Former SF Giants star Williams, now Padres’ coach, has colon cancer

SAN DIEGO (AP) — San Diego Padres third base coach Matt Williams, the former Giants All-Star, has colon cancer and will have surgery on Friday.

Mike Schildt, the former St. Louis Cardinals manager who is a senior adviser with the Padres, will fill in as third base coach Thursday, when the most eagerly anticipated season in franchise history begins with a home game against the Colorado Rockies.

Williams, a five-time All-Star in a 17-year career spent mostly with the Giants, said he was diagnosed about three weeks ago.

“I don’t have any symptoms, I don’t have any issues, but at this point it’s important that we get it out of there,” Williams said Wednesday.

Williams, 57, said initial scans show that the cancer hasn’t spread. “That’s a good thing, so we’ll so how it goes from here.”

Williams played with the Giants from 1987-1996, winning three Gold Gloves and three Silver Slugger awards as the cornerstone third baseman at Candlestick Park. With the Giants, Williams led the National League with 122 RBIs in 1990 and in home runs (43) in the strike-shortened 1994 season with the Giants. He eventually won the 2001 World Series with the Diamondbacks.

Williams managed the Washington Nationals for two seasons and was the NL Manager of the Year in 2014. He was the third base coach for the A’s in 2018 and 2019, then left for two seasons as a manager of the Kia Tigers in Korea, returning stateside to join former A’s manager Bob Melvin in San Diego before the 2022 season.