Perhaps Brian Sabean’s best move in his long tenure as Giants’ general manager was hiring Bruce Bochy at the end of 2006. Though it wasn’t the sexy hire some fans might have been hoping for, Sabean’s decision to poach the manager from the San Diego Padres led to the club’s greatest ever run since moving to San Francisco in 1958.
So, what was it about Bochy that interested Sabean?
“Everybody inside the division going back to when San Diego had a full deck in regards to a major league team, knew this guy was a difference maker,” Sabean told Murph & Mac Thursday. “If you looked at the ’98 (Padres) team, and the cast of talent and characters on that team, if it hadn’t been for the Yankees they win the World Series. So he was known industry-wide, including his convention to be able to handle pitching staffs and more so bullpens.”
Despite facing Bochy countless times over the years, Sabean did not know Boch all that well, personally.
“I didn’t know Boch firsthand all that well, except for at the GM and Winter Meetings. Another twist of fate was Pat Dobson who had lived for years in San Diego and knew Boch firsthand, was in town. He was our advanced scouting Special Assistant, and he actually was with me the whole day that we flew Boch from San Diego to kind of be an icebreaker and go forward with the conversation.
“We spent a great day in San Francisco and I think Bochy at that time wanted his head turned, and he was very interested in coming to the Bay Area and being part of this.”
Listen to the full interview below.