© Jayne Kamin-Oncea | 2019 Jun 17
In a Giants season that has slowly evolved into one of the more compelling seasons in recent years, there is a certain franchise altering topic that hasn’t been discussed much: Who is going to replace Bruce Bochy?
There is no sugarcoating how much Bochy has meant to not only the Giants organization, but the city of San Francisco. The manager won three World Series’ in a span of five years, with 2010 being the first World Series the organization had won since 1954, and their first in the Bay Area. After the trade deadline passes on July 31st at 1 P.M, it won’t be long till Farhan Zaidi has another big time decision to make.
Following the Giants 4-1 loss to the Cubs Wednesday afternoon, Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic stopped by to talk with KNBR’s Larry Kreuger to discuss all things surrounding the Giants, including who could be the next manager of the San Francisco Giants.
“One other name that I’ve heard is Raul Ibanez,” Baggarly said. “[Ibanez] is somebody who is really positive, connects with players very well, he’s special assistant in the Dodgers system right now. He is another name that I’ve heard that will probably be part of an interview process when it gets to that stage.”
Zaidi, who came to San Francisco from the Dodgers, is most likely comfortable with Ibanez. That doesn’t mean he already has the job secured, however, as Baggarly noted that he believes this will be an elaborate process with a lot of different aspects to it.
“You’re going to see them do the whole process, you’re going to see them bring in a lot of different candidates because I think this front office realizes this is a great opportunity. When you’re hiring a manager, it is a great opportunity to bring in a lot of people, from a lot of different organizations, hear their philosophies, hear how they go about things. You end up learning a lot of intelligence about where the game is going or what their thoughts are. I think it ends up being something that really informs you going forward, no matter who you hire.”
The decision that Zaidi faces this upcoming off-season is one that will shape the Giants organization for years to come. Baggarly thinks there will be a few key factors that will play into the hiring of the new manager.
“This is someone who is going to have to work hand and glove with Farhan. [Farhan] is a very easy person to get along with and work with. He’s got a great personality; he gets along with a lot of different people in the game. But I think the number one attribute that you’re going to need from this new manager is that they’re going to have to have respect in that clubhouse and going to have to be really good about getting buy in from players in that clubhouse.
“Because we know that’s important when you do things a little bit differently and maybe you have guys going up and down from the minor leagues or being used in different roles than their accustomed to. That is so important, and Bruce Bochy has done a good job in that this year and I think that whoever replaces him that is probably going to be the most important thing that he brings to the table.”
Listen to the full interview below. To hear Baggarly on who could be the next manager, start from 5:40.