SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Bruce Bochy and the San Francisco Giants are reuniting after all, with the club's beloved former manager taking on a special adviser role on both the baseball and business sides following 28 seasons on the dugout's top step.
President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey is turning to his old skipper to help guide a new regime and direction for the club following a fourth straight season without a playoff berth. The club announced Bochy's hiring Monday.
Posey hired Tennessee coach Tony Vitello last month for his first job in professional baseball. Bochy should provide a strong sounding board for the first-time manager.
The 70-year-old Bochy guided the Giants to World Series championships in 2010 — the franchise's first title since moving West in 1958 — ‘12 and ’14. He recently parted with the Texas Rangers following three seasons as manager, including their first championship in 2023.
“I couldn’t be more excited to reconnect with the Giants organization and so many familiar faces,” Bochy said. “This organization and city mean a lot to me and my family, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute in any way I can.”
From the beginning, Posey ruled out Bochy as a candidate to become San Francisco's manager to replace Bob Melvin. The Giants fired Melvin after two seasons.
“Having Boch back in the organization means a great deal to all of us,” Posey said in a statement. “His experience, leadership, and feel for the game are unmatched, and his perspective will be invaluable as we continue building towards sustained success.”
Bochy left the rival San Diego Padres to become Giants manager in 2007, the year home run king Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's all-time record, and stayed with the club through 2019. He then worked as a special adviser for the Giants from 2020-2022 before taking the Rangers job.
This past season, the Giants finished 81-81 for one more victory than in Melvin’s first year. They haven’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under then-skipper Gabe Kapler.
Bochy's 2,252 career managerial wins rank sixth in baseball history, while his 4,518 games managed put him at fourth. He notched 951 victories with San Diego and another 1,052 for the Giants, second-most by a Giants manager behind Hall of Famer John McGraw. Those totals make him the only manager in MLB history with 900 or more wins with multiple franchises.
“We are thrilled to welcome Boch back to the Giants family as a special adviser to baseball operations,” Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said. “Few people in baseball have his depth of knowledge, insight, and lived experience of the game. He shares a rich history with our organization and fans, and it’s special to have him back in orange and black.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
FILE = A banner thanking San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy hangs outside Oracle Park before a baseball game against the Pittsburgh Pirates Sept. 12, 2019, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
FILE - San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, center, gestures toward fans next to his wife Kim during a ceremony honoring Bochy after a baseball game between the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, Pool, File)
FILE - San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy stands in the dugout before a baseball game between the Giants and the Los Angeles Dodgers in San Francisco, Sept. 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
MEDLEY, Fla. (AP) — Napheesa Collier sat on the bench at Sephora Arena laughing with Unrivaled teammate Skylar Diggins moments before tipoff between the Lunar Owls and Rose BC.
It was a tiny glimpse of what Unrivaled provided star WNBA players in Year 1: high-level competition and camaraderie while offering an arena for players to sharpen their skills ahead of the WNBA season.
Now, at a pivotal moment in the WNBA when players are negotiating what could be the most consequential collective bargaining agreement in league history, Unrivaled is serving a much bigger purpose. The league, which began its second season on Monday, is providing a central gathering place for players to strategize and build solidarity as CBA talks unfold.
“The offseason is always a harder time to try and connect with people,” Collier said in a Zoom last month, before being ruled out for the season because of ankle surgery, “and so to have our CBA happening in the offseason is usually a disadvantage in that way.
“To have players congregated where you can have those in-person conversations and updates and things like that, I think that does help things move more quickly.”
The league and WNBA Player's Association have been negotiating a new agreement for the past few months, extending the deadline a couple of times with the latest one set to expire on Friday. Last month, the WNBPA announced players have authorized their union’s executive council to call a strike if necessary, which could delay the WNBA expansion draft and the beginning of free agency that usually starts in late January. The season itself isn’t expected to begin until late April or early May.
“You heard a lot of chatter that what we're asking for is not sustainable for the business,” Collier said in a television interview during an Unrivaled game Monday night.
“Being on this side with Unrivaled, I know what it takes to run a sustainable business," added Collier, who co-founded the league with fellow WNBA star Breanna Stewart. "I think if they can't find a model that makes that happen, they need to put people in place who can ... I do think a deal is going to get done, but we're standing firm in what we believe, and were not going to back down.”
Ahead of its second season, Unrivaled announced that it is now valued at $340 million after closing its oversubscribed Series B investment round led by Bessemer Venture Partners — a massive figure for the young league and a reflection of the increasing momentum and interest in women’s sports.
“What we want to build this into is Champions League women’s basketball,” said Unrivaled president Alex Bazzell. “And that’s not a competition towards the WNBA, it’s just where we feel like we can kind of position ourselves in the market.”
Bazzell has repeated his belief in the league's potential longevity in part because of its ability to draw some of the game's biggest names — from Collier to the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers — and their long term commitment. Around 75% of the league's players are signed through 2028.
"My strong belief is once people remove the women’s sports blinders and start looking at it relative to what’s going on in the ecosystem in terms of the data," Bazzell said, "it points to that right now. So we are very bullish on not just where we are today but where we’re going tomorrow."
AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
Lunar Owls guard Skylar Diggins, left, and forward Napheesa Collier wear street clothes as they sit out the game with injuries, at the start of their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Rose BC, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) is defended by Phantom BC guard Tiffany Hayes (31) in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Rose BC guard Chelsea Gray (12) drives past Lunar Owls wing Rebecca Allen (9) in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Breeze BC guard Paige Bueckers (5) drives past Phantom BC guard Tiffany Hayes in their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Lunar Owls forward Napheesa Collier, right, talks with guard Skylar Diggins as both sit out with injuries at the start of their Unrivaled 3-on-3 basketball game against Rose BC, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in Medley, Fla. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
