OAKLAND – Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, like many visitors to the region, has a busy week ahead in the Bay Area. There are places to see and people to visit, and many conversations to be had.
Of greatest interest to local baseball fans, though, will be Bochy’s return to Oracle Park in San Francisco on Friday when the Rangers begin a series against the Giants.
It’ll be the first time Bochy manages a game at China Basin since he stepped down as San Francisco’s manager in 2019 after winning three World Series titles in 13 years at the helm.
But before that series begins, and after the Rangers’ three-game series with the A’s at the Coliseum is over. Bochy plans on enjoying some peace and quiet with a rod and reel in his hands during Thursday’s day off.
“I’ve got a lot of friends to see, but I don’t have many (I can see on my day off),” Bochy said before Monday’s A’s-Rangers series opener. “I might be out on the water fishing. That’s kind of my plan right now.”
Along with that obligation, Bochy hopes his American League West-leading Rangers can stay hot. Prior to Monday, Texas (66-46) had won six straight and had a 2.5-game lead over the second-place Houston Astros, thanks in part to Bochy’s leadership.
Bochy said he allowed himself only a brief moment of sentimentality when he first touched down in the Bay Area, where he won 1,052 games.
“I had maybe a few thoughts as the plane was landing,” Bochy, 68, said. “But after that, we’re in Oakland and we have a big series here. There’s a lot going on here with the Rangers, and that’s where I’m at right now.”
Bochy also briefly shared his thoughts on the A’s and their seemingly-imminent relocation to Las Vegas after over a half-century in the East Bay — and the fans’ efforts to stop the move.
“I hope they keep trying,” Bochy said about A’s fans’ efforts to keep the team in Oakland. “They were exciting games we played here, and I feel for the fans, that they could possibly lose their team. I certainly don’t want that, but that’s not my area of expertise.”
Bochy will surely receive a warm welcome back to San Francisco on Friday, although the sentimentality might be limited with the Giants in the thick of a playoff race and the Rangers looking to stay atop the division in an exciting race with the Astros.
Bochy has loved being back in the dugout again.
“I enjoyed my three years away spending time with the family, but this has been a real blessing to me,” Bochy said.
Brandon Crawford, 36, one of five Giants players still remaining from that last team that Bochy managed, said recently of Bochy’s time away, “I kind of thought he’d want to come back and keep doing this as long as he can.”
“There are great memories here,” Bochy said. “I have a lot of people to thank for my 13 years here (and for) how well I was treated and my special time here.”
After three years away, Bochy has instantly helped turn the Rangers into one of the best teams in the American League.
In the process, he has been embraced by the fanbase of a team his Giants defeated for San Francisco’s first World Series title in 2010.
“They’ve been great, and they’ve been excited about this team, as they should be,” Bochy said. “This is a fun team to watch, and they have really treated me very, very well. It’s been a nice transition.”
