BRUCE BOCHY SPEAKS in a low rumble, walks like his shoes are three sizes too small and prefers to talk about anything but himself. He manages a baseball game as if there are actual human beings on the field and not just a collection of numbers designed to dictate all outcomes, big and small. He is 68 years old and back for another run at glory that, if successful, he will refuse to accept credit for helping to create.
His Texas Rangers players swear by him, going so far as to believe he possesses a magical sense of time and place when it comes to postseason baseball. His history is certainly a factor: Bochy managed the San Francisco Giants to three World Series championships in the 2010s despite never having anything close to the best roster. He won as a division champion and a wild card. He sat out three years, pointedly refusing to call his 2019 departure a retirement, before returning this season to oversee a Rangers team that held first place in the American League West for 159 days but ended up on the road as the AL’s second wild-card team. The Rangers rinsed away that disappointment by dispatching the Rays in two games notable for what they didn’t have: fans and drama.
The Rangers have difficulty explaining what makes Bochy so different. It’s instructive that one common theme is to extol his penchant for doing as little as possible. He sends out nearly the same lineup for every game, and he stays out of its way unless circumstances demand otherwise. The team believes his consistency and experience are precisely what it needs to navigate a challenging course.
“Honestly, I’ve talked to him probably three times since I’ve been here,” says starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery, who came to Texas in a deadline trade with the Yankees. “But that’s the greatness of Boch. He smiles at you, says, ‘Hey, how ya doing? How’s the family?’ and that’s it.”
Bochy emanates what might be described as radical calm. During batting practice, he leans against the cage with a fungo bat tucked under his left armpit, dropping his head every minute or so to send a line of spit to the dirt at his feet. He can go an entire session without saying anything, just observing, looming over the scene.
He watches games in much the same way, his arms folded on the rail toward the middle of the dugout. He talks to pitching coach Mike Maddux when the need arises, but he mostly keeps to himself. When a Ranger hits a home run, he inches his way closer to the dugout stairs, claps three times and extends his right hand for the celebrant to slap. There’s something to be said for consistency.
“We know one thing,” reserve outfielder Travis Jankowski says. “No matter what happens in [the postseason], Boch won’t be surprised by it.”
Jankowski enjoys telling Bochy stories, and he says he always starts with the one about the left-handed pitchers. Jankowski is a left-handed hitter, and he has always been a part-time player because he has never proved he can hit lefties. Jankowski has played in analytics-heavy organizations, and before this year he hadn’t been in the lineup against a left-handed starter since 2018. There are reasons, starting with Jankowski’s .186 batting average and .493 OPS against lefties in 253 career at-bats.
But that, as Jankowski says, was pre-Bochy, before anyone could look past mere numbers. This May, with shortstop Corey Seager out and backup outfielder Ezequiel Duran moving to short, Jankowski was starting and playing left field against right-handed pitchers. He was hitting over .300 and feeling like he could put a good swing on whatever pitch came his way, from whatever side of the mound it came from.
He showed up to the clubhouse for the second game of a three-game series against the Angels in Anaheim, knowing Reid Detmers was starting, and there it was: his name in a lineup against a lefty for the first time in five seasons.
“That’s when I knew this was different,” Jankowski says. “I was like, OK, this is a guy who’s been there and done that, played the game, managed the game. He knows when you’re seeing the ball well it doesn’t matter: lefty, righty, submariner, 110 or 78, you’re getting a hit. He also understands the opposite: When you’re not swinging well, you can go to a high school field and they’ll get you out.”
Jankowski went 3-for-5 that night, and he says at least part of that — maybe a hit and a half — was because of Bochy’s confidence in him. “I mean, he’s a legend,” Jankowski says, “so it means something when he believes in you.” There are a couple of things at work here in Bochy’s second act as a big league manager: he chose the Rangers when he didn’t have to return to the game — “his bills are paid,” Jankowski says — and, unlike many other managers, his decisions aren’t dictated by anybody in the front office.
