Nightengale: Bochy impresses again as Giants manager

• Bruce Bochy could manage the Giants to their second World Series in three years
• Under Bochy, the Giants became the first team in history to win six consecutive elimination games
• Bochy, a career backup catcher, played for the Padres against the Tigers in the 1984 World Series

DETROIT — Bruce Bochy is the Mr. October of managers.

The man writes out the perfect lineup card each night, makes every right move, always calls upon the right reliever, and at the end, is the one getting fitted with a World Series ring.

Bochy, who may just be the greatest manager in San Francisco Giants' history, could be lining himself up for a spot in Cooperstown if this keeps up.

"He's a Hall of Fame manager in my mind,'' Giants general manager Brian Sabean says. "You just look at what he does, year after year.''

Says Giants third base coach Tim Flannery, who also was his teammate in the San Diego Padres organization: "There is no one better. No one. And as good as manager as he is, he's even a greater person."

Bochy may wear size 8 1/8 cap size, but he's got the ego of a grounds crew worker.

He jokes about having two sons that are eight years apart, saying, "Like my career, I got a hit about every eight years.''

Bochy, a career backup catcher, finished his career with a .239 batting average, which still grates on him.

"(Umpire) Frank Pulli screwed me,'' Bochy says. "I hit that line drive that was foul. Come on, that would have got me to .240.''

Ah yes, but how many guys can say they batted 1.000 in the World Series, with Bochy going 1-for-1 with a hit in the 1984 World Series.

That was the year the Tigers knocked off the San Diego Padres to win the World Series.

Bochy is trying to make sure it remains the last time the Tigers win one.

The Giants hadn't won a World Series championship since 1958 until two years ago, and now are just two victories shy of winning another. They are halfway to the title with a 2-games-to-0 lead over the Tigers.

If they win, Bochy will become the first National League manager to win the World Series in two out of three years since Sparky Anderson led the Cincinnati Reds to back-to-back titles in 1975-76.

"This isn't by accident,'' says Giants reliever Jeremy Affeldt. "When you look at a team that wins, you've got to look at the manager. He's always calm. He never gets rattled.

"And it's the same with us. Look at what we've been through.''

The Giants lose All-Star closer Brian Wilson in spring training, they go with a bullpen by committee, use six different relievers in save situations, and finish the year ranked second with 55 saves.

The Giants' All-Star MVP Melky Cabrera, who just might have been the league's MVP at the time, is busted for using testosterone, and is out for the rest of the season.

And Giants ace Tim Lincecum struggles so badly that he goes from a two-time Cy Young winner to a middle reliever in this postseason.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, hot on the Giants' heals, make their biggest trade in franchise history, acquiring $260 million worth of talent in All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, former All-Star starter Josh Beckett, injured outfielder Carl Crawford and infielder Nick Punto.

But the Giants never panic. They sit back and watch outfielder Hunter Pence become their spiritual leader, and infielder Marco Scutaro become their savior.

The Giants are down 2 games to 0 to the Cincinnati Reds in the best-of-five Division Series, produce all of one hit in the first nine innings in Game 3, and, of course win the Division Series.

The Giants are down 3 games to 1 to the St. Louis Cardinals, and of course win the next three, winning the pennant.

They become the first team in baseball history to win six consecutive elimination games, and are now the first Giants' team in franchise history to win five consecutive postseason games.

"It all comes down Bochy,'' Giants infielder Ryan Theriot says. "He has such a calm demeanor. He never panics. Never too high. Never too low.

"I've played for some great Hall of Fame managers. I've played for Tony La Russa and Lou Piniella and Dusty Baker, but there's no one like this guy.

"You play off the emotion of your manager, and that's why we never panicked.''

Giants GM Brian Sabean, who hired Bochy as manager to replace Felipe Alou in 2007, believes it just might be his greatest acquisition in his 15-year tenure. Bochy will have a job as long as Sabean stays around.

"The job he's done, and the coaching has done,'' Sabean says, "has just been marvelous. They are so talented.''

Bochy, with 1,454 victories now has the third-highest total by an active manager, trailing only Jim Leyland of Detroit (1,676) and Dusty Baker (1,581) of Cincinnati. He is tied for 13th with six postseason appearances.

There's a reason why he's got staying power, says Giants first baseman Aubrey Huff, who was a star performer on their 2010 team, and now is just a backup who may be retiring next week.

"He's unique with every individual personality," Huff says. "Some guys need a kick in the butt, and he'll give it to you. And some guys need to be cuddled, and he gives you that. He knows personalities. Some people have that gift of knowing what guys need to hear, and he's got it."

Who else would have the nerve to remove a $126 million pitcher off his playoff roster in 2010, and rely on Barry Zito to save the season against the Cardinals? Madison Bumgarner was yanked from the rotation in the National League Championship Series, and then called upon to pitch a gem in Game 2, giving up just two hits in seven shutout innings.

And, of course, there is Lincecum, told that he'll be demoted and put in the bullpen during the postseason, only to respond and look like a long-inning version of Mariano Rivera.

"There's something pretty special about this guy,'' says former Cy Young winner Rick Sutcliffe, an ESPN analyst. "I've known Boch since he was a back-up catcher, have seen hundreds of games he has managed, and I have never seen him make a mistake with his bullpen. Never.

"When you think about it, he spent his whole career as a backup catcher, hanging in the bullpen with these guys, so who better to know his bullpen. He's got the smarts, the intellect, the personality, and he just might be the funniest guy in baseball.

"Now, I think the whole world is seeing what we've known all along. He's absolutely the best.''

No argument here.

Follow Bob Nightengale on twitter at @Bnightengale