Giants sign ‘Amy G’ to digital team
Franchise hires Gutierrez after layoff at NBCSBA
In a move that might surprise fans who thought she already was employed by the team, the Giants announced Tuesday that Amy Gutierrez is joining the organization.
A fixture on Giants telecasts for 13 years, “Amy G” was laid off in the offseason by NBC Sports Bay Area and her position as an ingame reporter was eliminated.
In her new role with the Giants, she will work as a socialmedia contributor and producer of digital content and also will serve as an ambassador at community events, a role she has performed for years.
“I’m thrilled to be joining the Giants’ organization,” Gutierrez said. “What excites me is that the new role I’m going to have will evolve and be a collaborative effort. It will be a fun challenge for me.”
The announcement ends a period of limbo for Gutierrez. With no fans in the stands last year, there was no need for her familiar job of roaming Oracle Park, highlighting stories about the team and players, and interacting with broadcasters Mike Krukow and Duane Kuiper.
Once the pandemicshortened season rebooted, she hosted Giants content for the network, including Zoom interviews with former players. But, after the season was over, she was let go as part of a wave of layoffs at the network.
“When she got that news, Mike and I were really dis
appointed,” Kuiper said. “It’s been the three of us for 13 years and we really enjoy that relationship with her. So, I’m really happy for her. The Giants’ fans want her there, and she has a job.”
Although many viewers assumed that Gutierrez was employed by the Giants like the rest of the broadcast team, she has been an employee of the Giants’ telecast affiliate.
Tuesday’s announcement changes that.
“She’s a huge part of the organization and the Giants’ family,” executive vice president Staci Slaughter said.
Gutierrez is closely associated with the team’s World Series run. Her interviews brought viewers closer to the players from that era and provided some of its memorable moments, such as when Tim Lincecum famously let loose an expletive on live television after the Giants clinched the division title in 2010. Her presence in various sections of the stands typically was greeted with calls of “Hey, Amy G!” and her banter with Krukow and Kuiper was part of the team’s broadcast chemistry.
“For two decades, Amy has served as a key link between our fans and the Giants through her exceptional work,” Giants President and CEO Larry Baer said in a statement.
Gutierrez is known primarily as a broadcaster but is looking forward to expanding her skill set. Her roots are as a producer and a writer. In recent years, she has written a children’s book, become a socialmedia ambassador and taught broadcasting at Sonoma State.
As for many, the pandemic has been a stressful time for Gutierrez. In addition to her job upheaval, her husband Paul covers the Raiders for ESPN, meaning he spent much of the past year in Las Vegas. Her two children have been at home in Petaluma, doing school online.
“Not having to travel has meant a lot more time at home with the kids, which has been great,” she said.
The Giants are still waiting for approval to open the season with fans at 20% of capacity. Getting back to a normal season will be a process but bringing Gutierrez back into the fold is a step toward familiarity.
And she hopes her new position eventually might evolve to pieces of her old ingame broadcasting role.
“My hope is that we’re open to that possibility going forward, once the pandemic starts to go away and we head toward normalcy,” she said. “I love what I do and it’s a big part of how people know me and a way to let people know what else I’m doing on the digital side.”
“The best part,” she said of her new role, “is that I still get to work with my two favorite Giants, Kruk and Kuip.”
Kuiper notes that Gutierrez has the most direct contact with the fans of almost anyone with the team.
“She gets to touch base in many different ways,” Kuiper said. “This is good for her and extremely good for the Giants’ fans.”