“At some point, you have to let your manager do what he wants to do,” catcher/DH Mitch Garver says. “He sees the skill sets, and he’s going to pair them up to the game situation in a way that he sees as necessary. I think that’s something that’s a little lost in today’s game, and so be it — that’s our manager.”
Bochy treats the game like a living organism, something that changes form and requires him to change along with it. He knows baseball is a slow game that can somehow speed up and run away from a manager who doesn’t foresee the moments of acceleration. The idea of managing by feel has become an epithet, synonymous with guessing or simply winging it, but guys like Bochy and Astros manager Dusty Baker treat every game as if it has a physical presence, and maybe their success, and the wild-card failures of managers such as Toronto’s John Schneider and Tampa’s Kevin Cash, signals that feel might be in the midst of a minor comeback.
“He obviously appreciates analytics and uses analytics,” Jankowski says, “but he’s trusting his gut and his baseball instincts. We’re not computers. We’re human beings, and I know guys appreciate and thrive on being treated like one.”
It’s not revelatory in any way to observe that much of baseball is predicated on failure. It’s baked into the game’s processes and psyches in a manner that doesn’t exist in other sports; failure, in a way, is the expected outcome in a majority of the game’s scenarios. It’s such a recurring theme it’s a wonder anyone wants to play.
And because of that, the ability to understand and mitigate failure can be a massive advantage — maybe even a market inefficiency — and it might also be Bochy’s defining quality as a manager.
On Aug. 24 against the Twins, with the Rangers failing their way to a seven-game losing streak, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe rolled over a Pablo Lopez changeup and dribbled the ball between first and second. He was angry with himself, and he ran as hard as he could toward first base, as much out of irritation as professional responsibility. The ball squeaked past first baseman Joey Gallo, and by the time second baseman Kyle Farmer picked it up and threw to Lopez covering first, Lowe was a step past the bag.
It was the saddest of all possible hits, and Lowe remained furious. He jogged back to the dugout after the inning ended, still seething, and noticed Bochy inching toward the steps and leaning toward him, as if he’d just hit a homer.
“That’s a good piece of hittin’ right there,” Bochy grumbled in Lowe’s direction.
Lowe looked at him, saw the glint in his eye and burst out laughing.
“He’s got such a good feel for getting the most out of guys,” Lowe says. “After he says it, I wasn’t even mad anymore. He’s the master of knowing what to say and when to say it.”
The next night against the Twins, with the Rangers failing their way to an eight-game losing streak, starting pitcher Dane Dunning lived a nightmare. He walked four and allowed four earned runs in the first inning. He ended up walking six in a four-inning outing that left him wondering if he should be more embarrassed or angry.
He chose angry, and after he came out of the game he stayed angry. Bochy, a man who hit .239 over nine seasons in the big leagues, approached Dunning in the dugout and said, “Don’t sweat it. S—, even I struck out every once in a while.”
YOU WANT TO know what ballplayers appreciate? Being left to themselves. They’re usually at the ballpark five or six hours before game time, and the clubhouse is like a season-long fraternity house, only cleaner. There’s always a time and place for a good motivational speech from the manager, but that time is rare and the place is almost never the clubhouse.
“I think Boch has been in the clubhouse one time all year,” Jankowski says. He knows the exact date, too: June 4, the night he won his 2,014th career game to move ahead of Walter Alston and into 10th place all-time. “He came in and we did a little toast to him, but even then it seemed like he didn’t feel comfortable in the clubhouse. That’s the old-school mentality: ‘You guys control the clubhouse and I’ll be in my office if you need me.'”
Garver says, “He’s the first to say he’s got no business being in here. This is our space.”
Jankowski’s locker in Seattle is near the entrance of the Rangers’ clubhouse, and on a recent Friday afternoon he stands with his back to the door. After he tells the story of Bochy’s one visit to the clubhouse, I see a large figure turn the corner, take a look inside and walk straight into the clubhouse.
