Bruce Bochy, a keystone of the Giants organization for many years and the three-time World Series champion manager returned to San Francisco this weekend. Having previously managed the Padres and Giants, he’s only adding to his already strong managerial resume with the Rangers this season. 

Known to the Giants organization and fans as “Boch”, he joined the organization at the end of the 2006 season. The Giants finished the 2006 season 76-85, nine games under .500; a third-place finish in the division. The first few years with Bochy as the Giants' manager were a transitional period, with records of 71-91 and 72-90 to a much brighter and hopeful 88-74. 

The transition not only shows in the win-loss records but also in player personnel. Bruce Bochy’s first season in 2007 was the last season of Barry Bonds’ illustrious career. His career as manager of the Giants bridges the gap between two eras of greatness on the field: Bonds and the core players from the 2010s World Series Championship teams.

The first half of the 2010s needs no introduction. Three World Series championships in five years will always be the shiniest part of his career; the part that cements his legacy. 

This weekend at Oracle Park, the Giants organization and fans welcomed Bochy back for the first time since his retirement at the end of the 2019 season. He’s starting fresh in Texas and is in the running for Manager of the Year, a feat he accomplished in 1996 with the Padres. If there were a “Comeback Manager of the Year” award, he’d win it in a landslide. Should he win Manager of the Year, this time for the American League, he’d be the fourth oldest award recipient. 

A manager is to a baseball team as a director is to a film. He pushes all the right buttons to put together a victorious season, just like a director puts together a successful production. A director is the main person aside from the actors who is most recognizable and known to the public; the manager is just behind the players and is vital to the club’s culture and function. Even though Boch is with a different team, I’ll be just as happy for him if he wins American League Manager of the Year.