Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Bruce Bochy Leads Texas Rangers to ALCS vs. Houston Astros
By Space Coast Daily // October 12, 2023
Brevard Native is three-time World Series champion with 2,003 career victories
ABOVE VIDEO: Following his high school baseball career at Melbourne High School, Bruce Bochy went on to suit up for Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College) as a catcher and was honored with selection to the All-America team for the 1975 Titans team that won a state championship under coach Jack Kenworthy. Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Committee was delighted and honored to welcome the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Bruce Bochy in 2013, a man who holds his Brevard roots dear and is in an elite group of managers who has won three World Series titles. (Video originally aired in 2013)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard native Bruce Bochy, a three-time World Series champion with over 2,000 career victories, has led the Texas Rangers to the American League Championship Series vs. the Houston Astros.
Game 1 of the ALCS will start on Sunday, October 15, when the Texas Rangers take on the Astros in Houston in a best-of-seven series.
Bochy was hired out of a three-year retirement late last year to take over a team that has had six consecutive losing seasons.
Texas made the surprising announcement last fall, just more than two weeks after its 2022 season ended and Bochy agreed to a three-year contract.
Bruce Bochy is 4 wins away from leading his third different franchise to the #WorldSeries! pic.twitter.com/NidAJacE3p
— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2023
Before this season, the 67-year-old Bochy hasn’t managed since 2019 when he stepped away after 13 seasons and those World Series titles with the San Francisco Giants. The first championship came in five games over Texas in 2010, and the Giants won again in 2012 and 2014.
The first championship came in five games over Texas in 2010, and the Giants won again in 2012 and 2014.
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2013 SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE
Following his high school baseball career at Melbourne High School, Bochy went on to suit up for Brevard Community College (now Eastern Florida State College) as a catcher and was honored with selection to the All-America team for the 1975 Titans team that won a state championship under coach Jack Kenworthy.
Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Committee was delighted and honored to welcome the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Bruce Bochy in 2013, a man who holds his Brevard roots dear and is in an elite group of managers who has won three World Series titles.
He fell in love with baseball as a boy and first tested his skills on the diamond while playing at Melbourne High School. As the son of a U.S. Army officer, Bruce Bochy grew up believing hard work counted for something.
Others quickly found that his passion for the game, coupled with his desire to succeed, was nothing short of inspirational, and it has earned him induction into the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame.
Following high school, Bochy went on to suit up for Brevard Community College as a catcher and was honored with selection to the All-America team for the 1975 Titans team that won a state championship under coach Jack Kenworthy.
He was drafted in the first round of the 1975 Major League Draft as the 24th overall pick by the Houston Astros.
CONTROLLING THE TEMPO
His willingness to arrive early at the ballpark and stay long after games to work on improving his skills made a lasting impression on scouts, teammates and opponents.
He reached the big leagues in 1978 as a catcher, and during a nine-year playing career with Houston, the New York Mets, and the San Diego Padres, Bochy won over coaches and team officials with his ability to call pitches and manage games.
His most memorable playing moments included batting in a 1984 World Series game and behind the plate in a 1985 game when Pete Rose broke Ty Cobb’s record for career hits.
With his days as a player behind him by 1988, Bochy’s passion for winning did not diminish.
He returned to baseball in 1989 as a minor league manager, leading teams in Spokane, Wash., Riverside, Calif., Adelanto, Calif., and Wichita, Kan.
MANAGING IN THE BIGS
As a manager, Bochy exhibited patience, a calm demeanor, and a great deal of patience in teaching the game to young players, and many were drawn to his outgoing sense of humor.
In 1995, he was named manager of the San Diego Padres, and in 12 years as the team’s skipper, Bochy led them to four National League West Division titles and a berth in the 1998 World Series against the New York Yankees.
Larry Baer, the president and chief executive officer of the San Francisco Giants hired Bochy to replace Felipe Alou in the dugout for the 2007 season.
But Baer said he wasn’t convinced about how good a job Bochy would do based upon his interview.
“It wasn’t until up close that I saw how good he was, how good he was with people, how people responded to him, how he did it all without drawing attention to himself,” Baer said. “He’s the calming influence. He fits the combination of a strong hand while staying under the radar. He’s the definition of low-key.”
As the Giants’ skipper, Bochy continues to show his leadership and uncanny ability to find the way to victory.
He guided the Giants to a World Series championship in 2010, defeating the Texas Rangers in five games, and then led San Francisco to yet another World Series crown in 2012 by beating the Detroit Tigers in four games.
To get to the World Series, the Giants had to rally for a three-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds on the road in the National League Division Series after dropping the first two games at home in San Francisco.
They did just that, and then trailing the world champion St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in the seven-game National League Championship Series, Bochy led the Giants to wins in the final three games of the series to advance to the World Series.
In 2014, Bochy guided the San Francisco Giants to another World Series Championship by knocking off the Kansas City Royals in a thrilling game seven-game series win.
The Giants won the final game, 3–2, thanks to timely hitting, including the game-winning RBI by Michael Morse to score Pablo Sandoval. The win gave Bruce Bochy three world series championships as a manager for the Giants.
BOUND FOR COOPERSTOWN?
Bruce and his wife Kim have two sons, Brett and Greg. Brett is also a professional baseball player, presently pitching in the Giants’ farm system. He made his Major League Baseball debut with the Giants in 2014. Brett started the 2015 season with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
Bochy’s accomplishments have brought him many accolades, including recognition as the National League Manager of the Year in 1996 and having the baseball field at BCC in Melbourne dedicated as “Bruce Bochy Field” in his honor in 2011.
Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame’s Committee was delighted and honored to welcome the Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Bruce Bochy in 2013, a man who holds his Brevard roots dear and is in an elite group of managers who has won three World Series titles. It certainly isn’t inconceivable for this member of our 2013 Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame class to have a visit to Cooperstown in his future.
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