One year ago, Patrick Bailey and Bruce Bochy spent time together in the Pacific Northwest while the catcher was playing for High-A Eugene and the former Giants manager was serving in a special advisor role for the franchise.
A lot can change in one year, and that was evident Friday night at Oracle Park.
Bailey is entrenched as the Giants' everyday catcher, and Bochy, who ended his three-year hiatus this past offseason, returned to San Francisco as the manager of the AL-West leading Texas Rangers.
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Before the Giants and Rangers opened up their three-game series Friday night, Bochy sat in the visiting dugout and met with local reporters.
NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic asked Bochy for his thoughts on what he has seen from Bailey this season.
"Nice player," Bochy said. "Impressive the progress he's made. I was telling him the last time I saw him was last year in Spokane, where I was watching our A-Ball team. He's done a terrific job for them. They've got a good one there."
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Bailey received his first promotion to the Giants on May 19 after Joey Bart and Roberto Perez sustained injuries, and the 24-year-old hasn't let go of the starting job.
Very quickly, Bailey earned the trust of Giants pitchers, including ace Logan Webb. His pitch-framing has been lauded and his cannon of an arm arguably is his most valuable weapon.
Bochy spent 13 years as Giants manager, and for the last 11, he had Buster Posey as his catcher, someone who was reliable and indispensable in so many ways.
Bailey has a long way to go to live up to Posey's impact, but Bochy knows a good catcher when he sees one and he believes the Giants have found one of the best in the game.
