This will be — I guarantee you — the only piece you will read today that will compare Bruce Bochy as a manager to the song Gangnam Style.
I just read something about Gangnam Style — that song came out THIRTEEN YEARS AGO. You never know what will make you feel old, but for some reason, this one hit me hard. If you had asked me when Gangnam Style came out, I would have said five years ago max.
Anyway, that song has always fascinated me because no part of it should have worked in the U.S. It’s a song almost entirely in Korean, none of it made any sense — and there was a super-weird video and an awkward dance attached. But it DID work — I’m pretty sure it was the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views. And that song was everywhere. It doesn’t add up.
Bruce Bochy’s career also doesn’t add up (see how I connected them?). He has won five pennants and four World Series … and he has a losing record. That’s bananas. True, he is not the only manager in baseball history with four-plus World Series trophies and a losing record … but the other is Connie Mack, who doesn’t count because he would periodically sell off his players just to stay afloat.
Also, Mack managed until he was 87.
EIGHTY-SEVEN!
Connie Mack’s winning percentage through age 70: .527
Connie Mack’s winning percentage from age 71+: .398
Bruce Bochy turned 70 back in April; I sincerely doubt he’ll keep going until 87. But he already has the losing record, and that’s because, as mentioned, his career is just plain weird. He’s somehow won five pennants without ever managing a 100-win team. Heck, none of his four World Series winners even won 95 games. Double heck, only two of his four World Series winners even won their division.
Here’s is the Bochy Formula: Sneak into the playoffs, pull off some upsets, have someone else take out the best teams, beat a good-but-not-great squad in the World Series, have a parade. Voila. It’s marvelous.
In 2010, Bochy’s Giants upset an absurdly loaded Phillies team and then knocked off a 90-win Rangers team that was kind enough to beat the Yankees and Rays.
In 2012, the Cardinals took out the absurdly loaded Nationals, and then the Giants knocked off an 88-win Detroit team in the Series that helpfully eliminated the Yankees and A’s.
In 2014, the Cardinals again did the dirty work, beating the Dodgers, and the Giants outlasted an 89-win Kansas City Royals that charitably terminated the Orioles and Angels.
Finally, in 2023, Bochy’s Rangers did some of its own dirty work, upsetting both the 99-win Rays and the 101-win Orioles. Meanwhile, over in the National League, Philadelphia took out Atlanta, and Arizona took out both the Dodgers and Phillies. The Rangers breezed to a five-game victory over the 84-win Diamondbacks.
It’s truly mind-boggling.
For months now, I’ve thought that this year’s Rangers team perfectly fits the Bochy model. This is an underachieving team with so many good players — Seager and Semien and Langford and deGrom and Eovaldi. It has long seemed obvious to me that they will sneak into the playoffs, upset the Tigers and Blue Jays, play like an 87-win Padres team in the World Series, and take home another trophy.
Well, don’t look now: The Rangers have won five in a row, eight of their last 10. Yes, they’re still two and a half games behind Seattle in the wildcard race (and they don’t play again), and they’ve got a pretty rugged couple of weeks coming up with six against the Astros, three against the Brewers, and three against the Mets.
But they finish the year with nine games against Miami, Minnesota, and Cleveland. I don’t know: It just feels like things are lining up, leading to the inevitable conclusion: Oppan Bochy Style.
📓 This is Joe’s Notebook.
Half-formed thoughts, instant reactions, and nonsense (usually baseball) in real time.
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