Spring Training Notebook: Bochy's on Insta, Graduate Jack Leiter, Del Taco Shrimp

Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy, who turns 69 in April, stopped down his Thursday media scrum by divulging he's on Instagram.

SURPRISE, Ariz. — Bruce Bochy's daily media scrum nearly went off the rails Thursday morning, and the Texas Rangers manager was the culprit.

Bochy, who turns 69 in April, mentioned in passing that he has an Instagram account, which hit like a screeching record player for the media members assembled.

Bochy was in the process of answering a question about athletes often having too many voices feeding advice, tips, and other presumably helpful information into their heads. It can be too much for some young players, such as Rangers star pitching prospect Jack Leiter. 

Bochy was comparing such a player to an amateur golfer, listening, watching, and reading too many tips on perfecting their swing.

"You're looking at all these lessons and Instagrams or whatever," Bochy said. "Next thing you know, you have 120 swing thoughts when you swing at the golf ball. The reason I'm saying that is because I'm one of those guys."

Bochy said he follows a golf expert or two and enjoys the occasional wacky pet post, which then conjured up a memory of infielder Matt Duffy's now-deceased 27-pound  tabby cat named Skeeter. Skeeter became a fan favorite, and his 2017 death at 15 was mourned by San Francisco Giants fans. Bochy managed Duffy, who signed a minor league deal with an invitation to Rangers major league camp, for three seasons in San Francisco.

It was a fun way to end the conversation with Bochy. But please pour one out for Skeeter. RIP.

Jack Leiter Graduated

Jack Leiter can now start making the big bucks.

The Ranger's first-round pick and No. 2 overall selection in the 2021 MLB draft completed his degree at Vanderbilt University in the fall.

Okay, we were joking about Leiter's salary. He doesn't need to worry about cash after earning a $7.9 million signing bonus. In some ways, it's even more impressive that the son of former MLB All-Star Al Leiter (who made a very nice living himself), still felt compelled to finish his degree in human and organizational development. Leiter received credit with an internship with WME Agency, the merged talent agent powerhouse between William Morris and Endeavor. Leiter said other former athletes have tried serving as volunteer coaches to finish off their degrees.

"They don't let 'baseball player' be the internship," he joked. "[Earning my diploma] was one of the side things that I wanted to accomplish ... and I'm happy about that."

Jack Leiter graduated! #TexasRangers #vandy pic.twitter.com/7D7JxdNO7g

— Stefan Stevenson (@StefanVersusTex) February 15, 2024

Quotables

"I'm always trying to persuade him, you know, hoping he'll come back. I'm asking for information, but he's keeping a tight seal, so he hasn't really told me anything. I'm hoping he comes back, hoping we get the deal done, but I don't know."

— Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi on Jordan Montgomery

"Our last game was [Nov. 1], and it felt like Thanksgiving was four days later. And then Christmas. So it kind of really flew by because normally, the first month off, there are no holidays or anything. It just sped by."

— Rangers reliever Josh Sborz on the 106 days between winning the World Series and spring training

Crowding The Plate

Crowding the Plate is an occasional series in which Rangers beat writer Stefan Stevenson discusses his dining exploits :: Stefan Stevenson/FanNation, Inside the Rangers

Growing up in Houston in the early '80s, Del Taco was as prominent as Taco Bell. I don't know what happened, but they vanished and have been out of Texas for years.

There are 20 locations in the Phoenix area, including one in the heart of Surprise.

After Thursday's spring training workout, I hit the location on Grand Ave., near Bell Road, for a quick bite. Two crispy beef tacos and two crispy jumbo shrimp soft tacos, a "new featured item." The seasoned batter did indeed have a nice crunch and flavor, and the shrimp were legitimately plump for fast-food shrimp taco standards. I'd order them again if they remain on the menu. The tried-and-true crispy beef tacos were a little too runny. I prefer my beef tacos with a more straight-up beef center instead of a Mexican-flavored Sloppy Joe. Let's keep the taco beef a little drier, please.  

Texans know a good taco, so maybe Del Taco was scared off. There are five in Oklahoma, and Sooners definitely don't know good Tex-Mex.

Del Taco's crispy jumbo shrimp tacos are legit :: Stefan Stevenson/SI Fan Nation, Inside the Rangers

Texas Rangers Spring Training Notebook: Dane Dunning's Flex

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