SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Issuing a symbolic tip of the cap to Joe Amalfitano, Giants manager Bruce Bochy asked the venerable baseball lifer to coach third base during Friday night's split-squad game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Amalfitano, who's in his 62nd year in professional baseball, hasn't coached third since 1998 with the Dodgers. But Bochy wanted to find a way to recognize the 82-year-old, who has helped with instruction every day in Giants camp since it opened.
Amalfitano admitted feeling reluctant to accept Bochy's offer, which he made both privately and in front of the coaching staff.
"I was touched by the way he asked me and presented it to me," said Amalfitano, a special assistant in the Giants' player development office.