For the first time in his 11-year tenure as Giants manager, comments critical of Bruce Bochy bubbled to the surface when two anonymous Giants players were quoted in a story published by the San Francisco Chronicle, saying the skipper has “turned more negative over the past two seasons.”
Via The San Francisco Chronicle:
Players consistently have praised Bochy’s managerial style over the years. But in seeking comments from several for this story, The Chronicle discovered a reluctance by some to offer a full-throated endorsement of the manager’s interactions with players.
Two Giants players, who asked to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the topic, offered specifics, saying Bochy has turned more negative over the past two seasons, particularly in the dugout.
“It seems like nothing we do is good enough,” one player said.
The other player, confirming his teammate’s assessment, said, “There’s just been a different vibe.”
Bochy was asked about the comments during the club’s end of season press conference on Tuesday, and about the vibe in the clubhouse during the nightmarish 2017 season. Interestingly, Bochy said the two players quoted in the story, who remain anonymous, apologized to him after the piece came out. He also said that he’s looking for more leadership from core players next season.
“No question it’s something I’m looking into,” Bochy said when asked about locker room morale. “When you have a season like we did, it’s tough on everybody and there were a couple of comments. We took care of this internally, both players apologized about those comments but the vibe is not going to be the same (next year).
“We’re here to win. I’m all about winning, but we want to do things in the right way so there are things we’re looking at. Again, we talked to all the core players and there are some things I’m looking for. I’m looking for some leadership from some core guys to help out in this clubhouse and maybe help things not be so flat as was mentioned. I want to see a little bit more fire in the belly, just more grit, and that can come from in (the clubhouse) that leadership. Every club, it’s different. One size doesn’t fit all, and I’m asking myself, ‘what can I do to help inspire these guys to get this culture back and this chemistry that we had and get back to who we are.’ This is part of what we need to do to get better.”