Oakland A’s stay in house, tab Mark Kotsay as manager
By Kevin Henry
Mark Kotsay has worn an Oakland A’s uniform as a player and a coach. Now he’ll reportedly wear the green and gold as the team’s manager for the 2022 season.
The Oakland A’s have named Mark Kotsay as their manager
Staying with an in-house choice to lead the team through what could be a very interesting season ahead, the Oakland A’s tabbed Kotsay, the team’s third base coach last season, to replace Bob Melvin, who departed Oakland earlier this offseason to take the manager position with the San Diego Padres.
The A’s franchise is not only waiting to see if a new stadium will be built in Oakland, keeping the A’s from moving, but also which players (as has been rumored) could be dealt once the Major League Baseball lockout is over.
This will be the first managing opportunity for Kotsay, who has had interviewed for the manager positions in Detroit, San Francisco, and Houston in years past and was considered the favorite to be hired by the A’s. He earned the position over, among others, Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada and Tampa Bay Rays bench coach Matt Quatraro, both of whom also interviewed for the New York Mets manager position, which was eventually awarded to Buck Showalter.
During his 17-year playing career, Kotsay suited up for seven teams, including four years with the A’s from 2004-2007. After being traded by the San Diego Padres to Oakland in exchange for Ramon Hernandez and Terrence Long before the 2004 season, Kotsay responded with his best season in an Oakland uniform, finishing 14th in the American League MVP voting (his highest finish of his career) after posting a .314/.370/.459 slash line with 15 homers and 63 RBI.
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Prior to the 2008 season, Kotsay was traded by Oakland to the Atlanta Braves. He retired after spending the 2013 campaign with San Diego and headed back to Oakland as the team’s bench coach before the 2015 season.