Bruce Bochy ended his farewell speech Sunday at Oracle Park by saying the next Giants manager will get the "best job in baseball." Clearly, he believes the next skipper will be managing in front of the best fans in the game, too.
Just two days after he retired, Bochy sent a lengthy, heartfelt letter to Giants fans Tuesday thanking them for sticking by his side the last 13 years.
"After 40 years in this game, I am absolutely certain there was not, and is not, a better fan base than the one I was fortunate enough to enjoy here for thirteen years," Bochy wrote. "When we won the 2010 World Series, people came up to me in grocery stores and restaurants to tell me how much the championship meant to their mother or even their grandmother, how long they'd been waiting, how happy they were. To know that our team brought joy to the community also brought joy to our players and me because that's what we play for.
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"Without you, there is no baseball, no business, no television or talk radio, and no opportunity to compete."
Below is the complete letter where Bochy pours his heart out to those who bleed orange and black:
Bochy managed the Giants for 13 seasons, from 2007 through 2019. He won 1,052 regular-season games in San Francisco, and another 36 in the playoffs. He walks away from baseball with over 2,000 regular-season wins and three World Series titles.
San Francisco Giants
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There's no doubt Bochy's legacy will last a lifetime to Giants fans. Those who cheered for his teams for more than a decade had quite the impact on him as well.