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Ron Wotus, already the longest-tenured coach in Giants history, is back in the dugout this season.
The plan is for Wotus to be in uniform for home games, a sign of trust between the 65-year-old coach and rookie manager Tony Vitello. Counting Vitello, Wotus has worked under the last six Giants managers.
General manager Zack Minasian noted that Vitello, who was hired after a successful run at the University of Tennessee, has built a nice rapport with Wotus, who’s a jack of all trades with valuable knowledge and experience as a franchise institution.
“Obviously, it’s more fun when he’s around, and he can help us,” said Vitello, who wanted Wotus in his presence during games. “For us, it just opens up an opportunity.”
Wotus, who played briefly for the Pirates in the 1980s, managed in the Giants’ farm system and got promoted to their big-league staff in 1998, serving as Dusty Baker’s third base coach. Wotus remained a Giants coach as different managers came and went, from Baker to Felipe Alou to Bruce Bochy to Gabe Kapler to Bob Melvin – Wotus became a front office special assistant in 2021 but still assisted in pregame workouts while watching games from the writers’ section of the press box.
Before the Giants’ opener on Wednesday, Wotus caught up with Baker and Bochy – special advisers to the organization – in the dugout at Oracle Park.
In 2025, Buster Posey’s first year as president of baseball operations, Wotus was part of Posey’s inner circle of executives that watched games in an expanded booth along broadcast row.
“I’ll be a little sad because he won’t be sitting with us,” Minasian said. “He’s been great for us, for everyone in the front office, not just the young people but people who haven’t spent time in the dugout to hear it from him. He brings a ton of knowledge.”
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Wotus will still appear on NBC Sports Bay Area for pregame and postgame shows for road games, though he’s trimming his schedule from 25 games to 13.
“This comes first,” Wotus said Wednesday, hours before the season opener as he walked on the field for workouts. “I’m happy to do it.”
Wotus, left, joined Tony Vitello and the Giants as an on-field instructor during spring training this season. | Source: Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
Wotus might not have a title, but he doesn’t need one. He’ll defer to Vitello’s coaching staff, including bench coach Jayce Tingler, the manager’s right-hand man, but will be available on any matter when summoned. Vitello can also draw on assistance from Ron Washington, 73, who managed the Rangers and Angels, among others on a staff that now includes 13 coaches at home games.
“He’s very bright. He knows what he doesn’t know,” Wotus said of Vitello. “He’s passionate. He’s authentic. There’s no ego, and he’s seeking information. We all seek information here and there, but he’s not shy about it, and he processes and stores things well.”
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