In 2006, the Giants hired a former big league catcher who was the manager down south for the NL West rival San Diego Padres. His name was Bruce Bochy, and he guided the franchise to three World Series titles over the next 13 years.
Seventeen years later, the Giants hired a former big league catcher who spent two years as the Padres manager. His name? Bob Melvin, and he’s following the path paved by the legendary Bochy.
“That’s the road to success, I guess,” Bochy jokingly said to KNBR’s Brian Murphy and Paul McCaffrey on Tuesday. “It worked out for me. BoMel’s a smart guy. He goes, ‘Wait a minute, that worked for him. I’ll try that.’ “
The Giants officially hired Melvin as the 39th manager in team history Oct. 25, less than one month after firing Gabe Kapler with three games left in the regular season.
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Born in Palo Alto, Melvin went to high school in Atherton, played college ball at Cal and spent three seasons with the Giants from 1986 to 1988. He began his managerial career with the Seattle Mariners in 2003 and also made stops with the Arizona Diamondbacks (2005 to 2009) and the Oakland Athletics (2011 to 2021) before landing in San Diego in 2022.
Melvin owns a career 1,517-1,425 managerial record (.516 winning percentage) and is a three-time Manager of the Year winner.
Bochy, who is coming off his fourth career World Series title with the Texas Rangers, believes the Giants are in good hands.
San Francisco Giants
“You’ve got a good one,” Bochy said. “You’ve got a really great one. Nice work there. BoMel, that’s going to be huge for him with his roots there in the Bay Area. I know the Giants have to be excited about having him.
“Just an outstanding guy and manager. Happy for that. I look forward to seeing him this spring.”
