On Wednesday the San Jose Giants announced their coaching staff for the 2024 season. Here’s the press release:
February 14, 2024
San Jose, CA– The San Jose Giants announced their 2024 coaching staff with Ydwin Villegas set to take over as the club’s Manager. Villegas returns to San Jose after serving as the team’s Fundamentals Coach during the 2023 season.
Villegas, who signed as a player with the San Francisco Giants in 2008 out of Venezuela, now takes over the San Jose club after spending four years as a Fundamentals Coach in the Giants’ system. In addition to his time as Fundamentals Coach, Villegas also served as San Jose’s Bullpen Catcher in 2019. Villegas played all seven seasons of his professional career as an infielder in the Giants’ minor league system from 2008-2014, including three seasons in San Jose. In 415 career games he batted .216 with 45 doubles, four homers and 118 RBI in 415 career games.
Travis Ishikawa returns to San Jose for a third consecutive season as the club’s hitting coach. The San Jose lineup under Ishikawa in 2023 were tops in the California League in batting average (.266) and ranked second in runs scored (5.8/game) — just shy of the team record set by the 2021 championship club (5.9/game). The Giants’ 251 doubles and .752 OPS were both second-best in the Cal League while San Jose also had the second-fewest strikeouts of any hitting group in the league. Prior to his big-league career, Ishikawa spent parts of three different seasons in San Jose (2004-2005, 2007), playing key roles in two San Jose Giants’ California League championships in 2005 and 2007. Giants’ fans of course remember Ishikawa for his six seasons spent in San Francisco, which included the unforgettable late game heroics in the 2014 NLCS as his walk-off home run against the St. Louis Cardinals vaulted San Francisco into the World Series.
Dan Runzler also returns for his third year as San Jose’s pitching coach. In 2023, Runzler’s San Jose staff led the California League in ERA for a third straight season (4.20), while ranking third in the league in strikeouts (9.7 per game) and third in saves (30). Drafted by the Giants in the 9th round of the 2007 draft, Runzler swiftly made his major league debut in 2009 for the San Francisco Giants after appearing in games for all four of the Giants’ full-season minor league affiliates that year. Runzler spent parts of two seasons in San Jose in 2009-2010 and was also a member of the 2014 San Francisco Giants World Championship team.
Rounding out the San Jose field staff is fundamentals coach Nathan Keavy, athletic trainer Kenta Miyazaki and strength and conditioning coach Frankie Corsetti.
The complete promotional calendar for the 2024 season will be announced this Friday, February 16 with single game tickets set to go on sale on Tuesday, February 20. The San Jose Giants 2024 Opening Night is Friday, April 5 at Excite Ballpark against the Fresno Grizzlies. For more information on Ticket Plans call 408.297.1435, visit the Excite Ballpark Box Office or log on to sjgiants.com.
