Texas Rangers announce their return to prominence with Bruce Bochy hire

It was not long ago on this very site that we had dreams of the Texas Rangers hiring Bruce Bochy to be their next manager.

Well, apparently dreams do come true, as the Rangers announced Friday that they have hired Bochy to be the 20th full-time manager in franchise history!

Bruce Bochy named the 20th full-time manager in the history of the Texas Rangers

Bochy received a three-year contract from Chris Young and the Texas Rangers front office to lead the organization back to prominence ahead of what should be an exciting and pivotal off-season for the team.

The report of the two sides meeting dates back to October 14, and it wasn’t known then how interested Bochy was in coming out of retirement after stepping down as the San Francisco Giants’ skipper in 2019. Bochy and the Giants won three titles together in the 2010s, including one against the Rangers in 2010.

In the press release announcing Bochy’s hire, one quote stands out: “If I was going to return to managing, it had to be the right situation. I strongly believe that to be the case with the Rangers and I can’t wait to get started.”

Wow. That’s a ringing endorsement from a manager who has climbed to the top of the baseball mountain before. If he says the Texas Rangers are ready, then fans should believe it, full stop. The 67-year-old knows ball.

This hire is particularly re-assuring after the turmoil of last season which saw the Rangers clean house with the firings of Jon Daniels and Chris Woodward in August. You can be sure Bruce Bochy is a steady hand and winning professional who has an ambitious GM behind him in Chris Young, who really does seem to be all-in on winning in 2023. Now, the players in the organization have a reason to believe, as do potential recruits from outside.

The Texas Rangers are not fooling around as they begin to look ahead to the 2023 campaign. And hiring Bruce Bochy is proof of this.