The Giants reportedly have found their next manager in Bob Melvin.
The Athletic’s Andrew Baggarly reported Tuesday morning, citing sources, that the Giants “are poised to announce” Melvin as manager. Shortly after, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reported, citing sources, that Melvin has accepted the job managing the Giants.
On an emergency episode of “Giants Talk,” NBC Sports Bay Area’s Carlos Ramirez and Shawn Estes discussed the move and why San Francisco prying a manager away from San Diego might feel like déjà vu.
“He had a pretty good team to work with, [the San Diego Padres] went to the NLCS two years ago,” Estes told Ramirez. “Things didn’t go well for them this year, but the fact they allowed him to walk, much like the Padres did with Bruce Bochy back in 2007 when he became the Giants manager. I was on that Padre team, I was surprised they allowed Bruce Bochy to go and interview with other teams.
“It’s kind of funny, kind of a coincidence it’s the same scenario. It’s a manager from San Diego being allowed 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 can follow in the Bruce Bochy footsteps and become a very successful manager with the San Francisco Giants. But I think it’s a great hire for the Giants, I think it makes a lot of sense in a lot of different ways.”
Melvin, just like Bochy, is a former MLB catcher and even played three seasons with the Giants from 1986-1988. Estes believes it’s not a coincidence both former catchers have had success as managers.
“It’s great parallels,” Estes added. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence you have a lot of great managers who were catchers, because catchers have to know not just hitting and defense, but they have to know defense as well. They have to know everything about baseball. They have to know how to call a game, they have to know how to captain a defense. And most of the time, those 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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