SF Giants’ Bruce Bochy Nostalgic Reunion
San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy walks into the dugout after a baseball game between the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
2019.09.29 – Bruce Bochy’s legacy will forever be the San Francisco Giants’ baseball golden era and the greatest nostalgic players reunion assembled at Oracle Park.
The Giants flew in past players from Florida and the Dominican Republic. They drove across state lines. There were Cy Young Award winners and World Series MVPs. Star players and supporting cast. Introverts and extroverts.
Great Giants all, Old souls and deep thinkers, those who partied and those who prayed. Some who needed a hand on the shoulder and others who needed the occasional kick in the rear. Every face brought a flood of memories.
Bochy managed all of them. He drew the best from them. From Tim Lincecum to Jake Peavy, Buster Posey to Aubrey Huff, Ryan Vogelsong to Barry Zito, Omar Vizquel to Madison Bumgarner, Barry Bonds to Marco Scutaro.
RELATED: 2019.09.29 –Giants honor Bochy with ceremony (Video)
RELATED: 2019.09.29 –Giants honor Bochy with ceremony (Video)
Bochy did more than elevate teams that were greater than the sum of their parts. He never forgot that those parts were people. He knew he couldn’t manage those people well if he couldn’t connect with them.
Bochy spoke to a ballpark filled with thousands of lives he touched in some way and thanked them all straight from the heart, no notes necessary.
Bochy bid an emotional farewell following 2 1/2 decades in what is certainly a Hall of Fame managerial career, finishing with a 9-0 defeat to the mighty Dodgers on his last day as fans remained in their seats long after the game ended to celebrate a man who helped bring this city its only three World Series championships.
Los Angeles won its franchise-record 106th game, jumping to a 5-0 lead in the first that held up on Will Smith’s two-run homer right after a bases-clearing, three-run double by Corey Seager.
“It’s all about Bochy,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before the game, then paid his respects during a special exchange of the lineups ahead of first pitch.
Yet Roberts absolutely wanted to win this one to put these 2019 Dodgers (106-56) in elite company of their own. They passed the win mark of the 1953 “Boys of Summer” team based in Brooklyn that included Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider and other Hall of Famers.
“I’m going to take a moment to appreciate what we did as an organization. We’re talking about the regular season and all those great teams in Dodgers history,” Roberts said. “It takes a lot to accomplish what we accomplished as a group, as an organization, and there’s a lot to be said for that. So very proud of everyone top to bottom. It’s something that no one can take away from us and it speaks to the character, the work ethic, the talent, just the togetherness of everyone, so very proud.”
The Dodgers finished with the second-best record in the majors behind the 107-win Houston Astros.
Chants of “Bochy! Bochy!” greeted him during introductions and son and former Giants pitcher Brett threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his ex-catcher father. Bochy held grandson Braxton in the dugout before the game, too. Fans stood and cheered “Bochy!” again once the final out was made and an extravagant, surprise postgame ceremony ensued.
“This was as tough a day as I’ve ever had,” Bochy said. “I had no idea that this send-off would be like it was today.”
Bochy took one final ride around the ballpark in a classic convertible with wife, Kim, and their grandson.
Roberts ran back out onto the field to join the celebration of Bochy, with home run king Barry Bonds grabbing the blue Dodgers cap from his pal’s head and tossing it into right field as Roberts became a good-natured punching bag in the rival colors.
“His hat should have been thrown … I threw him off the field,” Bochy said of someone he managed in San Diego and San Francisco.
The 64-year-old Bochy, who guided the Giants to World Series championships in 2010, ’12 and ’14, waved and tipped his cap from the dugout before the game before doing some stretches against the back of the railing taking it all in as he promised to do from the start of the final week.
Bochy finishes 2003-2029 in 4,032 games as a manager over 25 seasons, the first 12 with San Diego before 13 in San Francisco. He went 1,052-1,054 with the Giants, who wound up 77-85 in his final year and with four more wins than last season.
Lefty Rich Hill worked three scoreless innings allowing one hit in his 13th start of the season for the Dodgers. Dustin May (2-3) pitched a perfect fourth for the win.
RELATED: 2019.09.29 – Bruce Bochy’s Final Speech to San Francisco (Video)
RELATED: 2019.09.29 – Bruce Bochy’s Final Speech to San Francisco (Video)
A smiling Tim Lincecum was among the dozens of former players on hand for Bochy’s farewell festivities, with groups walking out from center field representing various years. Lincecum, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner with a pair of no-hitters, emerged alone at the very end to huge cheers. He later offered his manager a warm embrace.
“It was was beyond whatever I thought they could do,” Bochy said.
The Giants attempted to make the loudest foghorn call the Bay Area has experienced by having fans turn their phones into a foghorn through the ballpark app or on the team’s website.
“We’ll see you at Cooperstown,” Giants CEO Larry Baer said in wishing Bochy well.
BOCHY’S SPEECH
His entire speech was a master class in public speaking.
He expressed thanks to ownership, to “master strategist” Brian Sabean for paving his path to the Bay Area, to the broadcasters, to his coaches and trainers and clubhouse staff, to the players, to his family, and finally, to the fans.
But it was when Bochy turned toward that semicircle of players, nearly 80 of them standing three and four rows deep, that you understood: He was the one person who connected all of them together.
