Bruce Bochy open to taking 'one more shot' at managing, beginning in 2021

Tom Gatto

Bruce Bochy open to taking 'one more shot' at managing, beginning in 2021 image

Bruce Bochy made it clear Thursday that he's open to managing again.

He told SiriusXM Radio host Christopher "Mad Dog" Russo that he could see himself returning to the dugout in 2021 after a year's "sabbatical."

"I'd love to have one more shot," Bochy told Russo.

(Giants beat writer Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted about the interview.)

BERNSTEIN: Bruce Bochy's legend was built on small gestures

Bochy, 64, announced in February that he would retire after the 2019 season. A string of salutes and tributes from opposing clubs followed. Bochy's mindset appeared to have changed slightly by late September, as reflected in comments he made to the Chronicle's John Shea.

"Later on, when you get away from the game, who knows how you'll react? I'm good with my call. I'd be lying if I didn’t say it's been tough here at the end of the season realizing it's ending. No, I’m fine with it. I can't tell you what's going to happen in the future because I don't know."

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported in September that the Padres, Bochy's first team as an MLB manager, were interested in bringing him back to replace the fired Andy Green. San Diego has reportedly settled on Rangers coach Jayce Tingler.

USA Today's Bob Nightengale tweeted last week that Bochy would work for the Giants as a special assistant next year and then decide whether to get back into managing. 

Bochy managed the club to World Series championships in 2010, 2012 and 2014. This year, he led a retooling Giants squad to a 77-85 record. The team was on the fringe of the National League wild-card race in late August.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.