Ron Wotus

Ronald Allan Wotus (born March 3, 1961) is an American retired professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and served as third base coach for the San Francisco Giants.[1] He was drafted in the 16th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pirates, and made his MLB debut in 1983. He also served as bench coach for the Giants from 1999–2017.[2]

Ron Wotus
Wotus with the San Francisco Giants
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1961-03-03) March 3, 1961
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 3, 1983, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 1984, for the Pittsburgh Pirates
MLB statistics
Batting average.207
Home runs0
Runs batted in2
Teams
As player:

As coach:

Career highlights and awards

Early life

Wotus grew up in Colchester, Connecticut, and attended Bacon Academy, where he played soccer, basketball, and baseball.[3][4]

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

He was drafted in the 16th round of the 1979 Major League Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pittsburgh Pirates (1983–1984)

He debuted with the Pirates in 1983 and also played for them in 1984. In the majors, he batted 12-for-58 (.207) in 32 games.[2] He played in the Kansas City Royals organization in 1987 and the San Francisco Giants organization in 1988 and 1989, without returning to the majors.[3]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Wotus remained in the Giants organization as a minor league manager from 1991 to 1997.[3] He managed the Single-A San Jose Giants (1991–92), the Double-A Shreveport Captains (1993–95), and Triple-A Phoenix Firebirds (1996–97).[3] Wotus was named California League Manager of Year in 1991 after leading San Jose to a 92–44 record.[3] In 1997, Wotus was named Pacific Coast League Manager of the Year after the Firebirds finished 88–55, winning 41 of their final 51 games.[3]

Wotus became the Giants' third base coach in 1998 under manager Dusty Baker,[2] and served as bench coach from 1999–2017 under managers Baker, Felipe Alou, and Bruce Bochy.[5] Wotus said he hoped to manage some day,[5] and interviewed for several major league manager jobs, including the Pirates (2000), Dodgers (2005), Mariners (2013), Rays (2014), and Nationals (2015).[6][7][8][9][10] Wotus has also coached the Giants' infielders and was in charge of defensive shifts.[11] After the Giants had a disappointing 2017 season, Wotus was reassigned to third base coach, his original coaching position with the Giants, to help stabilize the team.[1][12]

On August 10, 2021, Wotus became the second coach in franchise history along with John McGraw to reach 2,000 wins.[13][14][15] On August 31, Wotus announced that he would be retiring from full-time coaching following the 2021 season.[16]

On January 26, 2022, Wotus came out of retirement and was hired by the Giants to serve as a special assistant for the 2022 season.[17]

Personal life

Wotus married his wife Laurie (a realtor) in 1987.[3] They reside in Pleasant Hill, California.[18]

References
  1. Haft, Chris (October 26, 2017). "Meulens shifts to bench coach; Wotus to 3B". MLB.com.
  2. Kroner, Steve (May 2, 2014). "As bench coach, Giants' Ron Wotus stands test of time". San Francisco Chronicle.
  3. "Ron Wotus #23". SFGiants.com.
  4. Farmer, Tony (August 7, 2012). "Wotus' passion for game remains". The Bulletin. Norwich, CT.
  5. Haft, Chris (June 20, 2011). "Longevity distinguishes bench coach Wotus". MLB.com.
  6. Baggarly, Andrew (October 28, 2013). "Giants' Ron Wotus interviews for Mariners manager job". CSN Bay Area. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013.
  7. Topkin, Marc (November 11, 2014). "Rays interview Giants bench coach Ron Wotus for manager's job". Tampa Bay Times.
  8. Wagner, James (October 20, 2015). "Nationals interview Ron Wotus; Ron Gardenhire expected Tuesday". The Washington Post.
  9. Shea, John (October 8, 2006). "Looking beyond usual suspects for managers". San Francisco Chronicle.
  10. Baggarly, Andrew (November 18, 2015). "Extra Baggs: Ron Wotus reacts to finishing behind Dusty Baker for Nationals job, a Crawford-type extension is possible for Belt, Christian Arroyo's future, luxury tax stuff, etc". Bay Area News Group.
  11. Baggarly, Andrew (April 28, 2014). "Extra Baggs: Infield shift, nature of innovation in baseball". CSN Bay Area. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014.
  12. Anderson, R.J. (October 21, 2017). "Coming off worst season in decades, Giants shake up coaching staff". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 23, 2017.
  13. Kerry Crowley (August 10, 2021). "Kris Bryant helps SF Giants to another win over Diamondbacks, Ron Wotus reaches 2,000 wins – Santa Cruz Sentinel". Santacruzsentinel.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  14. Kerry Crowley (August 10, 2021). "Kris Bryant leads SF Giants to 8-7 walk-off win". Mercurynews.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  15. Alex Pavlovic (August 11, 2021). "Ron Wotus' impact all over Giants' success as he hits milestone". Sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved October 14, 2021.
  16. "Ron Wotus retiring from full-time coaching after 2021 season". MLB.com.
  17. "Giants hire Ron Wotus as special assistant". January 27, 2022.
  18. "2015 San Francisco Giants Media Guide" (PDF).
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