Legendary SF Giants manager continues disappointing World Series tradition
Giants fans are all too familiar with this tradition.
The SF Giants are going to miss the playoffs but so are the reigning World Series champion Texas Rangers. Their manager, Bruce Bochy, is all too familiar with the feeling of missing the postseason after winning the World Series.
Bruce Bochy will always be a legend in San Francisco. He was the manager for all three of the team's World Series titles last decade in 2010, 2012, and 2014. He seemed to pull all of the right levers and make all of the right moves during those championship runs.
Giants fans will also remember that the Giants did not make the postseason in the seasons following their championship wins. They had a respectable 2011 season finishing 86-76 even though Buster Posey suffered a brutal season-ending injury. 2013 was more of a struggle as they finished 76-86 and were not close to the postseason. 2015 saw them finish at 84-78 and they were 8 games back of the Dodgers in the NL West and even further behind in the Wild Card standings.
Bruce Bochy misses the playoffs after winning a World Series (again)
Now, after Bochy came out of retirement last season to lead the Rangers to their first title in franchise history, he has been reminded how difficult it is to follow up with another great year. The Rangers currently sit at 72-79 as of this writing and have not been able to replicate their success from last season.
Bochy spoke with Bob Nightengale of USA Today about how difficult it is to repeat as World Series champion. No team has done it since the New York Yankees won in 1999 and 2000. Bochy just talked about how hard it is to win a championship and how so many things need to go right. All it can take is one key injury or one key player underperforming to derail your entire year.
It just goes to show that baseball is a very tough game. Even a future Hall of Famer like Bochy can struggle to figure out the right formula to make the postseason after winning it all.
No matter what, Bochy is a legendary manager and the best manager in San Francisco Giants history. Looking back, it was nice having breaks between championships and was probably good for Bochy. We know he has had some heart problems and it was probably advisable that he had a gap in between deep postseason runs especially with the torturous brand of baseball the Giants played during his tenure. Knowing Bochy, he will probably lead the Rangers back to the World Series next year.