By Woodrow Carroll
After managing the San Francisco Giants to the World Championship in 2010, 2012, and 2014, many observers were quick to point that Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy was the only manager with three or more World Series conquests to his credit not in baseball’s Hall of Fame. Of course, a period of retirement from the game is a requirement prior to eligibility. The untimely death of Roberto Clemente during his playing career in the offseason on a mission of mercy a prime example for waiving a requirement.
Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel are leaders in World Series championships as managers, each with seven World Series championships, all with the New York Yankees. McCarthy won championships in 1932, 1936-1939, 1941, and 1943. Stengel’s seven championships were 1949-1953, 1956, and 1958. Those 14 championships won by McCarthy and Stengel combined were while managing the always-loaded Yankees who were far and away the best in Major League Baseball for long periods. Still, both proved adept at handling the talent at hand and each merits praise for their achievements.
Bochy, who was born in France where his father was stationed in military service, first played Major League Baseball in 1978 as a catcher with the Houston Astros. He played with Houston, the New York Mets, and San Diego Padres. As an active MLB player, Bochy hit .239.
For the Padres in 1984, Bochy played in one World Series game. The Padres fell in five games to the Detroit Tigers.
In 1995, Bochy was named manager of the Padres to become the first former Padres player to manage the Club. Bochy managed San Diego for 12 seasons with a fairly high degree of success, but, no World Series championship. Bochy’s 1998 Padres’ record was 98-64 during the regular season. It was Bochy’s best regular-season record by Bochy who is now in his 27th season as a Major League Baseball manager.
The Padres did reach the World Series in 1998 under Bochy only to come up against the New York Yankees, which won the first of their three consecutive World Series championships that season. The Padres fell in four straight games.
Bochy’s success with the Padres, without the most talented in MLB made him an attractive candidate when there were managerial openings.
One opening was with the San Francisco Giants.
Bochy was hired to manage the Giants at the beginning of the 2007 season. Twelve seasons with the Padres were followed by a 13-year run with the Giants highlighted by three World Series championships.
It was not all glory for Bochy in San Diego and San Francisco. In Bochy’s 12 seasons with the Padres he finished with a 951-975 won-loss record. Three championships with Giants didn’t bail him out, either. With the Giants Bochy was 1,952-1,054.
Bochy, 69, stepped down from the San Francisco job after the 2019 season. Texas Rangers sought him to manage the team. He answered the call. It paid dividends for both Bochy and the Rangers.
The Rangers, who finished 90-72 in the regular season, were not the favorites in 2023 playoffs. However, after the World Series got under way, the Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks, another lightly-regarded team, played for the championship. The Rangers won in five games to give Bochy his fourth World Series championship and the first for the Rangers’ franchise.