Bruce Bochy Shares Story About Giants Legend Willie Mays

The future Baseball Hall of Fame manager has plenty of stories to tell about the ‘Say Hey Kid’ from his time with the Giants.

Aug 11, 2018; San Francisco, CA, USA; Former San Francisco Giants great Willie Mays speaks at the ceremony to retire the number 25 of his godson, Barry Bonds, before a Major League Baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Giants at AT&T Park. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

ARLINGTON, Texas — There are perks to being the manager of the San Francisco Giants. Some days, you’re surrounded by baseball royalty.

Bruce Bochy learned that quickly when he took over as the team’s manager in 2007.

The Giants have been around since 1883 when they were founded as the New York Gothams. Later renamed the Giants, they moved to San Francisco in 1958.

When San Francisco heads to Arizona for spring training every year, they make sure to invite as many of their legends as they can.

Bochy is now the manager of the Texas Rangers and working to help them defend their first World Series title, won in November. But with the Giants in Arlington last weekend, he was happy to share stories about his time in San Francisco with both the Texas-based media and the San Francisco media following the Giants.

Bochy’s first spring training was in 2007. His office in the spring training facility had a perk. It was across the hall from the office provided to one of San Francisco's special assistants — Willie Mays.

He had something to give to the Giants’ new manager.

“My first day of spring training he walks in with a dozen baseballs, signed, and said, ‘You’re probably gonna need these,” Bochy said with a smile. “That was such a great gesture because the last thing you want to do is go ask him for baseballs.”

Mays is one of baseball’s best players. He was one of a handful of players to bat .300 or better for his career (.301), hit at least 500 home runs (660) and have at least 3,000 hits (3,293). He also drove in 1,909 runs. He spent the vast majority of his career with San Francisco and was one of the last links to the team’s New York era when he was traded to the New York Mets in 1972.

Now 93 years old, Mays remains in an assistant role with the Giants, a role that Bochy filled when he left the dugout after the 2019 season.

Bochy said spring trainings with San Francisco were some of his best days in baseball just because of all of the former Giants that came to talk to and work with players.

“We had our spring training talks with our Hall of Famers — Willie McCovey, Gaylord Perry, Orlando Cepeda and Willie,” Bochy said. “He dominated the conversation. With his little office across from mine we got to have a lot of great daily chats. I loved talking baseball with him.”