These definitely aren’t your father’s Texas Rangers.
Continuing to reshape the look of their franchise, the Texas Rangers have inked former San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy to a three-year deal. The move comes after an eventful 2022 season which saw the Rangers add big names and big dollars in free agency (Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Jon Gray, among others) and change the look of their front office with the firing of president of baseball operations Jon Daniels in August.
Bochy announced his retirement from the Giants at the end of the 2019 campaign, but marked his return to baseball by agreeing to manage France in the qualifying round for the World Baseball Classic. Now the 67-year-old Bochy will be back in a Major League dugout, guiding a Rangers team that finished 68-94 in 2022 and 38.0 games behind the Houston Astros in the National League West.
“If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation,” Bochy was quoted as saying in the team’s official press release about the hire. “I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”
What Bruce Bochy brings to the Texas Rangers
In his 25 seasons between the Padres and Giants, Bochy has logged 2,003 wins, becoming one of just 12 MLB managers who has seen that much success. Tony La Russa is among the group, but stepped down this season from the Chicago White Sox because of health concerns. Dusty Baker is also among the group and serving as the current Astros manager.
Bochy is the 20th manager in the history of the Rangers, and the first one to be hired after winning a World Series (Bochy earned three rings, guiding the Giants to the title in 2010, 2012, and 2014). That title in 2010 came at expense of the Rangers.
Bringing postseason experience to the Rangers is important for a team that hopes to catapult over Houston and Seattle in the division and return to prominence in the American League.