After the San Francisco Giants fired manager Gabe Kapler with three games left in the 2023 season, Padres manager Bob Melvin's name immediately came to many peoples' minds as a potential replacement. There was skepticism by some; after all, Melvin had just led the Padres to one of the most disappointing and underachieving seasons in MLB history. Why should he manage the SF Giants?
Turns out there are more reasons than can even be counted. Melvin is a Bay Area native and has had a long, successful managerial career, including over a decade across the Bay. He would bring instant credibility where it matters most: among players and fans alike. He has reportedly developed great relationships with Asian-born players like Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish, and Ha-Seong Kim, with the latter two being major potential influences on the ultimate destination of prized players Yoshinobu Yamamoto (out of Japan) and Jung-hoo Lee (out of Korea), who will be posted this offseason.
The one potential concern has to do with the coaching staff. For all of Kapler's faults, he did bring in some of the best in the business, most of whom were relative unknowns at the time. Donnie Ecker has since departed for the Texas Rangers (and is himself a potential frontrunner for the Giants' managerial opening), but he is thought to be a hitting genius. Brian Bannister and Andrew Bailey have been very successful in helping the Giants get the most out of pitchers during their tenures. It remains to be seen, however, what type of coaching staff Melvin would seek to put together.
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The best daily San Francisco Giants podcast. Whether the Giants are winning championships or retooling for another title run, Locked On Giants host Ben Kaspick—a lifelong Giants fan and former contributor for RotoGraphs and Beyond the Box Score—breaks down every game, rumor, and transaction in a way that's data-driven and rational but also simple, passionate, and accessible to all.
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