PHOENIX — For roughly a decade, Bruce Bochy counted on Buster Posey because the spine of the San Francisco Giants on the sphere. Now, coming into his third yr because the Texas Rangers’ supervisor, Bochy can be tasked with beating the groups that Posey creates in San Francisco’s entrance workplace.
“I was excited for Buster,” Bochy stated at Cactus League Media Day on the Arizona Biltmore A Waldorf Astoria Resort. “Obviously, I think it’s a good move because of what I think about Buster. He’ll do a tremendous job. He’s smart. He knows the game. He has a good feel for people.”
Bochy admitted that he had by no means thought of the potential for Posey changing into the Giants’ president of baseball operations, however did consider that Posey would have the capability to tackle any function he desired.
“There’s no ceiling on him,” Bochy stated. “It was just a matter of what he wanted to do.”
Bochy served as Posey’s supervisor for all however certainly one of Posey’s 11 major-league seasons, successful three World Sequence titles in 5 years with Posey as his beginning catcher. Posey performed 1040 video games with Bochy as his supervisor between the common season, penning out nearly each chapter of his Corridor of Fame profession underneath Bochy’s watch.
Whereas Bochy and Posey are technically competing in opposition to each other, they’ll each have a possibility to have a good time among the finest shortstops in franchise historical past later this season.
Brandon Crawford introduced his retirement on social media in November, and on April 26, the Giants will honor Crawford at Oracle Park. Appropriately sufficient, the Giants scheduled the occasion to coincide with Bochy, who managed Crawford for 9 seasons, and the Rangers being on the town.
“I’m really, really happy that I’ll be there to watch,” Bochy stated. “I can’t thank him enough for what he did for our team, for me — his leadership, his play. It’s going to be pretty cool. I get to see the fans acknowledge him and thank him for what he did. Those are cool deals. I appreciate the timing of this.”
From 2012 to 2019, Bochy penned Crawford into the beginning lineup — all at shortstop — on 1100 events, or roughly 85 p.c of San Francisco’s regular-season video games, by far probably the most of any participant throughout that span. That doesn’t included the 38 occasions that Bochy began Crawford within the playoffs, both. In time, Crawford would turn into the document holder for many video games performed at shortstop in franchise historical past.
With Bochy observing from the dugout, Crawford helped the Giants win World Sequence titles in 2012 and 2014 and orchestrated among the most memorable moments in franchise historical past within the course of. When Oracle Park’s jumbotron broadcasts a montage of Crawford’s profession highlights, the shortstop’s crowd-silencing grand slam in opposition to the Pittsburgh Pirates through the 2014 Wild Card Recreation and iconic double play with Joe Panik in Recreation 7 of the 2014 World Sequence can be entrance and heart.
“He helped us put two rings on our fingers, but really, the consistency defensively,” Bochy stated. “Every day, he was out there. I probably wore him out at times because he didn’t get a lot of days off. He never said a word. His clutch hitting; he had a knack fro driving in the big run. For the most part, he hit in the back end of the order and kept things moving. He’s one of those guys that you’re thankful he’s on your club.”
Initially Printed: February 18, 2025 at 5:36 PM PST
