The San Francisco Giants announced on Monday that they’re dismissing manager Bob Melvin with one year left on his contract and I just have to say – finally.
I grew up watching BoMel manage the Oakland Athletics at the peak of my childhood baseball interest during the years of 2011-2021.
As a kid, I paid little attention to statistics and entire seasons of the game.
Instead, I loved watching Melvin alongside all the players in the goofy commercials they would air throughout the season.
Melvin’s statistical track record isn’t the greatest with the retrospect I have gained as an adult knowing he hasn’t ever won a World Series as a manager.
The Giants ended their season with a record of 81-81 this year, and his record with his two seasons as manager of the Giants was 161-163, according to a Sept. 29 MLB article.
BoMel is a legend in my heart, but he makes very questionable decisions on the field.
When he was the manager of the San Diego Padres in 2022 when he last reached the playoffs, the team’s playoff success was halted by a 4 – 1 series defeat from the Philadelphia Phillies after the Padres knocked two expensive teams out of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets.
A major issue that BoMel had this year with the Giants was keeping pitchers in when they were performing poorly.
I can’t tell you how many times I watched Ryan Walker, who was a closing pitcher this season, stay on the mound after giving up unnecessary walks and bases.
Walker finished the season with a record of 5 wins and 7 losses posting an earned run average of a whopping 4.11, according to an MLB webpage.
This is an awful record to have as a pitcher who is placed in only one inning of the game.
A good baseball manager in today’s game needs sauce and even some swag.
BoMel’s post-game press conferences were often boring and uninspiring with him having many moments of monotonally speaking into the mic.
When asked if he’s been given assurances if he’ll be back next season, he said “no,” and then proceeded to shrug and said “it is what it is, we’ll see what the next day brings” according to the Sept. 28 press conference after the team won their last game of the season.
I want the next manager of the Giants to want to fight to be there, as the talent on the team deserves a fighter at the helm.
He seemingly understood his fate before it happened because he didn’t even seem to try and vouch for his job.
There’s been rumblings about Bruce Bochy, the man who managed the team during their most recent World Series wins in 2010, 2012 and 2014, returning to dugout to manage the team once more, but that idea was dismissed by Giants executive Buster Posey on Wednesday, according to an Oct. 1 article by ESPN.
I agree with Posey here, even if Bochy is baseball’s winningest active manager, according to a Sept. 29 ESPN article.
Bochy, who is most definitely going to be a first-ballot hall of famer, turned 70-years-old this year.
The landscape of Major League Baseball has been changing very frequently in recent years with the introduction of the pitch clock in 2023 and an automated ball-strike challenge system coming next season.
The Giants need a young manager that can grow with the game alongside young players such as 20-year-old first baseman Bryce Eldridge and 25-year-old outfielder Drew Gilbert.
A good younger candidate could be Joey Votto who recently retired from the game of baseball after 17 seasons with the Cincinnati Reds.
The 42-year-old baseball veteran was known for wholesome and funny moments with fans and players.
He also posted 63.6 wins above replacement throughout the entirety of his career, according to a Baseball Reference webpage.
The fact that Posey shot down the idea of Bochy means he’s not going to go with suggestions from the masses of fans that want to see a return to tradition.
Buster is going to go with who he feels is the best for the job. As a fan of his executive decision making and his game I plan on accepting whoever he chooses at the end of this road.
