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Bruce Bochy had nothing to prove when he decided to retire and manage the Rangers before the 2023 season.
He had won three World Series rings with the Giants by then, cementing a legacy that would lead him to the Hall of Fame. But Boshi did not stop there. He continued to burnish his credentials by winning his fourth World Series title in his first year at Texas, an accomplishment that should place him in the pantheon of baseball’s greatest managers.
Bochy became the sixth manager to win at least four World Series titles and the first manager to accomplish the feat with two different teams. His 2,252 wins rank sixth all-time among managers; the five ahead of him — Connie Mack, Tony La Russa, John McGraw, Bobby Cox and Joe Torre — are all in the Hall of Fame.
It won’t be long before Bochy joins that illustrious group in Cooperstown, as he is among eight candidates on the ballot for managers, executives and umpires in the Modern Baseball Era. The list includes two other greats with huge ties, Dusty Baker and Brian Sabean, as well as Sandy Alderson, Joe Maddon, Lou Piniella, Ted Turner and Bill White.
The eight nominees will be voted on by a 16-member panel of Hall of Fame players, Major League executives, members of the media and historians. Candidates must receive at least 12 votes (75%) to be nominated, with the results of the 2027 ballot scheduled to be announced on December 6.
“It’s unthinkable that something like this could happen,” Bochy, 71, said during a recent interview with MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM. “Unless you’re one of those big Hall of Fame players, it’s not something that ever crosses your mind. It’s something that really amazes me. The other guys on the ballot, I have a close relationship with a lot of them. I’m very humbled that it’s even being talked about. It’s unbelievable to me that something like this could happen.”
The son of an Army sergeant, Bochy spent parts of nine seasons as a backup catcher in the big leagues for the Astros, Mets and Padres. Shortly after his playing career ended in 1987, Bochy landed his first managerial gig with rookie-level Spokane and quickly settled into his second game.
“I loved it,” Bochy said in 2019. “I never knew I was going to make it to the Big Leagues. I didn’t look at it like I was headed for it. I probably would have been happy if I had stayed as a manager in the Minor Leagues. It was a pleasure for me.”
In 1995, the 39-year-old Bochy got his first opportunity to manage in the Majors with the Padres. The following year, he won the National League Manager of the Year award after leading San Diego to its first NL West title since ’84. Bochy spent 12 years at the helm of the Padres, leading the club to four division titles and the ’98 NL pennant before leaving to join the Giants before the 2007 season.
In San Francisco, Bochy further enhanced his reputation as a shrewd tactician with a gift for bullpen management. He hit all the right buttons during the Giants’ three World Series runs in 2010, ’12 and ’14, becoming just the fifth manager to win a team three titles in five years. The Giants’ championship in ’10 was their first since moving west to San Francisco for the 1958 season, and the first since ’54 that put the franchise back on top.
Bochy’s postseason signing came in Game 7 of the 2014 World Series against the Royals, when he fed the ball to star left-hander Madison Bumgarner, who came out of the bullpen to pitch five scoreless innings and lead the Giants to the finish line. Bochy’s decision to ride with Bumgarner, who was pitching on two days’ rest, was emblematic of his ability to get buy-in from players and trust his gut on the biggest stages.
Bochy managed the Giants for 13 seasons from 2007-19 before deciding to step down and move into a consulting role in the front office. Still, he was forced out of retirement by Rangers who brought him on board as their new captain in October 2022.
Bochy capped his storied career by guiding Texas to its first World Series title in 2023, snapping a 52-year championship drought for the franchise. After a three-year stint with the Rangers, Bochy returned to the Giants in 2015 as a special advisor to baseball operations.
Overall, Bochy led his teams to five pennants and posted a 57-37 (.606) mark in the postseason. He is the only manager in MLB history to win more than 900 games with multiple clubs, setting franchise records with 951 with San Diego and 1,052 with San Francisco, second only to McGraw in Giants history.
Given the extent of his accomplishments, it should only be a matter of time before Bochy takes his rightful place in Cooperstown.