Giants fire base coaches.
SAN FRANCISCO — Although the Giants’ coaching continuity is among the strongest in the major leagues, it was no great surprise when G.M. Bobby Evans announced that base coaches Roberto Kelly and Bill Hayes would not return in 2017.
There were simply too many signs to miss.
And too many missed signs.
Evans declined to say whether either coach would be offered another position in the organization. But they mark the first firings on Manager Bruce Bochy’s staff since the club replaced hitting coach Carney Lansford with Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens prior to the 2010 season.
The Giants might also have a vacancy at bench coach, if another club hires Ron Wotus to manage. Evans confirmed that one major league club – believed to be the Rockies or Diamondbacks – made contact with the Giants to ask for permission to speak with Wotus about their managerial opening.
Evans did not go into great detail over the reasons behind the firings, but it had become clear that Kelly, after showing moderate improvement last season, could not bring the same energy or awareness to the third base coaching box after Tim Flannery stepped down following the 2014 season.
“We need to grow our leadership, on the field, in terms of how we approach our baserunning and our overall efforts -- first to third, second to home,” Evans said. “We want to look at some different leadership there and feel like we can get stronger.”
Triple-A Sacramento manager Jose Alguacil has earned raves for his upbeat attitude and baseball acumen. He is a strong candidate to join the major league staff, which lost its only fluent Spanish speaker with Kelly’s firing.
Assistant hitting coach Steve Decker, who replaced Kelly for a few games this season, is hyper-aware and has experience as a base coach, should the organization decide to shift his duties.
What about bringing Flannery, who has kept busy as a TV commentator and musician, out of retirement for a second time? Both Evans and Bochy chuckled at the suggestion. But neither said no.
Evans said the rest of the coaching staff would return, including Meulens, despite an offense that went from fourth in the National League in runs prior to the break to third worst in the N.L. after the break.
“You’re going to go through periods where your team is going to struggle,” Bochy said. “It maybe on the pitching side, it may be on the offensive side. But you have to stay behind them. I think that Bam Bam and Deck did a nice job of keeping these guys positive. And when we needed them, these guys responded. That’s how we got to the postseason.”
Kelly, 52, had spent the first seven of his nine seasons on Bochy’s major league staff as the first base coach. He moved to the third base coaching box prior to the 2015 season and had a rough transition, making odd decisions to send or hold runners, and once even colliding with Gregor Blanco.
Kelly played 14 years in the majors and was an All-Star outfielder in both leagues (1992 with the Yankees, 1993 with the Reds). He posted a .622 winning percentage in three seasons while managing the Augusta GreenJackets, the Giants’ affiliate in the Single-A South Atlantic League before being added to Bochy’s staff.
Hayes, 58, spent 13 years as the Giants’ bullpen catcher before Bochy appointed him first base coach in 2015. A former first-round pick who briefly appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs, Hayes managed 15 years in the minor leagues, mostly in the Cubs and Rockies system.