A Thank You to Bruce Bochy

Dear Bruce Bochy,

My first love was baseball, and what I fell in love with was the humanity of the game. The most successful players fail the majority of the time, being able to achieve redemption after a mistake, the camaraderie, playing for the person next to you, the strategy of the game, the grind of it all. I fell in love with the underdogs who became heroes because they pulled through for a manager that believed in them when no one else would.

After the conclusion of the least watched World Series ever, the baseball I grew up with feels like it's dying. Even with the encouraging recent rule changes that tightens the pace of play and has reignited the art of stealing bases, baseball has an important decision to make.

Using openers twice a week, having hitters strikeout more than they get basehits, platooning the starting lineup to death, and devaluing the starting pitcher is killing a once great game. Too many franchises interpret the bible literally, using stats alone to script games without contextually understanding the human element.

Game 6 of the 2020 World Series. Blake Snell is cruising against the Dodgers. Into the sixth inning, Snell had given up two hits, struck out nine, and had no walks. The Rays were up 1-0, but a one out bloop from the nine-hitter was enough to pull Snell despite Los Angeles having no answers for him. Why? Because analytics told Kevin Cash that seeing Mookie Betts and the top of the Dodger order a third time was disadvantageous.

Ignore that Snell struck out half of the 18 batters he faced. Ignore he had only thrown only 73 pitches. Ignore that only the second hit of the game for the Dodgers was a weakly hit fly ball that traveled approximately 150 feet from home plate. Analytics said that the third time around the lineup is bad, so despite how dominant the best pitcher on the team is pitching, he has to come out.

Nick Anderson 2020 Playoff Stats

Nick Anderson, who had been terrible in the playoffs, gave up the lead without recording an out. A double to Betts, a wild pitch plating the tying run, and a Corey Seager ground ball knocked in Betts for what was the winning run.

Baseball is an imperfect game played by imperfect people. Only using analytics and ignoring real life context is killing the game and doesn't out win a team that manages a game correctly. A lot of managers don't even do what's in their job title anymore, which is manage.

Blindly following stats is why Bochy's former team the San Francisco Giants are a disaster. The hitters can't find rhythm and lack any confidence because they never know if they'll get more than two at bats. The bullpen runs out of gas by August because they have to pitch a full nine innings multiple times a week and the roster only lets two starting pitchers go more than five innings.

Bruce Bochy won his fourth championship by actually managing his talented roster. So Bruce, I want to thank you for re-emphasizing what is more watchable, entertaining, and what actually wins triumphs in October.

Thank you for valuing starting pitching, for letting big game players like Nathan Eovaldi work his way out of jams because you understand the other side doesn't have an answer for him.

Thank you for leaving your best hitters in your lineup an entire game, regardless if they are facing a lefty or righty.

Thank you for being a manager. A leader of men who handles the personalities of the clubhouse flawlessly, a strategic genius that prepares his players when serving in unfamiliar roles because it's best for the team. Jon Gray is a starter who pitched long relief and excelled because you had a conversation with him. You got him to understand his value and what he needs to bring to the team beforehand.

Thank you for setting your players up for success, both stars and role players, and for having their back when they don't give you instant gratification. Marcus Semien was awful heading into the Fall Classic, but you had his back and he delivered.

Thank you for using your gut which accounts analytics, the flow of the game, the belief in your players and the human element. Thank you for trusting your instincts which has over 45 years of professional baseball experience and excellent people skills. Thank you for making your own decisions, for being so much more than a bipedal script with stats on it.

Thank you for winning the right way and for playing real baseball.

Baseball needs to look itself in the mirror to make some philosophical changes, and those changes should be patterned after you. Sports tends to be a copycat industry. I implore MLB franchises to stop copying the Tampa Bay Rays and to model their operation after Bruce Bochy, a proven winner who does things the right way on the field and in the clubhouse.

Bochy offers a glimmer of hope that the game I fell in love with isn't dead.

Congratulations on your historic fourth championship that brought the Texas Rangers their first title after years of heartbreak, and thank you for coming back to save the game that I love.