AL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: RANGERS VS ASTROS

October 14, 2023

Bruce Bochy

Minute Maid Park

Texas Rangers

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. What's the emotion level?

BRUCE BOCHY: It's great to be here, I'll start with that. This is why you play to get to this point. Hopefully further. So it's exciting to be back here in Houston. The players are excited. It's going to be a great series. We are rivals now, so really looking forward to it.

Q. Now that you're back in Houston, I want to ask you about the team you were on back in 1980. That was a great team. What do you remember most about that season and thoughts on that?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah. Well, I was a young kid, then. I was 25. That's not that young, is it?

It was a really pitching-rich team. We had some outstanding starters and relievers. I do remember losing J.R. Richard that season unfortunately with the stroke, and Vern Ruhle stepped in, did a great job, having Nolan Ryan and Niekro on that team, Andujar. Just a very, very good pitching staff.

And a very gritty team, kind of led by Enos Cabell. He was one of our leaders, Ashby behind the plate. Just a very talented ball club. Terry Puhl. I mean, so many. I hate to leave anybody out. It was a fun team. A lot of close ballgames, 1-0, 2-1, that was our type of baseball, and got very close to getting to the World Series.

Q. Can you give me one word to describe your team. And can we get an update on Scherzer, his ability to play?

BRUCE BOCHY: I'd say gritty. I mean, we've had our ups and downs. But, you know, they keep fighting. They keep grinding through the ups and downs that we have had all season.

That's what I feel good about this team. There's no quit in them. You saw how our season went. Got off to a great start, and we had to battle at the end, which they did and they found a way. Had to go to Tampa and Baltimore to get to this point.

It's a team that's very motivated, close-knit group that plays right, they play hard.

Q. And Max?

BRUCE BOCHY: Max is doing well. He's done well. After workout today, we get together, we'll get the staff, of course, Chris Young and his staff, and we'll talk about the roster. But he's doing really well.

Q. What about Jon Gray?

BRUCE BOCHY: Jon is somebody we will discuss. He's going to play catch today, maybe take a bullpen. We'll see where he's at. He's a guy that is kind of on the fence, to be honest. But he's feeling good today. We'll talk to him after he throws.

Q. To follow up on Gray, has he thrown since the injury?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yes.

Q. Was that for the first time this week?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yes.

Q. We have talked to you a little bit about -- one other housekeeping thing. Do you have a starter for Game 2?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yes, Nate Eovaldi.

Q. And that's as far as you're going?

BRUCE BOCHY: Right.

Q. We have talked about postseason Corey Seager. Is there such a thing as postseason Bruce Bochy?

BRUCE BOCHY: I don't see it as somebody that's different. I've talked about this a few times. I think you do do things a little bit different. But, no, I've been fortunate to be able to participate in the postseason quite a bit, and that's a credit to the teams I've been able to manage.

I come over here, front office, ownership, they go out and they get some really good players. When you look at the pitching staff, the improvement that they've made. And I thought coming into this this was a good offensive club, which it has been.

I don't think I'm any different in the postseason. I'm a manager, I'm not a player, it's not like I can make a difference in that way.

Q. You've watched the game change over the years. Would you consider yourself an old-school manager? Why or why not? And how do you utilize or digest metrics and analytics these days?

BRUCE BOCHY: Right. I think I'm a blend of both, to be honest. You can't help but want the information that you can get now. I mean, you're crazy not to use it all. Mike Maddux, you can say he's old school, but trust me, I work with Mike every day, and we both try to use all the analytics we can get, if it helps you make decisions, who is playing or who starts or during the game.

But I think the best way I would describe myself is a guy that blends it. Yeah, I still have my way of doing things and I still -- I use my gut, my instinct at times. But that's not -- still getting all the information you can get if you go into a game. And if you prepare for a game, and if you prepare the right way, I think it's easier to make those quick decisions or even use your instinct at times when you have to.

Q. You won three World Series titles, then you retired, and then you came back. Do you feel like you've anything left to prove?

BRUCE BOCHY: I didn't come back to prove anything. I came back as this is what I love to do. Even with those titles, I didn't feel like I arrived as a manager and I've proved all I can. No, I never looked at it like that. I just wanted to get back to doing something I love and get back in the dugout.

I've said I've been fortunate. I'm grateful that C.Y. gave me a call this winter and here I am.

Q. With you and Dusty being the two oldest managers in baseball squaring off in this series, are there specific things that older managers bring to a team that maybe a younger guy doesn't?

BRUCE BOCHY: That's a hard question for me to answer. If you can bring stability, I guess, a sense of confidence, that's a good thing. But we're all different in what we bring. Dusty -- first of all, I'm looking forward to seeing him. But we battled quite a few years now, and I guess it's good for the old guys that we're in this situation.

But that might be why I got a call, I don't know, because of the success of some veteran managers were having. But that's a hard one to answer for me.

Q. Going back to 1980, what do you remember most about that NLCS against the Phillies? And what are your memories of coming up with Houston as a young player, a draft pick?

BRUCE BOCHY: First of all, I was excited to get drafted by Houston. I went to high school in Melbourne, Florida, and Spring Training -- kind of why I was drafted by them. The junior college team I was playing on was playing their A-ball team and had a couple good games. And Bob Cluck, who was involved in that, helped me get drafted by Houston.

And I loved it. I loved it here. Came up through the system, and I get called up in 1978. July 19th, I'll never forget it. And as I said, we had a really good staff. '79 we almost got there. '80, got close to getting to the World Series. And I remember a very, very tight-knit group.

