San Francisco Giants reportedly eyeing Mark Kotsay as potential manager
By Justin Fried
The San Francisco Giants are reportedly eyeing former Oakland Athletics outfielder and current A’s quality control coach Mark Kotsay as a top managerial candidate.
The San Francisco Giants have come to the conclusion of their 2019 season and with that, legendary manager Bruce Bochy has come to the conclusion of his lengthy career. One name that has been making the rounds as a possible replacement has been Mark Kotsay.
Many will remember Kotsay from his playing days which spanned from 1997-2013 in which he played for seven different franchises. Perhaps most notably was his two different stints with the San Diego Padres but Bay Area fans might remember him for a different reason.
Kotsay played for the Giants cross-Bay rivals, the Oakland Athletics, from 2004-2007. He would find success as the A’s everyday center fielder even hitting .314 in his first season with the team — probably his career peak.
He was able to parlay his lengthy playing career into a second life as a coach when he joined the Padres front office as a special assistant in 2014. Kotsay would join the actual coaching staff the following season when he replaced Phil Plantier as the team’s hitting coach.
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San Diego’s lineup was hardly “Murderer’s Row” as the team finished just 22nd in the MLB in offensive runs above average (-63.2), per FanGraphs.
However, Kotsay did manage to get a career year out of first baseman Brett Wallace and saw others such as Wil Myers, Justin Upton, and Yonder Alonso enjoy some success as well.
He must’ve impressed quite a bit during his short stay in San Diego as he was poached away by the A’s at the end of the 2015 season and was announced as the team’s new bench coach.
Kotsay would take a leave of absence to deal with a personal matter midway through the 2017 season and would return in 2018 under the new “quality control” banner. But what exactly does a quality control coach do?
Per the team’s official website, Kotsay’s duties are as followed.
"“He will assist Bob Melvin and the ML coaching staff in all areas and will also consult with the front office in other facets of the organization.”"
Essentially, that sounds like a jack of all trades, do-everything kind of position. He can work directly with the players or be asked to relay information from the front office. It’s likely a low-pressure position, but one that provides a ton of experience.
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And it’s not as if Kotsay hasn’t held a higher position before having served as both a hitting coach and bench coach at the major league level. Even though his coaching experience is relatively limited, he’s clearly made a great impression everywhere he’s gone.
That’s why when Jon Heyman reported that Kotsay was a “strong candidate” for the Giants open position and labeled him a “hot new name on the market,” the initial response was a bit of confusion, but not to most A’s fans.
Kotsay has earned a solid reputation around league circles and has been considered a future managerial candidate for a couple of years now. And given his connection with the A’s, he seems like a fitting hire for Farhan Zaidi.
Who knows, maybe Kotsay could become the next former Padres coach to lead the San Francisco Giants to greatness. First Bruce Bochy, then Mark Kotsay.
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He may not have been everyone’s first choice, but Mark Kotsay could be the man that gets the job when all is set and done.