Giants, A’s coach Kotsay discuss manager position
“From a leadership standpoint, Kots is as good as it gets, and he’s as smart as they come. I hope he gets an opportunity, and it would be great if it’s in San Francisco.” Jason Kendall, on former A’s teammate Mark Kotsay
Farhan Zaidi dipped into his A’s past for one of the Giants’ managerial interviews, The Chronicle has learned.
The Giants’ president of baseball operations met with former Oakland outfielder Mark Kotsay on Monday, according to multiple sources.
“From a leadership standpoint, Kots is as good as it gets, and he’s as smart as they come,” former A’s catcher Jason Kendall said. “I hope he gets an opportunity, and it would be great if it’s in San Francisco — he’d be great, without a doubt.”
Kotsay, 43, is the A’s quality control coach; he was named the team’s bench coach in 2016, a role he held until taking leave in June 2017 after his daughter, Sienna, incurred a serious eye injury. Kotsay was the Padres’ hitting coach in 2015.
During his playing days with the A’s, Marlins, Padres, Braves, Red Sox, Brewers and White Sox, Kotsay was known as the consummate team leader and professional, a savvy observer and communicator long ago tabbed as a future manager. He also was one of the alltime great college players, named the top player in the country and the outstanding player of the College World Series while leading Fullerton State to a national championship in 1995.
Kotsay hit .276 with 127 homers and 720 RBIs in his 17year career, and he had one of the A’s top highlights of the past 20 years, hitting an insidethepark homer in Game 2 of Oakland’s eventual Division Series victory over the Twins in 2006, the only postseason series the team has captured since 1990. Zaidi was an executive with the A’s during that time.
“Farhan knows Kots, he knows what he’d be getting,” said Kendall, who himself is seen as a strong managerial candidate and who has expressed interest in the Pirates’ open position. “Mark knows the game, he’s a baseball guy and he’s up on all the analytics
and he’d bring the best of the oldschool. He’s the top baseball guy I’ve ever been around, he’s that good.”
To date, the Giants have not asked for permission to speak to three others with former A’s connections, Atlanta coach Ron Washington, Angels frontoffice special assistant Eric Chavez or Oakland bench coach Ryan Christenson. All are viewed as strong candidates for managerial openings this winter, and Washington has been mentioned in connection with the Padres’ vacancy.
Bruce Bochy retired as the Giants manager at the end of the season after holding the position for 13 years and winning three World Series.