Former manager Bruce Bochy joined Greg Papa and Shawn Estes to talk about the current state of the Giants. Bochy raved about Gabe Kapler’s success in San Francisco.
The Giants have hit 151 homers through 100 games, more than in all but two of Bruce Bochy's seasons in charge in San Francisco.
Bochy appreciated few things more than a game-changing three-run homer, and when he appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area on Tuesday night he smiled when asked about the home run barrage.
"I'm feeling a little cheated," Bochy said. "I love home runs."
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Bochy's Giants found success a different way, winning tighter games with pitching, defense and timely hitting. Tuesday's 2-1 win over the Dodgers, featuring a "Run Thrown In: and strong relief work, was seemingly a weekly thing under Bochy, whose 13-year-run with the Giants will land him in the Hall of Fame sometime soon.
When he's not around the ballpark as a special advisor these days, Bochy is watching, and he loves what he has seen from the 2021 team that's in first place under Gabe Kapler, his successor. Bochy said he saw Kapler in San Diego earlier this year when the Giants visited and told him that he already had wrapped up the Manager of the Year Award.
"The job that he's done, that staff, Farhan, the depth that they have -- it's just incredible what this team has done and they've gotten contributions from everybody and that's because of the depth that they have," Bochy said. "It's just a really, really nice job by all the players, too, with how well they're playing. I'm proud of Crawford and, of course, Buster. Longo was playing great, Belt was playing great."
As Bochy started listing newcomers who have stepped up, he said he didn't want to leave anybody out. The Giants are winning with a "next man up" attitude, which was sprinkled into the Bochy years, too.
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The three title teams had a lot of stars but also got huge contributions every October from guys like Gregor Blanco, Travis Ishikawa and Cody Ross. With some of Bochy's stars still leading the way, the Giants are 63-37 through 100 games and have a three-game lead in the NL West. They're on pace to win the division for the first time since 2012.
"This team has something special going," Bochy said. "There's a great vibe, it's a positive vibe. I know people kept doubting even when they were going well not too long ago, but I think they realize now they're for real."