Thursday newsletter time: Rangers job to delay Bruce Bochy going into Hall of Fame, and he’s fine with it

Jeff Wilson October 27, 2022

(AP photo/Hans Pennink)

The Hall of Fame can wait for Bruce Bochy.

In fact, he said his likely induction in 2024 was never a thought when mulling whether to take over as Rangers manager.

A little background:

Managers don’t appear on the Hall of Fame ballot sent to eligible voters in the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Instead, managers are selected via committee. Bochy was eligible next year for the Contemporary Baseball Era Non-Players Committee for enshriement in 2024. The Contemporary Baseball Era Players Committee is meeting in December, with Barry Bonds among those expected to be considered.

Bochy has 2,003 wins (and counting) and three World Series rings (and counting, the Rangers hope). His Hall of Fame resume is complete, though he’s not sure the name on the top of the resume is a fit.

“When I think of the Hall of Fame I think about Johnny Bench and Willie Mays and those guys, and not Bruce Bochy,” he said Wednesday while taping for the next Rangers Today Baseball Podcast. “I know we’re talking about managers and that’s a different animal, but, no, absoultely not [a factor in his decision].”

Bochy has managed 25 seasons with only two clubs, the Padres and Giants. Before the three titles in San Francisco, Bochy took the Padres to their second and most recent World Series in 1998, losing in a four-game sweep to the Yankees.

The Bochy episode of the Rangers Today podcast should be out by Friday.

Only you

The podast wasn’t Bochy’s only media stop Wednesday. He also appeared the MLB Network Radio show Loud Outs on Sirius XM with Rangers analyst C.J. Nitkowski and former All-Star closer Brad Lidge.

Both asked great questions. One in particular stuck out: Did Bochy consider any other managerial jobs?

There were a handful besides the Rangers’ post open: the White Sox, Marlins, Blue Jays and Royals.

They didn’t stand a chance after general manager Chris Young went to Nashville and met with Bochy for seven hours. Bochy’s wife, Kim, even made lunch and kept shoveling snacks their way. They never left the house.

“Once I started talking to CY, I had no interest in talking to anybody else,” he said. “Just listening to his vision, and when you talk to him, you can feel how bad he wants to get this done, turned around, this is where I wanted to be and I knew it.”

Bochy left the Giants after the 2019 season, saying it was time for a new voice. He conveniently dodged the COVID season, but the itch to return to managing became stronger and stronger the past few seasons.

The Rangers scratched it.

Bruce Bochy has found a new home in Texas as the #Rangers next manager, and he wouldn't want to have it any other way. @Rangers | #StraightUpTX pic.twitter.com/XT4ndZlD79
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) October 26, 2022

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