It’s been widely reported that San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey has a target in mind for the managerial opening: his former backup catcher Nick Hundley. But an unexpected retirement could put those plans in jeopardy.
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On Monday, San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt surprised the baseball world by retiring. It’s a rather shocking development, as San Diego made the playoffs and won at least 90 games in both years with Shildt at the helm. But Shildt told the San Diego Union-Tribune that “the grind of the baseball season has taken a severe toll on me mentally, physically and emotionally.”
Now, the surprise manager vacancy with a division rival could throw a major wrench in the Giants’ plans. Hundley had been the favorite to be the next Giants manager, but he’ll surely give the Padres job a long look.
Hundley, 42, has never been a coach or a manager in his post-playing career, but he worked as a special assistant for the Texas Rangers front office for the past several years. He spent two of his 12 seasons in the big leagues backing up Posey in San Francisco and received the 2017 Willie Mac Award, which Giants players and coaches annually vote to award to the most inspirational player on the team.
He clearly left an impression in San Francisco, and by early last week, it was clear Hundley was the Giants’ first choice for their job. According to a story from the Athletic’s Britt Ghiroli last week, Hundley was being picky with the manager openings, writing he was only considering the Giants at the time.
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Longtime Giants reporter Andrew Baggarly of the Athletic wrote later that same Tuesday that “it’s becoming a widely held expectation the job is Hundley’s if he is ready to accept it.” Baggarly also used several of his old interviews from his decades of covering the team to show the mutual admiration between Posey and Hundley.
“I’ve caught with a lot of guys, been really fortunate to catch with a lot of great teammates, but as far as teammates go, he might be the best one I’ve ever had,” Hundley said of Posey in 2019.
But Hundley’s respect for Posey may not be enough to pull him away from San Diego if the Padres offered Hundley the job. The former catcher was drafted by the Padres and played for the club in his first seven MLB seasons. He still lives near San Diego with his wife and two daughters and, according to Baggarly, Hundley cited his family situation as a reason he didn’t want to interview for the Giants manager position two years ago.
Hundley has already been named by the Union-Tribune as a possible candidate for the job. On the field, the Padres have a stable of excellent core players locked up into the future – including perennial MVP candidate Fernando Tatis Jr. and center fielder Jackson Merrill – and have finished above the Giants in the standings for each of the past four seasons. The Padres won 10 of the two teams’ 13 matchups this season.
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For the Giants, it’s hard to think of a worse scenario than having Hundley decide he’s finally ready to manage but taking a job with their division rival in San Diego instead of coming to San Francisco. And with Monday’s news, that worst-case scenario is very much in play.
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This article originally published at SF Giants manager plans in jeopardy after NL West rival’s sudden opening.