San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy announced Monday that he will retire after the 2019 season.
FILE PHOTO: San Francisco Giants Manager Bruce Bochy stands next to the World Series trophy before the team’s MLB National League baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in San Francisco, California April 7, 2013. REUTERS/Stephen Lam
The announcement was made on the club’s Twitter feed.
“I will be retiring after the season.” —@BruceBochy
Bochy, who turns 64 in April, has guided the Giants to three World Series titles (2010, 2012, 2014) during his tenure. He also managed the San Diego Padres to the 1998 World Series when that club lost to the New York Yankees.
Bochy enters the 2019 season with the 11th-most wins in major league history. He is 1,926-1,944 in 24 seasons — 12 with the Padres and 12 with the Giants.
“Words cannot adequately express the amount of admiration, gratitude and respect the Giants family has for Bruce Bochy,” team president and CEO Laurence M. Baer said in a prepared statement. “His honesty, integrity, passion and brilliance led to the most successful period of Giants baseball in the history of our franchise. He will always be a Giant and we look forward to honoring him and all of his achievements throughout his final season in San Francisco and inevitably in Cooperstown.”
He stands 74 ways away from reaching 2,000 career wins. Every manager who has reached that mark is enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
“It’s been an unbelievable ride,” Bochy said. “There’s so much I’m grateful for.”
Bochy’s teams went 951-975 in his tenure with San Diego from 1995-2006. He was National League Manager of the Year in 1996 and led the Padres to four postseason berths.
Bochy won division titles in each of his final two seasons in San Diego but was told after the 2006 campaign he could explore his options. He eventually accepted the Giants’ job.
World Series title No. 1 came after the 2010 season when San Francisco defeated the Texas Rangers in five games.
Two years later, the Giants won their second title under Bochy with a four-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers.
In 2014, San Francisco won a memorable seven-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Bochy made the call to install ace left-hander Madison Bumgarner in relief on two days rest and received five shutout innings to win his third title.
The Giants also made the playoffs in 2016 and were eliminated by the Chicago Cubs in the National League Division Series.
His record with San Francisco heading into 2019 stands at 975-969.
“Ever since I moved to San Francisco in 2007, the city and our awesome fans have embraced me,” Bochy said on Twitter. “I’m going to miss it, but I’m so grateful for the last 12 years and am looking forward to finishing strong this season.”
Bochy’s health has been a concern in recent seasons and he has undergone multiple heart procedures.
Bochy was a catcher for the Houston Astros (1978-80), New York Mets (1982) and Padres (1983-87) and batted .239 with 26 homers and 93 RBIs over nine major league seasons.