The San Francisco Giants will have a new, well-respected, former MLB All-Star coaching third base in 2017.
Phil Nevin joined Tolbert and Lund on Monday to talk about joining the organization. The 45-year-old said he met with Bobby Evans, Larry Baer and other key members of the front office and was blown away by their presentation.
“You can tell the confidence, the professional atmosphere,” Nevin said. “The dialogue was incredible and I can’t wait to be a part of a championship organization.”
Nevin has managed at the Triple-A level for both the Tigers and Diamondbacks organization, where he continually posted winning records. As a player he hit 208 career home runs in 12 MLB seasons, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1992 draft and spent most of his time with the San Diego Padres, where he was managed by Bruce Bochy.
Nevin said Bochy was the first professional manager in San Diego that really believed in him and gave him the confidence to perform at a high level. Bochy turned Nevin into an All-Star by 2001, a year he hit 41 homers. A few years prior, people were labeling Nevin a busted draft pick.
“Really where it all turned around for me was Boch,” Nevin said. “I trusted the man. I trusted when he put me in the lineup and I didn’t want to let him down. I was in the right frame of mind because of who I was around, and he was a huge part of that.
“It’s going to be special. I have thought about (coaching with him) in the past. It’s a heck of an opportunity, not just with (Bruce) Bochy, but with the entire organization.”
