The San Francisco Giants announced the hiring of Bob Melvin as their new manager on Wednesday. Melvin had been under contract with the San Diego Padres, who granted the Giants permission to speak with him a few days ago. It’s unclear if the Padres required any compensation for allowing Melvin out of his deal.
“Bob Melvin is one of the most well-respected managers and people in baseball today,” top executive Farhan Zaidi said in a statement.
Melvin, 62 this week, will become the second Padres manager to be hired away by the Giants in the last two decades. The Giants previously plucked Bruce Bochy from San Diego prior to the 2007 season. Bochy later delivered three World Series championships to the Giants organization. The Padres are still seeking their first-ever World Series title.
“I could not be more excited to come back to the Bay Area and manage this great organization,” Melvin said in a statement.
Melvin, of course, played in three seasons with the Giants in the ’80s. Melvin has since managed in parts of 20 big-league seasons, including stints with the Padres, Oakland Athletics, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Seattle Mariners. He’s amassed a career 51.6% winning percentage with a 16-23 postseason record. Melvin has garnered a reputation for getting the most out of his rosters.
Melvin’s predecessor, Gabe Kapler, was fired near the end of the season following a second-half collapse. Across four years at the helm, Kapler had led the Giants to just one playoff appearance. (Kapler has since interviewed with the Boston Red Sox for their top baseball operations executive position.)
Padres owner Peter Seidler expressed hope of retaining both Melvin and general manager A.J. Preller despite what had been categorized as an “unfixable” relationship. Clearly Seidler did not get his wish — even after Preller publicly stated that he and Melvin would both return in 2024.
The Padres are coming off a disappointing 82-80 season. Their struggles in one-run games resulted in an MLB-worst 9-23 mark in those contests. No other team won fewer than 10 one-run games this season. Of course, performance in one-run games is thought to be largely the product of random fluctuation, suggesting that Melvin wasn’t likely to blame for those woes.
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