Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is a few months shy of receiving his fourth World Series ring. While he is grateful for that experience in 2023, Bochy is already preparing for a repeat run in 2024. While he has been enjoying some rest and relaxation since the World Series ended, Bochy made an appearance at the 2023 Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tennessee. Sport Relay had the privilege of sitting in on his media session on Tuesday.
His Offseason Thus Far
The first topic Bochy fielded was what life has been like since the World Series. He said, “It’s been good. It’s been quiet the last two, three weeks, though. Took a little vacation down in Florida. Got a little fishing in. Spent Thanksgiving with some family. But it was fun to look back and reflect a little bit on everything and what a special season it was, which I hope everybody does. It’s pretty cool what happened. You have to savor these things. It’s been a good month. It’s good to catch your breath. I’m not going to lie about that.”
Bochy also addressed the topic of any pending discussions regarding his contract by saying, “Oh, no, no. I’m under contract. No, no. I haven’t had any discussion, no.” He is currently under contract for 2024 and 2025. From his years of experience, it is safe to say that he’ll know when the time is right to have those discussions with the Rangers.
High Praise for a Former Colleague
With the news of retired manager Jim Leyland getting into the Hall of Fame this past week, Bruce Bochy was asked if he’s had a chance to congratulate the former Pirates, Marlins and Tigers skipper. He said, “I missed him. He went back and I talked to Tony (La Russa), and he said that he had already flown back. I am disappointed I missed him. I’ve been staying at home. I haven’t been hanging around here all day, but I’ll find a way to get ahold of him, and that’s pretty cool.”
Bochy was also asked what he thought of the news about the man that he managed against in the 2012 World Series when Leyland managed the Tigers and Bochy was at the helm of the San Francisco Giants. “I was absolutely thrilled. He has done a lot for the game. A tremendous job he did managing. It’s good to see him getting rewarded like this. A special day, I’m sure, for him. I couldn’t even imagine how he felt. I’ll catch up with him at some point.”
Preparing for 2024
Winning a World Series title is always the ultimate goal for any team and manager. Once they win it all, however, the next chapter is never far from their minds. Bruce Bochy reflected on what his team was doing in the winter months leading up to the 2024 season. He said, “Well, first of all, I love what we have here right now as far as guys not being free agents, the core guys that we have. Particularly you look on the positions side, it’s nice to have all these guys coming back. Yeah. We’re missing — we’ll have some that are free agents. Mitch Garver, that’s not going to be easy to replace. Not that that can’t happen, but he’s a free agent.”
He also went into detail about some of the other pieces of his lineup by saying, “(Travis) Jankowski, (Robbie) Grossman, those guys did a tremendous job for us, with what we went through with injuries, and they played a huge part in our success. I don’t want to leave anybody out there on the pitching side. Even if you look at even somebody like Will Smith, he played a big role in helping us get to where we got there. I think if you look at our club, I think it’s fair to say we’re looking at a starter to see if we can get a starter there. An arm in the pen to help out there. We’re looking at our best options as far as maybe a bat. These are things that we’re talking about now.”
Evan Carter
He was also asked what his overall impression of rookie outfielder Evan Carter was. He said, “I said this a few times. It started in spring training. I got a chance to play this kid a lot and just see the makeup of Evan and the confidence, the calmness that he has, even-keeled. He has an even presence that you like especially from a young player. That’s where it started.”
“Then when we brought him up, we hit him ninth and then put him in three-hole. That didn’t affect him. Put him in a five-hole. Nothing seemed to bother him. He just plays the game for the love of it. That’s a beautiful thing. So that’s why I think he doesn’t feel pressure. He’s enjoying himself out there playing the game. I didn’t think he would be affected by the postseason. Now, he might have been a little bit more than what he showed, but I can tell you there sure wasn’t any signs that this guy had any nerves going on.”
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Main Photo:
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Dec 5) — Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy addresses the media at the 2023 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings. (Photo by Evan Thompson/Sport Relay)
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