Anonymous MLB poll reveals players would love to play for former SF Giants manager

While some people may not put much stock in anonymous player polls, they can still be interesting. One recent poll conducted by The Athletic reveals that many players would love to play for former SF Giants manager Bruce Bochy.

The poll from The Athletic asked players a number of questions ranging from managers they would love to, or hate to, play for as well as what teams have a good and bad reputation. There were some interesting nuggets throughout the survey as it pertains to the Giants.

Former SF Giants manager gets love in anonymous MLB player poll

Out of 121 responses on the manager most players would want to play for other than their own, 20 players responded with Bochy, a former player in his own right. Those 20 votes were the most any manager received. This should not come as a huge shock given the fact that he is one of the most respected and most accomplished managers in baseball.

He won three World Series championships with the Giants before retiring in 2019. Then, after a few years on hiatus he returned to manage the Texas Rangers in 2023 and immediately won another World Series. He is a lock for the Hall of Fame so it is no wonder players want to play for him.

Other managers of note who received votes are current Giants manager Bob Melvin and former Giants manager Dusty Baker who each received two votes apiece.

On the question of which manager players would not want to play for, three players voted for ex-Giants manager Gabe Kapler. The controversial manager was fired after the 2023 season and it is clear some players are not fans. It would not be a shock if one of those votes came from one former Giants player in particular.

When it comes to teams with a good reputation versus teams with a bad reputation, the Los Angeles Dodgers led the way with 82 respondents saying they had a good reputation and not one saying they had a bad reputation.

The ratio was a bit different for the Giants as eight players said the Giants had a good reputation as an organization while one said they had a bad reputation which put them roughly in the middle of the pack.

It is interesting to get a sense of what players think through these polls. While it is anonymous, we can at least surmise that the Giants seem to have a decent reputation across the league and their manager does not seem to be loathed in the way his predecessor was.

However, a more interesting poll may be among current Giants players as to whether they would want to see Bochy as their manager. We could probably already guess what the vote amongst fans would be on that one.