The news of Bruce Bochy’s impending retirement is hitting folks hard in the San Francisco Giants’ clubhouse.
Pitcher Jeff Samardzija, who has been with the Giants since 2016, talked on Tuesday about Bochy’s plans to retire after the season. Samardzija expressed his fondness of Bochy and lamented that MLB will be left with nothing but “puppets” after Bochy retires.
Samardzija on Bochy: “He’s just a dying breed. Unfortunately after this you’re going to have 30 puppets out there.” pic.twitter.com/hMoVynyusn
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 19, 2019
In some ways, Samardzija is right. The more front offices are empowered, the more they’re collaborating with managers and helping to design strategies for the way games will play out. That seems to be the trend these days.
Bochy, 63, is one of the few old-school guys left. He managed the Padres from 1995-2006, taking them to one World Series. He has been with the Giants since 2007 and helped them to three World Series. His handling of his pitching staff in the postseason helped usher in a new era of little tolerance for starter error and more reliance on bullpens.
When Bochy is gone, at least we’ll still have Joe Maddon and Terry Francona to provide us with quotes and an old school/new school feel.
