When the Texas Rangers hired former San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy before the 2023 season, it was seen as a massive step in the right direction for the franchise.
The move paid off almost immediately, as Bochy led the Rangers to their first World Series championship in franchise history.
This week, former Los Angeles Lakers scout and current radio host at 98.7 The Spot in Dallas Bonnie-Jill Laflin joined Jessica Kleinschmidt on the Short and to the Point podcast and discussed Bochy, who was hired by the Rangers right around the same time the former KNBR host moved to Dallas.
“It was so crazy, we basically both moved here at the same time. I got a job offer to come to Dallas and he’s like ‘There’s only certain teams I’m gonna go to. I’m talking to Chris Young, I think the Texas Rangers are a good fit.’ It was crazy because he kinda flirted with a couple other teams about maybe [managing them] but he also wanted to make an impact,” Laflin said.
Laflin also pointed out what makes Bochy such a skilled manager. “Yes, of course he uses analytics. They all use analytics to a degree. But Boch is the mind. He uses what’s between his eyes and ears and his emotion and his gut. He wanted to be able to go to a team he could actually do that with, and that was the Rangers.”
Laflin appreciates her long friendship with Bochy, “He’s been good friends with my father and that’s how I’ve gotten this amazing relationship with him. I kinda feel like the daughter he didn’t have, because he only has boys. He’s just another guy that loves to be encouraging and give words of wisdom. We’ll talk about lineups and he actually listens to me. It’s funny because I’m a female, right? But he does listen to us.”
Short and to the Point with Jessica Kleinschmidt is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts.
