Matt Williams returns to Arizona, rejoins Diamondbacks’ coaching staff

by Paola Boivin
  • Slug: Sports-Dbacks Williams,825

By GINGER POULSON
Cronkite News

Matt Williams is no stranger to the desert.

An original Diamondback and part of the 2001 World Series team, the five-time All Star and fan favorite also got his start in coaching with the Diamondbacks.

Williams returned to the Valley on Thursday when the Diamondbacks named him their new third base coach after his two-year tenure as manager of the Washington Nationals ended last month.

It is a role he occupied for three seasons prior to leaving Arizona for his first major league managerial opportunity.

“I’m excited. I’m very familiar with the organization of course. I’ve coached with and participated with a lot of the current players,” Williams said. “Some I don’t know at this point, but I’ve admired their efforts and their abilities for a long time even from the other side of the field.”

Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said Williams immediately came to mind after former D-backs third base coach Andy Green was named manager of the San Diego Padres on Oct. 29.

“We obviously started to think of all of the different potential candidates we could have to coach third and handle the infield,” Hale said. “I would say as soon as Andy got the job, I knew in my heart that Matt was the right guy for this job in many ways.”

Williams is looking forward to working with the Diamondbacks again.

“I’m excited about coaching with them. I’m excited about their progress and doing what I can to help Chip and the organization to get to where we want to go. I’m pleased and excited and I can’t wait for spring training to start,” Williams said.

In addition to coaching third base, Williams said he will also be coordinating the infield, as Green did last season.

“He would like me to do the infield work, certainly a lot of the defensive stuff that we go through in spring training, prepare all of the information prior to each game with regard to the infield and work with those guys specifically,” Williams said.

Hale, who is just a year older than Williams, said he’s known Williams since Hale was a senior at Campolindo High School in northern California. They’ve played against each other and coached together in the Arizona Fall League.

Before hiring Williams, Hale looked to his star first baseman, Paul Goldschmidt, for a nod of approval.

“I reached out to Goldy and asked his opinion of how he (Williams) was when he was here and got nothing but glowing reports,” Hale said. “The relationships he has built with the players we have now is very important.”

While Williams’s time with the Nationals may have been brief, Hale sees his managerial experience as a huge help.

Williams had a successful first season with the Nationals in 2014, earning National League Manager of the Year in his first year with the team after winning the NL East with a National League best 96 victories.

However, 2015 was a different story. Washington was seen as a favorite by many to win the World Series, but the team failed to make the playoffs and the Nationals fired him just one day after their season ended.

“What he went through in Washington, being a manager, it’s really nice to have another guy on the staff I can bounce ideas off. When we go into some tough situations, he’s been through it so it will be a big help to me,“ Hale said.

While this will be Williams’s second stint as the D-backs third base coach, this will be his first time working under Hale, who just completed his first season as Arizona’s manager.

Also joining the Diamondbacks’ coaching staff is bullpen coach Garvin Alston. Alston spent 11 seasons in different roles with the Oakland Athletics organization prior to joining Arizona.

“Garvin is a quality teacher who brings great knowledge and energy to our staff,” Diamondbacks’ General Manager Dave Stewart said. “Preparing for this opportunity, Garvin has been a pitching coordinator, as well as a relief pitcher at the highest level. His organizational skills from being a coordinator will also help him in identifying potential flaws in pitchers’ mechanics prior to entering competition. Garvin is a great addition to our staff.”

Alston, who lives in Ahwatukee, is particularly excited to join the Diamondbacks organization because it allows him to stay close to his family and see his son, Garvin Alston Jr., play baseball. Alston Jr., a left-handed pitcher out of Mountain Pointe High School, is a freshman on the Arizona State University baseball team.

“I’m at home. I get to see my daughter grow, I get the chance to see my son—who’s at Arizona State University—play,” Alston said. “The dots connected and I was like this is the place for me. Fortunately everything kind of worked out.”

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Embeddable tweets:

TWEET: OFFICIAL: #Dbacks name Matt Williams as third base coach and Garvin Alston as bullpen coach.

TWEET: @GarySpot LETS GOOOOO #Dbacks #BackintheBIGS
https://twitter.com/GarvinAlston/status/664859003889909760

TWEET: Locker cleared out Gonna miss my Oakland family (PIC)