MILWAUKEE -- The Giants announced Tuesday that former Astros coach Gary Pettis has been hired to serve as their new third-base coach.
Pettis, 68, will take over for Hector Borg, who was reassigned to a player development role on Friday following a series of questionable baserunning calls this year.
Special assistant to baseball operations Ron Wotus had been coaching third base on an interim basis, but the Giants wanted to find a permanent replacement at the position. That ultimately led them to Pettis, who is expected to join the club on Wednesday and make his coaching debut during this weekend’s series against the Cubs.
A former five-time Gold Glove center fielder, Pettis most recently served as the Astros’ third-base coach for 10 seasons from 2015-24, winning a pair of World Series rings in 2017 and ‘22.
Pettis brings 27 years of coaching experience, including 22 in the Majors, and received strong endorsements from two former MLB managers who are now part of the Giants organization.
Pettis coached third base under Giants infield coach Ron Washington in Texas (2013-14) and held the same role on former Giants manager Dusty Baker’s coaching staff in Houston (2020-23), which helped him land on first-year manager Tony Vitello’s radar.
“It helped that he's got a relationship with Wash, probably as much as anybody in our dugout, but he really knows a good host of our other players and has interacted with them one way or another,” Vitello said. “But ultimately the key piece there is, it's about impossible to argue with his reputation in baseball, and in particular, his experience at third base.
“It's impossible to play this game, go through a day in this game without making some sort of mistake. Those will happen. But again, I think with his reputation, it's pretty difficult, relatively speaking, for you all -- or for fans, or for players, or other coaches -- to question anything he does. Just about the way he goes about it, as much as his experience of doing it.”
Vitello said he also consulted MLB Network analyst Harold Reynolds and outfielder Drew Gilbert, who overlapped with Pettis during his tenure in the Astros organization.
Borg didn’t have any experience coaching at the Major League level before he was added to Vitello’s staff this year, so the Giants are hoping Pettis will be able to serve as a more seasoned voice on the field and exercise better judgment in high-pressure spots.
“Tremendous baseball man,” Washington said. “He coached third base in three or four World Series. When Houston was making their run, he was the man. We picked up some good experience, some good know-how. He’s a team player. I think he’s going to do a good job over there at third base. He’s going to do a tremendous job, really. He sees the game pretty good. He’s got some stolen base titles. He’s got some Gold Gloves for being in the outfield, so he’s well-versed.”
Joining the Giants will be a bit of a homecoming for Pettis, who was born in Oakland, Calif., and attended Castlemont High School and Laney College. He is also the father of former San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis, a second-round NFL Draft pick in 2018.