The SF Giants will have longtime coach Ron Wotus back in the organization for a 37th season. Wotus told Danny Emerman of KNBR that he will remain a special assistant to the front office for the third consecutive season. Wotus had a wide range of responsibilities last season, which included visits to the team’s minor league affiliates and work with the big-league team.
Wotus, is easily the longest tenured coach in SF Giants history. He reached the 2000-win milestone with the team in 2021 before stepping away from the MLB dugout at the end of the season, shifting to his special assistant role in 2022. Considering the fact that Wotus turned down an opportunity to be Bruce Bochy’s bench coach with the Texas Rangers, it seems like his coaching tenure is entirely in his past.
Wotus has been in professional baseball since the 1970s, when he was drafted by the Pirates out of high school in 1979. A slick-fielding middle infielder, Wotus progressed through the minor-league ranks and enjoyed MLB stints with the Pirates in 1983 and 1984. Those were his only playing opportunities in the majors.
Prior to the 1988 season, Wotus signed a minor-league contract with the Giants, effectively beginning the next stage of his life. Wotus retired as a player in 1989 and began coaching with San Francisco’s minor-league affiliates a couple years later. In 1998, Wotus joined Dusty Baker’s MLB coaching staff, and he would go on to work for Baker, Felipe Alou, Bruce Bochy and Gabe Kapler.One of the most respected members of the organization, Wotus was consistently working with players and coaches prior to home games at Oracle Park last season and was credited with an impassioned late-season speech. It’s also easy to see how his wisdom could help younger coaches and players in the minor leagues.
Leave a Reply