New Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has been around the game for a long time.
As a player, his MLB career started in 1978 and finished in 1987, and included stints with three teams.
He started managing in 1995 and didn’t stop until 2019.
Out of the league since then, Bochy wasn’t going to return to take any job.
He wanted something promising, something exciting to build on, and the Rangers are the perfect challenge for him.
Having managed for so long has put Bochy in a position to reach an important all-time list for skippers: wins.
“Bruce Bochy is 38 wins away from cracking the top 10 of most wins by a manager in MLB history. The Rangers haven’t made the playoffs or finished above .500 since 2016. Bochy won the pennant in his fourth season with both the Padres (1998) and Giants (2010),” ESPN Stats & Info tweeted.
Bruce Bochy is 38 wins away from cracking the top 10 of most wins by a manager in MLB history.
The Rangers haven't made the playoffs or finished above .500 since 2016.
Bochy won the pennant in his fourth season with both the Padres (1998) and Giants (2010). https://t.co/YklYGBKl32 pic.twitter.com/JKebzagwy1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 21, 2022
He Is About To Make History
The Rangers may be mediocre today, but they will most definitely earn those 38 wins in 2023, hopefully under Bochy.
If he completes the year, and there is no reason to think he won’t, he will enter the top ten list of managers with the most wins in the history of baseball.
That’s quite an accomplishment.
Bochy is taking a Rangers franchise that finished 68-94 in 2022, and the goal is to return to contention as soon as possible.
Texas has some win-now players in their primes, such as Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, Jon Gray and Nathaniel Lowe, plus some exciting, MLB-ready young guns like Josh Jung and some future stars with a 2024-2025 estimated time of arrival, like Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker.
He clearly has something to work with, and with a few impact pitching additions, improved player development, and some lucky breaks, the Rangers could finish above .500 soon enough.
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