Jose Cruz, I forgot to mention him a few minutes ago. He was the guy that kind of took me under his wing, too, and I appreciated him and Joe Morgan, these guys that helped a young player at this time.

Q. Twenty-five years ago, Padres. And three, San Francisco. And now here. If you look back, how have you evolved as a manager from being a fairly young guy to now being a senior member?

BRUCE BOCHY: Well, I think we all all change as we get a little bit older, hopefully a little bit wiser, I guess. When I was a young manager, I still remember I did everything. I tried to do everything. I ran all the meetings, how we were going to pitch them, how we were going to defend them.

I think I got better at using guys that were smarter than me at what they do. Just give an example, I was lucky to have Davey Lopes at first base. He knows more about base running than I do. But that was a young manager that wanted to make sure he did it his way or if something happened I could look back and say I did all I could. I used the staff more than I ever have because they do such a great job.

I don't know how else I've evolved. Hopefully we all get better. Like I said, you never arrive, and I try to continued to improve and get better as a manager, whether it's managing the people or the game. The game has changed a little bit. And you have to be able to adjust on the fly.

And so it's been the case this year with me. I came in, there's been new rules and everything. I had to learn how to work around them or get to know them better.

Q. From the time that your career started to right now, how much would you say -- your managing career -- how much would you say that the game has changed? And as someone that's had to learn analytics along the way, how difficult has that been for you?

BRUCE BOCHY: You know, I'll say this, sure, there's -- the game has changed a little bit. But that's everywhere. I mean, all businesses or corporations, they've changed, too with their knowledge that you can get now through analytics.

But one thing I do want to add, I don't think it's changed as much as we think it has, because there has to be constants out there. That's executing the fundamentals, making your pitches, running the bases, catching a ground ball, getting a timely hit, those things are constants.

So I think the game is in a great position now, but still there's things out there you have to do, and they're never going to change.

Q. One more thing about the 1980 series, four of those five games went extra innings. You were six outs away from the World Series. Did you take anything away from that series as a young player that you held on to or any lessons learned?

BRUCE BOCHY: I'll say probably as much as anything at that point I was the third catcher there. And I think every player would be so much better if you could take a year off and coach or whatever. And I look back and there are things I wish I would have done different during that season as far as how I prepared and how we have so much information about these guys as far as weight training and things like that to make yourself better.

I was a young kid, but I wish I would have done a few things different, probably like all of us, if we look back on what we could have done better. But it was a great experience.

Anytime you're in the postseason -- I managed in Minor Leagues in the postseason. I thought that was valuable for the players and for myself. First of all, it shows you why you played the game. We have some guys they're here for the first time. Trust me, they'll come away from this really hungry to get back. And that's how I felt.

Q. Was there ever an official conversation with Marcus Semien in which you said, Do you want a day off?

BRUCE BOCHY: No.

Q. You never had any conversation like that with him?

BRUCE BOCHY: We talked a little bit, yeah. I said, If you ever get in a situation, I don't want you to feel like you have to be out there. If you have a bad day or something, don't get any sleep or something is hurting, you know, let me know. But if you don't, I'll pitch you out there unless it gets to a point that I need to talk to him. I never felt like that.

Q. So what does it say about his dedication to playing that he'd schedule his baby's birth in between the series?

BRUCE BOCHY: I don't know if he scheduled it it worked out well when we had a little break, they could induce.

But I tell you, he's a manager's dream. One spot I never had to think about who was going to play there or who was going to hit there. He's just relentless with his work ethic and his ability to go out there every day.

Q. You had such a steady catcher with Buster in San Francisco. And Jonah has kind of been the rock down the stretch here. Do you see similarities in not just the two of them but catchers who are able to continually go out every day and handle pitching staffs like they do and offensively produce like they do and things like that?

BRUCE BOCHY: Yeah, it's nice to have that guy. I was lucky to have Buster for all those years.

And Jonah, very similar, although he did have an injury this year. But Mitch stepped in and did a great job. Jonah he's the guy that leads the staff. He's a tremendous receiver, thrower and switch-hitter. I know I'm lucky to have him. He's the guy that should win a Gold Glove, that's how good he's been back there and he provides offense for us.

Q. How has Taveras progressed from the month of September going into the postseason?

BRUCE BOCHY: He's done a really good job of just quieting things done and not expanding, shrinking the zone a little bit. That's when he's good, when he doesn't have a lot of movement going on up there. So that's the key for him. And earlier in the season once he got going he was really good. I mean if you look at what he was hitting and everything you're wondering why he's hitting 9th. That's how good his numbers were. In September he got it back together and he's just throwing out good at-bats. He's taking his walks and using the whole field. He's making them throw strikes.

Q. For a wider audience the spotlight is on names like Marcus Seimien and Corey Seager, but mention a little bit Jonah Heim's defense, what Mitch Garver has done recently, Nathaniel heating up, these quote, unquote, under the radar guys, how important are they for what your team is trying to accomplish and what it has accomplished so far?

BRUCE BOCHY: If you look at our club it's really -- I'll say with the team effort thing, but that's really what it's been, when you look at our lineup, we're getting production from everybody. And the guys under the radar you don't hear much about, I mean a kid like Carter coming cup. It's been different, I think, on a daily basis, what part of the order has done a lot to produce runs for us. And so those guys are a key for us. Sure, you want to hear about the Seagers and Marcus and those guys, but really it's been everybody and that's what's made it work for us.