Just sitting here, watching the League Championship Series, kelly green with envy, wondering who the heck the next Giants manager is going to be.
I’ll start by ruling *out* Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, and go from there. Deal?
Farhan Zaidi has said he’d like the manager in place by the start of free agency, which would start as soon as the first week of November. Basically, within the next two weeks, we should be seeing a press conference with — FILL IN THE BLANK HERE, SPORTS FANS — holding up that home cream jersey and slipping on that sweet black hat with the orange ‘SF’ lettering.
If sourcing is to be believed, the only candidates interviewed thus far are holdovers Kai Correa, Mark Hallberg and, notably, Alyssa Nakken. The only outside candidate reported is all-around good guy and lifelong Giants fan, former MLB catcher Steven Vogt.
That’s a pretty short list, and time is narrowing.
Though Mike Krukow told us today he thinks the man will be interviewed, or may already have been, there are no drumbeats around the name of three-time World Series champ coach Ron Wotus. You’d think he’d get a text, at least.
Other reports have speculated that Rangers bench coach Donnie Ecker — a successful hitting coach at Third and King during the boffo 2021 season — and maybe Angels third base coach (and former Dodgers minor league manager) Bill Haselman could be interviewed. Ecker’s Rangers keep winning, though, so that’s a full-on limbo situation. Early in the process, we wondered if old-school Pat Burrell would get a call. So far, no reports of a Machine sighting in the interview room. Some are holding out hope that Bob Melvin will still split up with Padres GM AJ Preller, and the former Humm Baby could come home. With each passing day, that seems a long shot.
In sum, there is no screamingly obvious candidate. If we did a Jock Blog poll and put up all the names I’ve mentioned thus far, I’m not sure if anyone would get a majority vote from you all.
So who’s it gonna be? Moreover, who should it be and why? And perhaps most important, will the new hire bring Shohei Ohtani to his or her opening press conference?
Oh, you asked me?
I’d vote for Wotus.
For so many reasons: knowledge, temperament, loyalty, championship fiber, game-management, and perhaps most of all, player- and media- and fan-friendly personality. He’s a no-brainer in my book. Knows the game like a phD. Knows the players stone cold. Knows the region. Knows the history. Knows the park. Knows River Islands is a fast-growing community.
Unfortunately, it feels like Farhan would hesitate to tie himself to the Bochy Era.
My runner-up vote would be Vogt, in the “Next President” Theory. If you follow US history, you see there’s a common thread in presidential elections. A new president generally is the opposite of the previous prez — meaning, voters begin to tire of one party or the other, or one type or personality or the the other, and shift the other way just cyclically. Not to get all political up in this piece, but think JFK succeeding Eisenhower, or Ron Reagan succeeding Jimmy Carter.
By this theory, Vogt, who was the bullpen and quality control coach in Seattle this year, would fill the post-Gabe Kapler era nicely. For whatever reason, Gabe was somewhat stiff, scripted and mechanical in his interpersonal dealings. You weren’t sure if you were getting Gabe or ChatGPT. Vogt, by contrast, oozes ‘regular guy’ vibes — from his comic riffs to his easy manner. And let’s face it: he doesn’t sport Kapler’s finely-toned musculature. To go to a ‘Dad Bod’ in the dugout after Gabe would certainly be going in the proverbial “another direction”, as corporate types say.
Plus, the guy’s Giants bona fides are sorta nutty. He’s, like, a Candlestick kid waiting to be Giants manager. He lists Will Clark and Barry Bonds as his all time favorite players, and name-checked Marvin Benard when he won the A’s Catfish Hunter Award for most inspirational player.
Would Vogt be a good manager? Let’s be real. The best managers are the ones with the best players. So, it’s truly up to Farhan to decide if Vogt would make a good manager, based on his Hot Stove League moves.
It’s getting down to it, sports fans. The Giants need a new skipper in the next fortnight, and John McGraw ain’t walking through that door. Unless Farhan has a wild card we don’t know about — or another ex-Dodger in his Rolodex we’ve forgotten — Vogt sounds like as good a candidate as any.