(Photo Credit: Stan Olszewski/2017 Special to S.F. Examiner)

San Francisco Giants manager keeps his eye on the prize

The San Francisco Giants went into this baseball season as a middling team far short of their recent glory. And they went into it knowing that their longtime manager, Bruce Bochy, would be retiring when it was all over.

The Giants won’t be sending him off a trip to the playoffs and a chance to win a fourth World Series. With a 74-78 record, they might be able to finish the uphill climb to .500. And once Bochy is gone, proper reconstruction of the roster can take place.

The Giants, however, did make a little midseason run that almost put them in contention for a wild card, and on Wednesday night they provided Bochy with the 2,000th victory of his stellar career when they beat the Boston Red Sox 11-3 at Fenway Park.

Bochy becomes the 11th manager to hit that win total, having compiled the first 951 with the San Diego Padres. The rest and three championships followed with the Giants. Every other manager with 2,000 wins is in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and there’s little doubt Bochy will follow.

In 2010, 2012 and 2014, the Giants celebrated Word Series crowns with champagne. They toasted Bochy the same way after Wednesday night’s marquee triumph. But he’ll be ending his 25th year of managing with a third straight playoff miss.

So what? Fans stuck around to cheer him at the end of the game – a road game – in appreciation of his accomplishments. He gave plenty to baseball and everyone in the house knew it.

“I was sitting there (in the dugout) and they started chanting. I’ve never had that happen before,” Bochy said. “I had some emotions going through me during that. Really overwhelmed by it, to be honest.”

No doubt he will miss the game when the spring training rolls around next February. No doubt baseball will miss him as well.

 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman