Think of Bruce Bochy's retirement ceremony last season as more of a closing chapter to his 13 years with the Giants than as a goodbye to managing a major league team.
Bochy deserved all the bells and whistles, all the hugs and tears. At the same time, he never officially said he is completely done managing and even was set to manage Team France in the World Baseball Classic qualifier this past spring before the coronavirus changed life as we know it. What we do know is Bochy is an all-time great manager, and the baseball world very well could see him in that position again in the future.
The three-time World Series winner said Tuesday morning on KNBR's "Murph & Mac" show that he "could see" himself managing again in the big leagues.
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"I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it, especially watching the postseason," Bochy said. "It's exciting times. I could see it happening to be honest, but it's not something right now that I'm pushing. When you've been in the game as long as I have, and you've managed as long as I did, you're gonna miss it. Now especially with watching these postseason games.
"We'll see what happens."
If Bochy has his eyes set on returning to the game this next season, there's one extremely intriguing open position right now. The Chicago White Sox and manager Rick Renteria mutually agreed to part ways Monday, and vice president and general manager Rick Hahn told reporters "the ideal candidate will be someone who has experience in a championship organization in recent years.'' Bochy and the Giants last won a World Series in 2014.
Is that recent enough for Hahn, and would Bochy answer if the White Sox came calling?
San Francisco Giants
"Sure, I'd listen to anything," Bochy said. "I can't say anything, but they're a good team. I haven't talked to anybody. It hasn't been mentioned or anything."
The White Sox were ahead of schedule this season, and lost to the A's in the AL Wild Card Series after taking Game 1. They still have a great mix of veterans like Jose Abreu and Tim Anderson -- who still are young -- along with young stars on the rise like Luis Robert, Eloy Jimenez, Nick Madrigal, Lucas Giolito, Garrett Crochet and Cal product Andrew Vaughn, who was the No. 3 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft.
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It would be interesting to see if Bochy would want to lead a younger team like the White Sox, or seek a more veteran-led roster. The White Sox very well could be World Series contenders as soon as next season, and many years after.
So far, however, the two sides haven't talked. That doesn't mean Bochy can't join the mix of coaching candidates for Chicago.
He already has three rings and over 2,000 wins to his name. But he's a baseball lifer and could seek even more from the game.