Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy joined the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) to discuss Chris Young’s contract extension and the growth he has seen from Wyatt Langford in his rookie season.
Question: Did you ever have any doubt Chris Young’s extension would get done and do you view you two as a team?
Bruce Bochy: I really felt they would get it done. You can’t have a better fit than having C.Y. run the baseball operations here. He was such a big fan of the Rangers growing up, he pitched for the Rangers and he’s so good at what he does. It was too good of a fit not to think it would happen, so I was confident that something would get done. Yeah, me being in my position, you are a team. Hopefully you are working together trying to win championships, so yeah I look at it that way.
Question: Chris Young seems very competitive. How good is that for that position? Because it feels like they set the tone for the franchise.
Bochy: I think that’s what makes him so good. He is competitive. He has an edge to him, it’s a good edge. That’s his goal, is to win. That’s how he pitched, I had him as a pitcher and that’s how he is as a general manager. Now, being our president, he’s not gonna change. He’s determined to sustain a winning team here for years. Yeah, it hasn’t gone well and we’ve already started talking about we need to do or what we can do to get back to where we were last year. That’s what’s going to make him so special and that’s going to lead him to a tremendous career in whatever he wants to do in baseball. I think his strongest suit is he’s just so competitive.
Question: In the month of September, Wyatt Langford is crushing it at the plate. What have you seen as the season has progressed that is starting to turn him into the superstar potential everybody saw? Could he be a potential 40-home run guy in a year?
Bochy: I think the expectations on this guy, sure, they were high, as they probably should be. He was the number one pick, so that’s going to go with the territory. You have to look at a guy that got a little bit of minor league time, in his first year facing major league pitching, I don’t care who you are, it’s a tough deal. We knew there would be growing pains, but we needed him and that’s why he made our club out of spring training. What’s impressive is how much better he continues to get. As you mentioned this month, not just his offense but his defense. The things he’s doing last night, they are incredible. Just watching his batting practice, it’s good to see the growth from this guy. I felt that all along. We haven’t come close to seeing the best of Wyatt Langford for two reasons. One, he’s gifted and has the talent, but he’s hungry. Nobody works harder on this club than he does. It’s only going to get better with him, and he has the whole game. He can run, he can throw, he can hit. We’re pretty lucky to have him available when we picked last year. We were very excited when that happened.
I think he could, yeah. I don’t think right now that’s something he’s probably thinking of. I’m just saying he’s more of a gap guy, but now you’re seeing the power. I talked about him in batting practice, where he’s hitting balls, so yeah I could see him hitting 40 at some point. He’s got strength and he’s just going to get smarter as a hitter and he’s going to get more knowledge on these pitchers. The home runs are going to increase, as they are now. I wouldn’t put it past him to be a 30 or 40 stolen base guy.
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