San Francisco Giants: Bruce Bochy to Be Highest-Paid Manager
By Josh Schwam
Bruce Bochy is set to become the most well-paid manager in baseball next season. Is the San Francisco Giants skipper worthy of that distinction?
Manager Bruce Bochy signed a three-year extension with the San Francisco Giants in April of 2015. The terms of the contract were never released, however, according to Jon Heyman. Looking at what we just learned about the contract, the Giants probably hid the details so they could keep Bochy tied for being the highest-paid manager in baseball, which he became with that contract.
The long-time manager had two years remaining on his current contract when the three-year deal was signed. This means the Giants effectively guaranteed Bochy that he would be the manager for the next five years, not three.
This year (his last until the next contract starts), Bochy is making $4.5 million. For a manager, he will get a massive raise of $1.5 million, which puts his total salary from 2017-2018 at $6 million per year. The only other manager who is on-par with Bochy is Mike Scioscia who will also make $6 million in the final three years of his 10-year deal with the Los Angeles Angels. According to Heyman, the average annual value of Scioscia’s contract is $5 million, though.
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San Francisco has won three of the last six World Series. There are two ways to argue that Bochy is not the best manager in baseball. First is to say he only seems to win every other year and during the in-between years the Giants are not very good. Secondly, one could argue Bochy does not have a great regular season record with a career .504 winning percentage.
Either way you look at it, Bochy wins when he gets to the playoffs. San Francisco is up there as a top team as far as talent goes in baseball. Bochy is more than equipped to take the team that he has now to a championship.
All that said, the Giants have lost eight out of their last ten games and sit second in the National League West behind the leading Los Angeles Dodgers. Not only have they struggled over their last ten games, but Bochy’s team has struggled since the All-Star break over a month ago. Yes, the Giants currently hold a spot in the postseason via the Wild Card, but no, that is not how this caliber of a team would like to enter the playoffs.
Assuming Bochy can pull his team out of the slump they are currently in, then paying Bochy the most money ever for a manager is worth it. Either way, he is still an elite manager and it would be hard to keep him not paying top-dollar.
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Once the contract goes into effect next season, Bochy will be the highest-paid manager ever. Is that justified? Depends on how one defines a good manager. Is it purely based on winning, or is it how good of a boss you are? Bochy passes both tests with flying colors.