Longtime SF Giants assistant coach transitions to new role

Since 1998, the SF Giants coaching staff has included Ron Wotus, in one role or another. From third-base coach to bench coach and back, Wotus has helped the last four Giants managers with instruction, preparation and decisions.

Now, Wotus is stepping back from full-time coaching. On Wednesday, the organization announced that Wotus will transition into the role of Special Assistant to Baseball Operations, which will involve attending Spring Training, mentoring coaches and players and visiting each Minor League affiliate. He will also help with on-field instruction.

Wotus, 60, has been with the Giants since 1988. In what was the second-to-last year of his playing career, Wotus batted .287 with a home run and 33 RBI in 82 games with the Triple-A Phoenix Firebirds. He returned to Phoenix the next year and hit . 257 with no home runs in 41 games, then retired as a player after the season. In his two years as a player in the Giants' system, Wotus did not receive a call-up to the big leagues.

The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Wotus in the 16th round in 1979, and he reached the Major Leagues for 32 games between 1983-84. A few years later, while playing for the Pirates' Triple-A team in Hawaii, he was a teammate of up-and-coming future star Barry Bonds.

In 1991, Wotus stepped into a managing role as the skipper of the Single-A San Jose Giants. He earned California League Manager of the Year that year as San Jose finished 92-44, and after 1992 he was promoted to be the manager of the Double-A Shreveport Captains. A three-year stint there was followed by another bump up the ladder, and he became the manager for the final two seasons in Firebirds history, 1996-97.

The 1997 Phoenix club's play earned Wotus the Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year award, and in 1998 he was given a locker at Candlestick Park as the third-base coach for Dusty Baker's Giants. Beginning in 1999 he served as the bench coach for Baker and remained in the role under Felipe Alou and Bruce Bochy, though after the 2017 season he returned to the third base coach's box.

The SF Giants won over 2,000 games with Wotus on staff

Late in the 2021 season, Wotus announced he was going to step down from a full-time role in order to have more balance in his life. He finished his MLB coaching career as one of just two coaches in Giants franchise history to see more than 2,000 wins while on staff, matching the accomplishment of legendary New York Giants manager John McGraw.