles in a five-year span, joining Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel, and Joe Torre. He enters the 2023 season with 2003 career managerial wins, 12th-most in Major League history, and he needs just 38 more wins to crack the top 10 in

(continued, next page) that category. Bochy’s 25 years as a manager are T10th-most all-time.

Research indicates that this is just the third time an individual has ever been hired to manage a team which he had previously beaten as a manager in the World Series. Bochy’s Giants beat the Rangers in the 2010 World Series. Joe Girardi managed the Phillies from 2020-22 after having previously beaten the team as Yankees manager in the 2009 Fall Classic. Johnny Keane managed the Yankees in 1965-66 after piloting the Cardinals’ 1964 World Series win over New York-AL.

Prior to joining the Rangers, Bochy had spent each of his 25 years as manager with National League West clubs San Diego (1995-2006) and San Francisco (2007-19). The 1996 National League Manager of the Year, he has also posted a top three finish for the award in five other seasons. Bochy crossed paths with Rangers General Manager Chris Young in 2006, his final year as manager of the Padres and Young’s first season as a pitcher in San Diego.

With 44 career postseason wins, Bochy is tied for sixth in MLB history in that category. He has guided teams to eight postseason appearances, six division titles, four pennants, and three World Series championships. The eight postseason appearances are tied for ninth-most in Major League history, and he is one of only seven individuals to have won four league titles since the introduction of the League Championship Series round of playoffs in 1969.

A former catcher, Bochy saw action as a player in nine Major League seasons with Houston (1978-80), New York-NL (1982), and San Diego (1983-87), batting .239 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI over 358 games in his career. He played for Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams in San Diego (1983-85). Bochy delivered a pinch-hit single in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series at Detroit. He set career bests for games (63), catching starts (29), home runs (8), and RBI (22) with the Padres in 1986.

Born at a U.S. base in Landes de Bussac, France, where his father was stationed at the time, Bochy also lived in the Panama Canal Zone, South Carolina, Virginia, and Florida during his childhood. He graduated from Melbourne (FL) High School and then played two years at Brevard Community College before being selected by Houston in the first round of the 1975 June draft.

He will be the first manager in Washington/Texas franchise history (full-time or interim) to be born outside of the United States. Bochy was the first foreign-born manager to reach the World Series (1998) and first European-born manager to win a World Series (2010).

After living most of his professional career in the San Diego, CA area, Bochy and his wife, Kim now reside in College Grove, TN, which is located outside of Nashville. They have two sons, Greg and Brett, and three grandchildren. Brett was selected by San Francisco in the 2010 MLB Draft and pitched in seven games with the Giants in 2014-15, making Bruce the eighth manager in MLB history to manage his son.