The Padres’ Vice Chairman pleaded for Bruce Bochy’s return before hiring Melvin.
What a brilliant move this may have been…
The San Diego Padres are looking for a new manager after letting former manager Bob Melvin go to join the division foe San Francisco Giants. San Diego is coming off a disappointing season in which they failed to make the playoffs despite having one of the best offseasons in recent memory.
With the World Series done, the Padres’ real search begins. But that hasn’t stopped old tales from surfacing about the Padres’ search for a new manager just two years ago.
Since the Rangers won the World Series, Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy has been all over the news, cementing an already legendary managerial career. Bochy won three World Series championships with the San Francisco Giants in the early 2010s and is widely regarded as one of the top managers in the league.
He took some time off after the 2019 season, only to be called back by the Rangers past summer. Bouchy did exactly that, and he now has four World Series victories to his name.
However, before to his retirement for Texas, Padres Vice Chairman Ron Fowler lobbied hard for the team to lure Bouchy back to San Diego for the 2022 season. He managed the Padres in the 1990s and was instrumental in the team’s second World Series appearance in 1998.
The team ultimately chose Melvin, but if Bouchy had stayed in San Diego, perhaps the Padres’ last few years would have been different. Bouchy is regarded for getting the most out of his players, and he is considered one of the top baseball minds in the game today.
We’ll never know what this team could have accomplished if Bouchy had returned, but perhaps the Friars would have won their first-ever championship. The talent level of the Padres, paired with Bouchy’s management skills, would have been incredible to witness. But, unfortunately, it was not to be.
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