The San Francisco Giants should NOT hire Joe Maddon

With the 2019 MLB season now over, the search for the San Francisco Giants next manager is officially underway.

It’s still hard to believe that after 13 seasons, Bruce Bochy will no longer be managing the San Francisco Giants.

After riding off into the sunset following Sunday’s season finale, the search for the team’s next bench boss will now begin in earnest.

One name that will inevitably be thrown into the ring is former Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon, who will not be returning to the North Side.

Under no circumstances should he be the next manager of the San Francisco Giants.

On paper, such a move would seem to make some level of sense. A laid back, down-with-the-analytics hipster grandpa who has name recognition and a World Series title under his belt would seem to be a fitting replacement for Bochy.

That said, many could argue that the Cubs won their 2016 World Series in spite of Maddon, not because of him.

While his managing undoubtedly helped the team get to the postseason in the first place, when it was crunch time in October, the decisions he made were the exact opposite of his “cool” outward demeanor.

When the chips were down, Bochy never made a wrong move, as he was always able to stay calm in the biggest moments. This is partly luck, but largely managerial expertise. You don’t win three championships by way of a fluke.

It may be unfair to compare the next manager to Bochy, but the comparisons will come nonetheless.

Looking at the bigger picture, Zaidi is most likely looking for someone younger than the 65-year-old Maddon to take the reins. With a promising young core of players, he may want someone they can relate to more than a sexagenarian.

Also, Zaidi may be looking for someone who he is comfortable with and that he has worked with in the past. Los Angeles Dodgers bench coach Bob Geren is as of right now the only official rumored candidate, and he has a history with Zaidi after serving as the manager of the Oakland Athletics while Zaidi was a part of that organization.

It is obviously still early in the process, and there will be tons of rumors in the coming week.

Regardless of how things unfold, it would be a mistake to hire Joe Maddon to be the 38th manager of the San Francisco Giants.