You can't keep a potential Hall of Fame manager out of baseball for long.

Just months after parting ways with the San Francisco Giants, the French Baseball Federation appointed Bruce Bochy as manager of their national team as they attempt to qualify for the World Baseball Classic for the first time in 2021. Bochy was born in Bussac-Forêt, France, in 1955, where his baseball-fanatic father was stationed with the US Army. He is the only Major League Baseball manager born in the country.

"Bruce has a special relationship with France," said Didier Seminet, President of the France Baseball Association. "We are very honored and excited that he wishes to seize this opportunity to help develop French baseball."

"This is a moment in which I think of my career after the Giants," said Bochy after the announcement. "I want to stay involved and give back to baseball what it gave to me. "

During his tenure in charge of the Giants, Bochy won three World Series championships. He became the 11th manager in MLB history to earn over two thousand victories while coaching the San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

The ex-Giants manager will have his work cut out for him with a French team lacking much baseball tradition. They attempted and failed to qualify for the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classics. In their five qualifying games, they have only one victory — over Spain in 2016. Most recently, France finished in seventh place out of twelve teams in the 2019 European Baseball Championship. Their best-ever finish in any international tournament was third place in the 1999 European Baseball Championship.

Although the exact dates for the qualifying rounds for the next World Baseball Classic are not set, they will take place sometime next year.

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France does have some young talent for Bochy to coach. The team has several professional players, including minor leaguers Ernesto Martinez Jr. and Yoan Antonac. They may get additional help to their pitching staff from Bochy's son, Brett, who briefly pitched for the Giants in 2014 and 2015, and is eligible to play with France.

Bruce's older brother, Joe, will also help coach the team.

"It's the Bochy family as a whole that will support French baseball," said Bochy. "I want to thank President Seminet for giving me the opportunity to manage the French Team in the 2020 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. Allez Les Bleus!"

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Online Photo Editor Douglas Zimmerman oversees SFGATE's Instagram and covers the Bay Area soccer scene on SFGATE's Beautiful Blog. View his latest stories and send him news tips at dzimmerman@sfgate.com. Follow on Twitter @zimpix

