Bruce Bochy is back in the postseason with the Texas Rangers. He missed it while he was away.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bruce Bochy was home the past three Octobers, doing a little fishing and hitting a few golf balls after stepping away from a 25-year managerial career that included three World Series championships.
As enjoyable and relaxing as that all was, he found himself missing more and more where he preferred to be this time of the year.
Bochy is back in the dugout for the postseason in his first season with the Texas Rangers, whose general manager is one of his former pitchers who lured him out of his brief retirement.
“I’m having the time of my life,” said the 68-year-old Bochy, who is going to his first American League Championship Series.
The Rangers were mired in a string of six consecutive losing seasons. With Bochy in charge, they went 90-72 before sweeping the first two rounds in these playoffs against the AL’s winningest teams this year — Tampa Bay in the Wild Card Series, then Baltimore in the Division Series.
“You look at a man like Boch that’s done it all in this game, that’s been there, done that,” outfielder-designated hitter Robbie Grossman said. “From Day 1 in spring training the belief was there. He’s led us the whole way.”