“Fellas, you have taught me to look beyond impossible, to never say die, to never stop believing, and never, never give up on what you’re trying to accomplish,” Bochy said. “When I look at these players I’m just reminded how good I’ve had it. I think of those nail-biting ninth innings with the Beard on the mound. Brian Wilson, I should thank you for this first stent (in his heart) and Jeremy Affeldt, you have one, too. I’ll also thank Tim Lincecum, the Freak. I think of Matt Cain’s perfect game, I think of Pablo Sandoval’s three home runs in the World Series, I think of Édgar (Rentería)’s home run in Texas. And nobody loved those Buster Hugs more than me. And I think of watching Bum do something I don’t think we’ll ever see in the game again.
“Fellas, you’ve challenged me, you’ve entertained me with your backwards personalities, and you’ve had me in awe of your talent. Managing you guys has been one of the greatest joys of my life. Thank you for making me a better manager and a better person.”
Vogelsong said when he had his turn at the microphone, “You’ve gotten us further than you know. Without you, we don’t have these three (trophies) sitting here. You changed our lives. You gave us something no one can ever take away from us.”
Bochy was most fond of a simple message he’d deliver to the players from time to time.
“Do you know what ring means the most?” he’d say. “The next one.”
RELATED: 2019.09.29 – Thank You, Boch – by Tim Flannery (Video)
RELATED: 2019.09.29 – Thank You, Boch – by Tim Flannery (Video)
Others traveled a far greater distance than the visiting dugout:
Dave Righetti, Tim Flannery, Ryan Klesko, Brad Hennessey, Tyler Walker, Vinnie Chulk, Fred Lewis, Kevin Frandsen, Kevin Correia, Noah Lowry, Pedro Feliz, Dan Runzler, Ray Durham, Omar Vizquel, Barry Bonds, Mike Fontenot, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Andrés Torres, Cody Ross, Édgar Rentería, Brian Wilson, Nate Schierholtz, Guillermo Mota, Marco Scutaro, Mike Fontenot, Ángel Pagán, Barry Zito, Ryan Vogelsong, Chris Heston, Santiago Casilla, Javier Lopez, Grégor Blanco, Jake Peavy, Jeremy Affeldt.
There was his son, Brett, the only pitcher in major-league history to be handed a baseball by his manager/father, who threw a ceremonial strike while Bruce bent down as far into a crouch as he could with the confidence he could straighten back up.
And yes, appearing for the first time as a former player, Tim Lincecum.
Renel introduced Timmy last. She barely got past “No. 55” when the cheers drowned out everything else.
“It was spine-chilling,” said Lincecum, who hadn’t been to the Giants’ waterfront ballpark since his final season pitching for them in 2015. “I wasn’t prepared for that. It was really cool. It was like going through a time machine. You almost wish you were playing again. But it is what it is and life goes on.”
KERSHAW TUNEUP
Clayton Kershaw pitched the bottom of the fifth in a playoff tuneup, getting one strikeout in a 1-2-3 inning. He pitched in relief for the first time since Sept. 22, 2009.
Kershaw tipped his cap to Bochy, and the manager did so back.
Roberts said the Dodgers are still discussing their Division Series rotation.
BUMGARNER’S FAREWELL?
San Francisco Giants pitcher Madison Bumgarner during a baseball game between the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool)
Bochy promised MadBum would have his spikes on.
Madison Bumgarner, who didn’t pitch Sunday as had been originally planned, drew a rousing standing ovation before lining out as a pinch-hitter with two outs in the fifth against Kershaw.
“It was cool,” Kershaw said. “Once he saw he was not pitching today it was some way to let the fans appreciate what he had done here. It’s a good way to do it, get him there in against the lefty who he’d hit a few home runs against.”
San Francisco’s big lefty tipped and waved his batting helmet in every direction to acknowledge the fans in what might have been his final moment in a Giants uniform.
The 2014 World Series MVP can become a free agent, so Tuesday might have been his final start for the Giants. He is wrapping up a contract singed in April 2012 that included a $12 million contract option this year, and the Giants opted not to deal him at the trade deadline.
Right-hander Dereck Rodriguez (6-11) started in Bumgarner’s slot.
ATTENDANCE
San Francisco drew 2,707,760 fans in 2019, lowest home attendance in the ballpark’s 20-year history. It’s also the Giants’ first time not reaching 3 million in attendance at home since 2008 and ’09 and down from their 3,156,185 last year.
BOCHY’S ATTRIBUTES
Giants CEO Larry Baer rattled off a list of Bochy’s attributes that the front office would be wise to target in his replacement: Humble, honest, sincere, direct, calm, competitive, caring, understanding.
“We love you for the accomplishments, Boch,” Baer said, “but we love you more for the person you are.”
He left out one more. Grateful.
As well as Bochy kept from crumbling during his speech in front of a sellout crowd, his voice halted in the media interview room when asked if he’d leave a note in his desk for his successor.
“I’d probably leave a note that he’s getting the best job in baseball,” Bochy said. “And I mean that. I talk about the owners and the front office, the city, the surrounding areas, the ballpark, the fans … he’s getting the best job in baseball.”
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Read more at: San Francisco Giants Media Services / More AP MLB
JEstevez@EMIsportsCentral.com
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