Longtime SF Giants Coaches Righetti and Dunston Part of Layoffs

The SF Giants laid off roughly 50 full-time employees as part of an organizational downsizing under cover of lost revenues from the COVID-19 pandemic. Longtime coaches Dave Righetti and Shawon Dunston were caught in the cuts.

According to a report by Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic Bay Area, former MLB players and longtime SF Giants coaches Dave Righetti, and Shawon Dunston were part of the organization’s substantial layoffs three weeks ago.

Righetti was the Giants pitching coach for 18 seasons, working with managers Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou, and Bruce Bochy. He moved to the front office and worked as a special assistant to player development since leaving the coaching staff following the 2017 season. A member of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, Righetti was born and raised in San Jose before becoming the tenth-overall pick in the 1977 MLB draft.

Spanning from 1979-1995, Righetti’s 16-season MLB career may be one of the most underrated pitchers of the 1980s. After three successful seasons as a starting pitcher for the New York Yankees, he became the team’s closer in 1984 and solidified the bullpen for eight seasons. He made two All-Star appearances as a reliever and accumulated 252 career saves.

Dunston is more known for his 18-year playing career that included three stints with the Giants. The first overall pick in the 1982 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs, Dunston spent the first decade of his career with the Cubs, where he served as the team’s everyday shortstop and reached a pair of All-Star teams.

Before the 1996 season, Dunston signed with the Giants and would hit .300 and win the Willie Mac Award before returning to the Cubs the following offseason. Before the end of his Major-League career in 2002, he would have two more stints in San Francisco and appearances with the Pirates, Cleveland, Cardinals, and Mets. Dunston finished his career with 150 home runs and nearly 1600 hits.

After ending his playing career, Dunston joined the Giants coaching staff, where he’s served in several positions over 12 years with the organization. He was set to become more focused on player development in 2020 before the minor-league season was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Needless to say, Dave Righetti and Shawon Dunston made massive contributions to the SF Giants organization over their combined three decades as coaches and advisors. Seeing them laid off while Giants principal owner Charles B. Johnson spends millions on political donations should be particularly frustrating for fans. Hopefully, both can find another opportunity soon.