October 23, 2024 – This fall in Nashville is presenting pretty afternoons for golf, nice mornings for fishing, and plenty of exciting baseball, all of which Texas Rangers Baseball Club manager and Nashville Stars Baseball Advisor Bruce Bochy is enjoying.
But he’d rather be somewhere else.
As the Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Yankees begin their 12th World Series meeting on Friday night, Bochy is preparing to watch, notepad in hand, getting ready to get back on the bench and prepare the Rangers for a return to the postseason.
“Last year was such a great experience for the players, the coaches, the entire city,” Bochy said. “It’s why we play the game, to win and to earn the championship. I hate that my team and I aren’t there. But as Dave [Roberts] and Aaron [Boone] manage their teams these next two weeks, I’ll be watching to see what I can learn that will make us better next year.”
Coming off the first World Series title for the Rangers franchise and the fourth in Bochy’s career, understanding what it takes to win the World Series is a constant learning experience, even for a manager whose teams have won four titles.
“It gets harder in the postseason, and it gets harder at each stage,” he said. “The margin of error is so small. The biggest thing a manager has to do is manage the pitching staff. With three-batter minimums — which I don’t care for; it removes some strategy — we have to keep an eye on how our pitchers are doing, and who to pitch and when. Bullpens are pitching more innings on top of what they pitched in the regular season, and that starts to show, something we saw in the League Championship Series. As a result, in some games you may have to stick with a pitcher longer than you might in order to save your bullpen for later in that game or later in the Series.”
The expectations were high that Bochy and the Rangers would make a run for a second straight title this year. When they came up short of the playoffs, the questions arose: “Why is it so hard to repeat?” Bochy’s response: It’s hard to win it once.
“There’s a reason no team has repeated as champions since the Yankees in 2000. So many things have to go right in the postseason,” he said. “You have to avoid injuries, particularly late in the season. You have to use your pitchers well. You have to prepare for the extra games, the travel and all of the distractions that come at this time of year. But it’s what I love to do.”
That love began in his early years, most of which were spent abroad. Bochy was born on an Army base in France, and moved around the world throughout his childhood while his father served as a Sergeant Major in the United States Army. One of those stops included Panama, where Bochy recalls getting “hooked” on baseball while playing year-round with his brother and listening to games on the radio with his father, a big fan of the Cincinnati Reds.
Bochy also appreciates the game’s heritage, and he’s been part of that on several occasions. One of only two managers to win World Series in both the National and American Leagues, Bochy was also behind the plate when Pete Rose stepped to the plate and stroked his 4,192nd hit, breaking the all-time hits record.
He also has a historic baseball moment with friend and Ranger veteran Nolan Ryan. “I’m the only player to hit a walk-off home run off Nolan,” he said. “Nolan is a regular around the Rangers complex and we’ll talk about that moment with friends and visitors. Nolan’s response is always the same — ‘I don’t remember Boch doing that’ — and he smiles. It’s a special moment that accentuates the special aspects of this game for all players.”
Speaking of the game, Bochy likes today’s version, noting the pitch clock as a major improvement. “It’s got a good tempo to it, a good pace,” Bochy said. “Now these games are crisper, they’re a little over two hours, and the players love it. And it’s easier to play every day because now they’re not standing out there playing for three hours, so they don’t need the time off as much as they used to.”
Bochy is excited about his roster for 2025, which includes a pitching rotation featuring Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker, who suit up together in Arlington after teaming up for Vanderbilt University under head coach and Nashville Stars Baseball Advisor Tim Corbin. Leiter was the Rangers’ top pick (No. 2 overall) in 2021 and made his debut this past April, appearing in nine games, with 31 strikeouts in 35 innings. Rocker was selected with the 10th overall pick by the New York Mets in 2021, but came back for his senior season and was picked 3rd overall by the Rangers in 2022. After a couple of years in the minors, Rocker made his big-league debut on September 12 against Seattle and struck out seven Mariners in four innings.
As for the Nashville Stars Baseball Club, Bochy is excited about the prospect of Major League Baseball (MLB) in Nashville, both for the city and for the league.
It also means a lot to him that the Stars are partnering with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. “It’s so good to honor the Negro Leagues,” Bochy said. “It took so long to break the barriers that needed to be broken, but it’s a better game (with the barrier broken now). I think it’s really cool that that’s going to be part of what happens here in Nashville, that we will be honoring such tremendous African-American players.”
While in the minors, Bochy regularly played in Music City. “I was always looking forward to coming up to Nashville,” Bochy said. “I’m a big country music fan, so I really enjoyed Nashville and getting to know the city.” Bochy noted that his favorite country artists include Waylon Jennings — whom he met through former teammate Goose Gossage — along with Garth Brooks (who also is a “decent baseball player”), Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Nashville Stars Music Industry Advisor Kix Brooks.
During last year’s Winter Meetings in Nashville, Bochy said, “You could feel the vibe of the city, the excitement downtown, the growth of the city.
“This is perfect for baseball. This city is primed for it. There’s not a better city to have it.”