Meet the new manager for the Texas Rangers

Bruce Bochy, who led the San Francisco Giants to three World Series titles, has been named manager of the Texas Rangers, the club announced Friday.

Bochy replaces Chris Woodward, who was fired mid-season. He had a 211-287 record with the Rangers. Tony Beasley served as the interim manager after Woodward was fired on Aug. 15.

Bochy has agreed to a three-year contract covering the 2023-25 seasons.

From the official Rangers press release:

“On behalf of the entire organization, I want to welcome Bruce and Kim Bochy to the Texas Rangers,” said Rangers Executive Vice President & General Manager Chris Young. “In his 25 years with San Diego and San Francisco, Bruce was one of the most successful and respected managers in Major League Baseball. With a calm and steady presence, he has a remarkable ability to connect and communicate with players, coaches, and staff, and his teams have always played with maximum effort. His knowledge of the game, as well as his integrity is unmatched.

“As we went through the interview process, Bruce’s passion and excitement about returning to the dugout was very evident. It became clear he was the ideal individual to lead our club as we continue to build a championship culture here in Arlington.”

Bochy (pronounced BO-chee) becomes the 20th full-time manager in Rangers history and the first to join the club after having previously won a World Series title as manager. He is the first Texas manager to assume the role with previous Major League managerial experience since Buck Showalter was hired on October 11, 2002. Bochy will be managing for the first time since 2019, which was his final year at the helm with the San Francisco Giants. He has spent the past three seasons as a Special Advisor for the Giants, and managed Team France in the World Baseball Classic qualifier that took place in Germany this past September.

“I am incredibly excited to be joining the Texas Rangers,” said Bochy. “Over the last several days, I’ve had extensive conversations with Chris Young and other individuals in the organization, and I had the chance to meet with Ray Davis. Their vision and commitment to putting together a club that can contend and win year in and year out is impressive, and I became convinced I wanted to be a part of that.

“If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation. I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Bochy, 67, is one of only 10 managers in Major League history to have guided teams to at least three World Series titles, and the other nine individuals on that list have all been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame (see separate chart). Bochy’s Giants won the World Series in 2010 (vs. Texas), 2012 (vs. Detroit), and 2014 (vs. Kansas City). He is one of 5 managers in MLB history to lead a team to three titles in a five-year span, joining Connie Mack, Joe McCarthy, Casey Stengel, and Joe Torre. He has 2003 career wins as a manager, 12th-most in Major League history, and he needs just 38 more wins to crack the top 10 in that category. Bochy’s 25 years as a manager are T10th-most all-time.

Research indicates that this is just the third time an individual has ever been hired to manage a team which he had previously beaten as a manager in the World Series. Bochy’s Giants beat the Rangers in the 2010 World Series. Joe Girardi managed the Phillies from 2020-22 after having previously beaten the team as Yankees manager in the 2009 Fall Classic. Johnny Keane managed the Yankees in 1965-66 after piloting the Cardinals’ 1964 World Series win over New York-AL.

Bochy has spent each of his 25 years as manager with National League West clubs San Diego (1995-2006) and San Francisco (2007-19), as Texas will be his first American League post and first managing job outside of California. The 1996 National League Manager of the Year, he has also posted a top three finish for the award in five other seasons. Bochy crossed paths with Rangers General Manager Chris Young in 2006, his final year as manager of the Padres and Young’s first season as a pitcher in San Diego.

With 44 career postseason wins, Bochy ranks T6th in MLB history in that category. He has guided teams to eight postseason appearances, six division titles, four pennants, and three World Series championships. The eight postseason appearances are T9th-most in Major League history, and he is one of only seven individuals to have won four league titles since the introduction of the League Championship Series round of playoffs in 1969.

A former catcher, Bochy saw action as a player in nine Major League seasons with Houston (1978-80), New York-NL (1982), and San Diego (1983-87), batting .239 with 26 home runs and 93 RBI over 358 games in his career. He played for Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams in San Diego.

Born at a U.S. base in Landes de Bussac, France, where his father was stationed at the time, Bochy will be the first manager in Washington/Texas franchise history (full-time or interim) to be born outside of the United States. Bochy was the first foreign-born manager to reach the World Series (1998) and first European-born manager to win a World Series (2010).

This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 12:17 PM.