SURPRISE, Ariz. — What does a manager say to the World Champs?
Luckily for the Texas Rangers, Bruce Bochy has been here before.
Bochy's message to the team before Monday's first full-squad spring training workout, at least what he has divulged publicly, addressed appreciating their 2023 World Series title but also turning the page.
"It's great that we won, and we get to savor that," said Bochy, who won three titles with the San Francisco Giants in 2010, 2012, and 2014. "You never let go of those memories. We just don't want to lean on them. It's a new year, it's a new season, a new race.
"So now it's time for us to focus forward here and try to get better and create another incredible year," he said.
General manager Chris Young also addressed the club Monday morning, addressing similar themes.
One message Bochy made clear to the club: Last season's title should be viewed as an honor, not a burden.
"We talked about that. It's a privilege being in a position where you can repeat," said Bochy, who failed to make the playoffs the year after each of his Giants titles. "It's hard, and you can't ever get away from hard work. That's never gonna stop in this league."
Bochy, who turns 69 in April, covered some of his core tenets, such as being strong in the fundamentals of defense, base running, and situational hitting. Those areas, especially defensively, served the 2023 team well. The Rangers and World Series losers, the Arizona Diamondbacks, had the two best fielding percentages in the majors and made the fewest errors. The D-Backs had 56 errors; the Rangers had 57.
"We covered quite a few things, to be honest. And we talked about what worked last here and things we can learn from," Bochy said. "We were a top team defensively, and these are things that we will continue to work on."
He highlighted their resiliency, especially after a rough 4-16 run in August.
"It's going be a big part of the game again," he said.
And he reminded the champs that if they're not working on getting better, they're not getting better.
"This is what this game is about," he said. "You never stop trying to improve, and you never arrive in this game."
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