Giants manager Bruce Bochy receives 'overwhelming' standing ovation before final home opener
As the 2019 MLB season begins, it’s the beginning of the end of an era for the San Francisco Giants after manager Bruce Bochy announced it would be his final campaign at the helm of the club.
The 63-year-old will finish off his 13th season managing the Giants, and the home slate of the schedule started with an emotional moment for Bochy, who received a lengthy standing ovation from the Oracle Park crowd as he emerged from the dugout during pregame introductions.
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Bochy stood to the third-base side of home plate for awhile, repeatedly tipping his cap, waving to the crowd and soaking in the two-minute long applause as even the Tampa Bay Rays joined in. He then threw out the first pitch to Pablo Sandoval.
Bruce Bochy handled first pitch duties before his final home opener.
His catcher? Pablo Sandoval.
(Via @NBCSGiants)pic.twitter.com/vh7CUSzo5g— Yahoo Sports MLB (@MLByahoosports) April 5, 2019
Bruce Bochy: ‘Something I’ll never forget’
No one can argue that he doesn’t deserve it. Bochy took over the Giants in 2007 and led the team to three World Series wins — 2010, 2012 and 2014 — becoming the 10th manager in baseball history to win at least three championships. He is 11th all-time in wins and is a surefire Hall of Fame candidate when he retires.
Though the Giants fell 5-2 to the Rays, Bochy called the ovation “really emotional.”
“That’s really overwhelming what happened there,” he told reporters after the game. “It’s something I’ll never forget.”
Bochy began his managerial career with the San Diego Padres in 1995, winning NL Manager of the Year honors his second season and leading the Padres to the World Series in 1998. He will retire as one of the most respected managers in the game, remembered for his calm and pensive demeanor and postseason brilliance in the early half of this decade.
Though the Giants are not expected to contend in 2019 — already off to a 2-6 start — it will not dampen Bochy’s legacy. Just ask everyone who participated in Friday’s standing ovation.
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