Bob Melvin

Bob Melvin hopes he can turn 49ers GM John Lynch into Giants fan

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As someone who grew up in San Diego, 49ers general manager John Lynch is faithful to one MLB team and one MLB team only: The Padres.

But new Giants manager Bob Melvin, who was the manager for both the Oakland Athletics and Padres before San Francisco hired him last week, hopes he can shift Lynch's loyalties now that he's back in the Bay. On the latest "Giants Talk" with NBC Sports Bay Area's Laura Britt, Melvin detailed his wishes after hearing Lynch was "sick" over the former Padres skipper leaving San Diego.

"Now look, I admire the heck [out] of what they've done over there, and I obviously grew up watching the 49ers as closely as I did the Giants, so I'm looking forward to that relationship," Melvin told Britt of Lynch. "It's interesting that you say that; I did not know that. I would love to be able to spend some time with him and hopefully, maybe he turns into a Giants fan here at some point in time.

"You know, [Warriors coach] Steve Kerr's a friend of mine, too, and I got to know him when I was with the A's. He's got different baseball teams he roots for, too, and I don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but he was always very supportive when he came out to Oakland, so hopefully we can get Mr. Lynch on the Giants train, and maybe we'll see how good he looks in orange and black."

The respect is mutual between the two, with Lynch telling KNBR last week that the Giants' hiring of Melvin should work out well for the MLB team.

"I'm sorry for my Padres because I think he's a great manager," Lynch said. "People would say, 'If so, how did he have that roster and things didn't work out?' You hear the Warriors and us talk about connectivity and everyone's connected. That didn't seem like a front office and coaching staff down there that was connected. I hear that Bob is as easy to get along with as anybody, so I don't know what the issue is there. I think this is a win for the Giants.

"I'm sick for my Padres, but I think the Padres are growing on me. I've always got to stick to my hometown team, will always support the Pads, but happy for the Giants because I think they got a really (good manager). There's just so many retired baseball players that live down in San Diego that I see when I'm down there. I've never heard someone say a bad thing about Bob Melvin. That's not just being a nice guy, a heck of a manager as well. I think it's a huge win for the Giants and I'm excited for them to have somebody like that and see what they can do."

Lynch and the 49ers remain on the hunt for the franchise's ever-elusive sixth Vince Lombardi Trophy, but the San Francisco GM has experienced plenty of success with the Red and Gold, including three NFC Championship Games, two NFC West titles and one Super Bowl appearance since he was hired in 2017.

And in San Francisco, Melvin will take over a Giants team looking to bounce back after a disappointing 2023 MLB season which featured a sub-.500 record and shocking dip out of playoff contention in the campaign's final weeks.

As two sports minds eager to bring trophies to the Bay, there's certainly plenty both Lynch and Melvin can learn from each other -- including rooting interests.

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