San Diego Padres coach Matt Williams, familiar to domestic baseball fans, will undergo cancer surgery.
ESPN reported on the 30th (Korean time), ‘San Diego Padres third base coach Matt Williams has been diagnosed with colon cancer and will be away from the team indefinitely.’
This is what San Diego manager Bob Melvin said through local media that day. San Diego will play the opening game of the regular season against the Colorado Rockies at Petco Park at 10:40 am on the 31st.
Coach Williams attends the opening ceremony. And he decided to have surgery to remove cancer cells near his colon the next day.
Coach Williams, who was diagnosed with the need for additional tests due to low red blood cell count in a physical examination three weeks ago, decided to undergo surgery after cancer cells were found during a detailed examination.
Coach Williams said, “I’ve been feeling the best I’ve been feeling in the last 20 years. I haven’t had any symptoms. At the moment, it’s urgent to get out of this situation quickly. “We will take action regarding the pathology,” he said. “It is positive that the initial CT scan has not spread to other places. It is good.”
It is not yet known when Coach Williams will return. San Diego is planning to appoint former St. Louis Cardinals manager Mike Silt, the current senior advisor, as third base coach for the time being.
Coach Williams was one of the best third basemen in major leagues in the 1990s.
He made his major league debut with the San Francisco Giants in 1987, passed the Cleveland Indians, and ended his career with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2003. He was a five-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and had a career batting average of .268 and 378 home runs. He was a key player in Arizona’s World Series victory in 2001. 메이저놀이터
After his retirement, he took part in the management of Arizona as a minor owner and served as special assistant to the owner. Returning to the field as first base coach in 2010, he moved to third base coach in 2011, and in October 2013, he took over as manager of the Washington Nationals and led them for two seasons until 2015. He went 179-145 over two years.
He recorded 131 wins and 147 losses (0.471) in two seasons from 2020 to 2021 as the KIA Tigers head coach. He didn’t make it to the postseason.