It was Roger Craig, the Giants’ ‘Humm baby!’ manager, who may have been the first to see Bob Melvin had a future in the dugout.
San Francisco Giants manager Bob Melvin talks to members of the media in the dugout during spring training at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024. Almost 40 years later, that might be easy to say for the former Giants pitcher turned broadcaster. But it wasn’t his instincts that told him that back then, in the spring of 1986, after the club had acquired a hot-shot 24-year-old catcher from the Detroit Tigers to pair with their new manager.
Entering his 21st season as a major-league manager, taking the reins of his fifth team, the circumstances that brought the Menlo Park-raised baseball nut back to San Francisco for a second time aren’t all that different than what led Craig to seek out Melvin following only 100-loss season in the franchise’s history.
A two-sport star at Menlo-Atherton, Melvin grew up rooting for the entire spectrum of Bay Area sports teams. He wears his roots on the back of his jersey, where the No. 6 is a nod to the All-Star third baseman of the 1970s A’s, Sal Bando, not only a teenage favorite of Melvin’s but decades later the executive who gave him his first opportunity off the field, inside the Brewers front office.
“You obviously knew what it meant to him to come back home,” Krukow said of Melvin’s arrival in camp in 1986.“Roger was the guy who made me watch the game like a manager,” Melvin said. “He made me watch the game in a different way than I was used to. Because I had to follow along with him, I had to know his signs. Really every pitch, there was that sort of unspoken communication between the manager and the catcher that I had never had before.
“Mel, I truly believe that he sensed early on that this was going to be an opportunity when he was done playing. He wanted to be that manager. And here was a guy that was managing at a high level. He took all of that in like a toilet. It was just amazing how he would watch and react to Roger Craig.”It’s that feel for the game that some within the organization felt was missing under Gabe Kapler, particularly as last year’s club fell apart in the second half.
Melvin’s typical even-keeled demeanor isn’t so different from Kapler’s. Both are regarded as managers who trust the clubhouse to police itself and are generally well-liked by players for that. Melvin, however, has a fiery side to him.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How Farhan Zaidi, Bob Melvin eventually lured Blake Snell to SF GiantsIt took until the final week of spring training, but Zaidi’s persistence and Melvin’s relationship ultimately convinced the two-time Cy Young winner to sign with the Giants.
Read more »
Suspects break into East Bay shop before causing deadly wrong-way crash near Bay Bridge'Scumbags decided to be scumbags.' An East Bay tobacco store owner is devastated after suspects reportedly broke in, stole what they could, led police on a chase, and were involved in a wrong-way crash near the Bay Bridge that killed another driver.
Read more »
Fans gather across Bay Area to watch Bay FC win 1st gameBay FC will play its first home game on March 30 against Houston at San Jose’s PayPal Park.
Read more »
Indie-Music Powerhouse Hits Bay Area, East Bay School Board Sets Recall Election Date, and MoreBay Area radio fans can rejoice as indie-music powerhouse hits town. Furor over Pride flag ban comes to head as East Bay school board members set the date for their own recall election. U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert blasts Ken Buck’s resignation, says she will skip special election to focus on primary race. Modest-living Minneapolis welder leaves nearly $1 million to Gillette Children’s hospital in St. Paul. St. Louis teen fighting for her life after viral high school brawl.
Read more »
Bay Area starts 2024 with robust job gains led by South Bay upswingThe Bay Area and California muscled up for sturdy job gains in January to kick off 2024.
Read more »
Craig Melvin Visited Savannah Guthrie's Mom In ArizonaRachel Paula Abrahamson is a lifestyle reporter who writes for the parenting, health and shop verticals. Her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, and elsewhere. Rachel lives in the Boston area with her husband and their two daughters. Follow her on Instagram.
Read more »