The Giants have reportedly found their next manager in Bob Melvin.
The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Tuesday morning, citing sources, that the Giants are “ready to announce Melvin as coach.” Shortly thereafter, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported, citing sources, that Melvin had accepted the job as the Giants’ manager.
On an emergency episode of “Giants Talk,” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Carlos Ramirez and Shawn Estes discussed the move and why San Francisco picking up a manager from San Diego might feel like déjà vu.
“He had a pretty good team to work with, [the San Diego Padres] “I went to the NLCS two years ago,” Estes told Ramirez. “Things didn’t go well for them this year, but the fact that they allowed him to walk, similar to what the Padres did with Bruce Bochy in 2007 when he went to the Giants,” manager. I was on that Padre team and was surprised that they allowed Bruce Bochy to go to interviews with other teams.
“It’s kind of funny, kind of a coincidence, it’s the same scenario. It’s a manager from San Diego who gets to interview and the Giants are the first team to interview that manager and he signs with that team. So let’s just hope, Bob Melvin.” “I can follow in Bruce Bochy’s footsteps and become a very successful manager with the San Francisco Giants. But I think it’s a great signing for the Giants, I think it makes a lot of sense in a lot of ways.”
Melvin, like Bochy, is a former MLB catcher and even played three seasons with the Giants from 1986 to 1988. Estes believes it’s no coincidence that both former catchers found success as managers.
“They’re great parallels,” Estes added. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that there are a lot of great managers who were catchers, because catchers have to know not only hitting and defense, but also defense. You need to know everything about baseball. They have. “To know how to lead a game, they have to know how to lead a defense. And most of the time, they become your leaders.”
The Giants won three World Series championships under Bochy. If history is any indication, hiring a former catcher and Padres manager could bode well for the Giants.
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