Bochy.
“You’re not going to believe this,” I tell Jankowski quietly, nodding over his shoulder as Bochy strides into the clubhouse. “I think you’ve got your second clubhouse sighting.”
Jankowski’s jaw drops in disbelief. He shakes his head and laughs.
“Yeah, but look at him,” he says as Bochy clears earshot. “Just look at him. He’s so uncomfortable right now. See how uncomfortable he is walking in here?”
And yes, Jankowski is correct: Bochy looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. Head down, moving as quickly as his old catcher’s knees will allow, he finds the staffer he was seeking, says about three words and leaves the same way he came in.
NONE OF WHAT lies ahead figures to be easy. Bochy’s most famous postseason skill, his ability to mix and match a bullpen through three or four innings, always a move ahead of the opposing manager, will be severely tested. He and Maddux oversee one of the worst bullpens in baseball, a group that tied for the most blown saves (13) in the big leagues while running up a 4.77 ERA. It has been a stack of teetering plates, and the Rangers are playing the divisional series against top-seeded Baltimore relying on their third closer of the season, Jose Leclerc, who has had the job for less than a month. Aroldis Chapman, who threw a clean inning in Game 1 against the Rays, is a coin flip at best; his mechanics got so off-kilter that Bochy had to remove him with the bases loaded and nobody out in the ninth inning against Seattle on Sept. 28. That’s feel; Chapman was the closer-designate that night until he wasn’t. Will Smith pitched in the seventh inning of a game the Rangers trailed by eight runs the next night, if you’re wondering whether Bochy has confidence in him.
It was far different in San Francisco, when he could go from Javier Lopez to Sergio Romo to Jeremy Affeldt to Brian Wilson without the constraints of the three-batter minimum.
The best solution to a bad bullpen, of course, is good starting pitching. The Rangers got that against Tampa Bay, with Montgomery throwing seven shutout innings in Game 1 and Nathan Eovaldi giving up one run in 6⅓ in Game 2.
“Yeah,” Jankowski says, waving off any concern about the Texas bullpen. “But he’s borderline genius when it comes to managing a bullpen in the playoffs. He’ll figure it out.”
Maybe. It might take something closer to magic than genius to coax a deep run out of this bullpen, but just maybe. It’s the smallest sample size, but the Rangers clinched a postseason spot with an unlikely 6-1 win over the Mariners. Texas had placed the expected starting pitcher, Jon Gray, on the injured list the day before, leaving Bochy to steer the game through emergency fill-in Andrew Heaney and three relievers. Asked if it felt like a vintage Bochy game, he smiles and says, “Yeah, it kinda did.”
When it was over, he went into the clubhouse for at least the third time this season — the fourth would come four days later in Tampa — to watch his team scream and yell and spray champagne all over the room. “This is what I came back for,” he said as he watched.
He stood there for what seemed like a long time, taking it all in. You couldn’t call him a bystander, but he was definitely not a full participant. His team gave him his space, and he gave them theirs. He was back in his native habitat, happy to see everyone else happy.
Bell led only the final lap in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and had a slight edge on the outside when the caution light came on in overtime after a wreck by Josh Berry.
“That last lap of the race we were at our best,” Bell said.
The 30-year-old Oklahoma driver has 10 career Cup victories.
Austin Cindric led in his Team Penske Ford before he and William Byron, the Daytona 500 winner last week, wrecked with three laps remaining, setting up the overtime.
Kyle Busch finished seventh, ending his hopes of snapping a winless streak in the Cup Series. Busch won the Atlanta Truck Series race Saturday but is still looking for his first Cup win since 2023 after having his NASCAR-record 19-year streak with at least one win end last year.
Larson failed to finish the past four and five of the past six Atlanta races and was involved in accidents in each of the six.
Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammates claimed the spotlight in NASCAR’s first two weeks. Chase Elliott won The Clash on Feb. 2 before Byron avoided late wrecks to win the Daytona 500.
