Friday marks the first Giants home game of the 2019 season, and the last home opener for legendary Giants manager Bruce Bochy. Beginning is 13th year as the club’s skipper, Bochy will leave as one of the greatest managers in MLB history, bringing three titles to the city of San Francisco, the only Giants manager to do so.
In his media scrum before Friday’s opener, Bochy talked about what his goal is for the 2019 season. In short, he wants to rediscover the winning culture that the Giants have been known for during his tenure.
“Hopefully this year, we do finish on a strong note to where we’re getting that winning culture back here,” Bochy said. “When you manage and you go somewhere you hopefully leave it in a better place or you help — as I’ve said this is a very storied franchise — make them more storied. And I’m proud of what all these guys have accomplished here, but right now my job is to get it back. Let’s get that winning feeling back. We’ve got some work to do here. I really believe that we can do this and that’s how I want to leave.”
After making the playoffs in 2016, the Giants put together back-to-back losing seasons in 2017 and 2018, for the first time in over 10 years. Although 2019 is considered a bit of a rebuild, Bochy still wants to build momentum for whoever takes over in 2020.