SAN FRANCISCO -- A few hours before they were due at Oracle Park on Tuesday, Giants manager Bruce Bochy and equipment manager Mike Murphy hopped in a car and headed for South San Francisco. They've worked together for 13 years and wanted to share one last breakfast together.
But for Bochy right now, there's nowhere in or near this city that offers peace and quiet.
"There were people coming up to me and thanking me," he said Tuesday. "It's not me, it's everybody (who accomplished all this). But these people are coming up and thanking me for my time here and helping bring championships. Again, it's overwhelming.
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Bochy has spent seven months trying to downplay his decision to retire, but this city won't let him fade away without a massive sendoff. There are signs in every corner of the ballpark stating "Thank you, Boch!" The message is on bus stops around the city and on pins being worn by just about every Giants employee Bochy sees. The name placards in the clubhouse were all changed, and they now feature a player's name, number and that "Thank you, Boch!" message.
After reluctantly talking about this for months, Bochy seems finally ready to embrace it. He knows this will be the most emotional week of his career.
"I'll have some emotions running through me -- there's no getting around that," he said. "I'm looking forward to watching our guys one last time against Colorado and L.A. I'm going to keep myself busy so I don't think about it too much. I'm going to enjoy this last week. I know it's going to be really busy."
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Bochy said there's nothing in particular he hopes to accomplish this final week. He had long talked of letting Pablo Sandoval play all nine positions in a game, but that possibility floated away when Sandoval had Tommy John surgery (Bochy did say Sandoval was so intrigued by the possibility that he joked about delaying the procedure).
It'll be business as usual once the games start, but the rest of this week will be about celebrating a man who brought three World Series titles to San Francisco.
"All of this blows me away," Bochy said. "I'm thankful and appreciative. I plan to savor this week like no week I've ever had."