The longest tenured coach in Giants franchise history is staying in the organization.
Ron Wotus, 62, re-upped with the Giants to remain a special assistant to baseball operations, he told KNBR.com. He’ll serve in the same front office position as he has for the past two seasons, since he stepped away from full-time coaching.
“It’s a role that, you know, when I stepped away two years ago to have more balance in my life, it has worked out perfectly for me,” Wotus told KNBR. “And hopefully, as well, with the Giants.”
Wotus’ job responsibilities aren’t expected to change much at all. As special assistant, he has been at essentially every home game, helping with pregame work and mentoring both coaches and players. At one point during last year’s second-half spiral, he addressed the team during an all-hands meeting. Wotus has also done a substantial amount of work with the Giants’ minor league teams, most often in Sacramento and San Jose.
Wotus is comfortable in the role, and expected to return to it even as his contract expired. There will also still be plenty of familiarity with the Giants’ Major League coaching staff.
Along with the holdover coaches from the Gabe Kapler regime, Wotus knows new manager Bob Melvin, hitting coach Pat Burrell, and third base coach Matt Williams well. He has gotten to know Melvin through coaching over the past three decades; he coached Burrell in 2010-11 and worked closely with him while Burrell was a scout and minor league coach in the Giants’ system; he and Williams were Triple-A teammates in 1988 and 1989.
“It’ll be fun to be around those guys,” Wotus said. “It’s always great for me when you can have baseball conversations and work with people from different organizations, and the vast experiences they have, and learn things from your fellow colleagues. That’s something I really enjoy.”
Wotus has been with the Giants organization essentially uninterrupted since 1988, when he was a minor league middle infielder. He retired from playing after the 1989 season and rejoined the Giants organization in 1991, managing in the minors at the Class-A, Double-A, and Triple-A level for seven years.
From 1998 to 2021, Wotus served either as bench coach or third base coach for 24 straight seasons. He coached with Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou, Bruce Bochy and Gabe Kapler, contributing to three World Series victories and the franchise-record 107-win 2021 campaign.
Wotus had hoped to manage at the big-league level, interviewing for the top job at various points with Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Washington and San Francisco.
This cycle, it was reported that Wotus interviewed for the Giants’ manager opening, but Wotus said he didn’t go through the formal interview process, rather having “positive” discussions with president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi.
After Melvin’s introductory press conference on Oct. 25, Zaidi said that the Giants conducted formal interviews with “probably five people” along with “informal conversations” with two or three others.
This upcoming season will be Wotus’ 37th in the organization. As the manager’s office has changed over once again, Wotus has remained an independent variable.
“I have the utmost respect for (Bob Melvin),” Wotus said. “I’m looking forward to helping him in any way I can. I’ve already spoken, obviously, to him. I’ve spoken to Matt Williams, who reached out. And also Bryan Price, we’ve had some very good conversations. Along with Pat Burrell, who I’ve crossed paths in the minor leagues quite a bit. I’m excited to see him get this opportunity. I think he’s done an outstanding job in the minor leagues. Obviously, we have history, he was a heck of a player. He was one of those clubhouse leaders that really had the club moving in the right direction. It was all about winning, and I respect the heck out of that.
So, I’m just looking forward to it. How could you not?”