Giants' Mike Krukow identifies Farhan Zaidi's ‘prototype' manager

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There’s an old saying: Keep your friends close, and your "enemies" closer.

The Giants seem to have adopted this mindset, having brought in a President of Baseball Operations, Farhan Zaidi, who previously spent half a decade helping to turn the archrival Los Angeles Dodgers into a perennial World Series contender as the team's general manager.

Now that Zaidi has completed his first full season at the helm of the Giants, the statistical savant now is tasked with his most important decision as a baseball executive - replacing three-time World Series champion manager Bruce Bochy.

Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow recently was asked who he believes is an example of the type of leader Zaidi and the front office are looking for, and he pointed to the last man Farhan hired to be his manager.

“I think one of the big examples of a manager that is a prototype in the eyes of Farhan is Dave Roberts,” Krukow said on “The TK Show” with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami. “We all knew Dave Roberts when he was with the Giants and one of the more gregarious souls on this planet, just a really solid, good guy.”

Roberts closed out his final two professional seasons as a player in San Francisco, competing in 166 games and finishing with a .252 batting average before retiring in 2008.

Zaidi hired Roberts in 2015, and all the first-time manager has done is compile a .605 winning percentage and take the Dodgers to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2017 and 2018.

“I think that’s one of the things Farhan believes in, is the culture of the clubhouse," Krukow continued. "And I think the job Dave Roberts has done down in Los Angeles is phenomenal.

“He wants to have a guy that has a pulse on everybody’s life, all 25. 

"I think he feels that’s the key to chemistry and that’s the key to developing a team attitude and a winning attitude.”

Another candidate with Dodgers ties, Clayton McCullough, LA's current field coordinator, reportedly has also drawn interest for the Giants managerial opening.

[RELATED: Report: Giants still in contact with Rays coach Quatraro]

In the same interview, Krukow mentioned that one of the finalists for the Giants’ manager position, former Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler, has “people skills” very similar to Roberts.

Obviously, Roberts won’t be the one to take the reigns from Bruce Bochy in 2020, but expect someone very similar who is young, energetic, and can connect with every person in the clubhouse.

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