Larson’s string of bad luck ended Sunday after he qualified only 17th. Larson, the 2021 Cup champion, surged late to win the second stage.
WRECKS FOR ELLIOTT, SUAREZ
Elliott was in the top 10 when his Hendricks Motorsports Chevrolet hit the wall late in the second stage and then hit Brad Keselowski‘s RFK Racing Ford, ending Keselowski’s race. Elliott finished 18th.
Daniel Suarez, who edged Ryan Blaney and Busch in a thrilling three-wide finish in Atlanta’s 2024 February race, had his hopes for a repeat win end when he was involved in a seven-car crash early in the third stage. Cole Custer, Ty Gibbs, Cody Ware, Noah Gragson and J.J. Yeley also were involved.
Blaney was in contention before his late one-car spin caused a caution, but he rallied to finish fourth.
SHARP DRESSED MAN
Billy Gibbons, the lead guitarist and singer for the rock group ZZ Top, served as the grand marshal and gave the “start your engines” command.
NEW DEAL FOR HEIM WITH 23XI
The 23XI Racing team announced a multiyear deal with Corey Heim as a development driver. Heim will drive a limited number of Cup Series races in the No. 67 Toyota and also will compete in Xfinity races, including next week at Circuit of the Americas. His first Cup race with the new deal will be at Kansas Speedway on May 11.
Heim made three Cup starts for 23XI last year and has a Truck Series win at Daytona this year. He finished 23rd in Saturday’s Truck Series race in Atlanta.
UP NEXT
The Cup Series moves to Austin, Texas, and Circuit of the Americas next Sunday.
HAMPTON, Ga. — The Atlanta Motor Speedway is Austin Hill‘s home track, and the Georgia native proved again Saturday night that he absolutely “owns it.”
Hill dominated the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Bennett Transportation and Logistics 250 on the Atlanta high banks, leading 146 of the 163 laps to claim his first victory of the early 2025 season while driving the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet sponsored by the race’s title sponsor.
Hill has won four of the past six Atlanta races — the last three consecutively and five in all — including a sweep of both events last year. Although his laps led total is impressive, he really had to work for this trophy after losing the lead briefly on a restart with three laps to go.
With a timely tap on the rear bumper of Hill’s Chevrolet from Parker Retzlaff, Hill was able to push forward and take the lead entering the first turn on the final lap. He held on to the win by 0.216 seconds, having to fend off reigning series champion Justin Allgaier of JR Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing’s veteran Aric Almirola, who both led at various times on the final restart.
“Thank you to Parker Retzlaff for giving me that push, and then once I got clear and into [Turn] 1, I was just wide open and I was hoping they weren’t going to build up momentum,” Hill said. “To be able to do this is something special.”
Hill’s five Xfinity Series wins at Atlanta tie a record set by former Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick. His eight wins at drafting tracks tied a series record with a pair of NASCAR Hall of Famers: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart.
Hill swept the two stage wins for the second time in as many races this year.
With teammate Jesse Love fastest in qualifying, RCR swept the pole and race wins for the second time. No other team has won a pole position or hoisted a trophy in 2025. It also marks the 99th Xfinity Series victory for NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Childress’ team.
Hill and Love led all but four laps in the race.
This is Hill’s 11th career win, and after holding the point for the vast majority of the race, he ultimately earned it the hard way — a last-lap pass.
“He definitely had the dominant car, but I thought we might snooker one away,” Almirola said of racing Hill in those final three laps. “But it just wasn’t meant to be.”
JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith and Big Machine Racing rookie Nick Sanchez rounded out the top five.
A final-lap accident on the backstretch created chaos for several of the night’s most consistent top-10 front-runners.
With the victory, Hill takes a one-point lead over Haas Factory Team driver Sheldon Creed, who was eliminated from a top-10 finish in that multicar accident on the last lap and placed 14th. Love, last week’s Daytona winner, finished 16th.
The Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday in the Focused Health 250 at the Circuit of the Americas road course. Former Cup Series champion Kyle Larson is the defending race winner.
HAMPTON, Ga. — A massive fine left Chase Briscoe facing a huge points deficit heading into Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Even so, Briscoe insists he feels no new pressure. He said he already felt an urgency to win this week because those are the expectations at Joe Gibbs Racing, his new NASCAR home.
“I feel like I’m in a must-win situation just starting at JGR,” Briscoe said Saturday. “Like you need to be winning at JGR. … So yeah, I don’t feel like it changes anything from that standpoint.”
Ryan Blaney won the pole on Saturday for Sunday’s race. Two other Team Penske drivers, Austin Cindric and Joey Logano, will start second and fourth, respectively.
“Hopefully the first stage you can control, but it’s not going to stay that way the whole race,” Blaney said of the potential for the teammates to help each other.
Briscoe won the pole for last week’s Daytona 500 and finished fourth before NASCAR announced Wednesday that its inspection found Briscoe used a modified spoiler on the No. 19 Toyota in time trials. Joe Gibbs Racing was docked 100 driver/owner points and 10 playoff points and fined $100,000. Also, crew chief James Small was suspended for four races.
Small is still coordinating Briscoe’s plan for Sunday’s race as the team appeals the devastating penalties. Briscoe was left with negative 67 points and dropped from 10th to 39th in the standings.
“You know, if we don’t win the appeal, you’ve kind of used up your mulligans,” Briscoe said.
Briscoe acknowledged that he “bummed” on Wednesday before realizing he had to approach the Atlanta race with the same goal for his No. 19 Toyota.
Daniel Suarez won in Atlanta last February, edging Blaney and Kyle Busch in the race’s closest finish. Suarez beat Blaney by only 0.003 seconds, the narrowest margin at any 1.5-mile track.
Logano won Atlanta’s second race last year in the opener of the NASCAR playoffs.
Briscoe qualified 25th in his Toyota. Suarez will start 29th.
Josh Berry qualified third as Ford drivers earned 10 of the top 11 spots in the lineup. Busch qualified sixth in his Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
Hendrick drivers aim for 3 straight wins
Chase Elliott, who won in Atlanta, his home track, in 2022, opened this season by winning the Clash. Byron will start 16th, Kyle Larson will be 17th and Elliott 19th as Hendrick Motorsports drivers will be looking for a third straight win to launch the season.
The last year a team won the Clash and the first two points races was in 1997 when Hendrick Motorsports’ Jeff Gordon swept the first three races.
Preece looks to stay grounded
Ryan Preece, who will start 11th, said “I feel fine” following a scary crash at Daytona in which his No. 60 Ford became airborne and flipped. It was the second time his car flipped at Daytona, following another terrifying crash in 2023 that left him with two black eyes the following week.
Preece had no black eyes Saturday but said he hopes he doesn’t have another similar scare.
“I joke with my wife that I’m like a cat with nine lives right now,” Preece said. “You don’t want to use all nine of them.”
New iron man
Martin Truex Jr., who retired from full-time racing after last season and finished 38th in the Daytona 500, will have his Cup Series-leading streak of consecutive starts end at 685, the sixth longest all time. The streak began at the 2006 Daytona 500.
Logano will take over the longest active start streak in the Cup. Atlanta is his 578th consecutive race.
TV ratings slam dunk win
NASCAR celebrated its TV ratings win for last week’s Daytona 500, despite a lengthy rain delay. The Daytona 500 telecast on Fox earned a 3.42 household rating with an average of 6.8 million viewers to finish ahead of the NBA All-Star Game and the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off game between the United States and Canada.
The rating excluded the rain coverage during the delay of more than three hours. NASCAR said the rain delay coverage averaged 4.95 million viewers and if considered as a separate event would have ranked as the week’s No. 2 telecast, behind only the Daytona 500.
