Kelly enjoyed a fantastic 14-year big league career, batting .290, with 124 home runs, 558 RBI and 235 stolen bases. He wrapped up his tenure in the big leagues as a Yankee in 2000.

The thing is Kelly played the majority of his 1,337 major league games in a uniform other than that of the Yankees.

In fact, after New York traded Kelly to the Cincinnati Reds in 1992, he proceeded to pinball through out the majors, making stops with six other organizations, before finally landing back in New York in 2000.

It was a bittersweet reconnection. Just 10 games into his return Big Apple engagement he was cut loose and never played in the big leagues again.

Now as an SF Giant

“I hoped to finish the whole career the team I signed and for a time I thought I would. When the trade came in 1992, it caught be by surprise. But you learn that’s the business,” Kelly said. “After that the trades didn’t catch me by surprise anymore. I kind of expected it. When it was getting late in the season it was like, O.K. ‘where am I going now?”

Along the way Kelly played for the Reds, Braves, Expos, Dodgers, Twins, Mariners, Rangers and Yankees again. In his journeys he picked up a wealth of knowledge that is paying dividends to the young Giants Kelly is helping adjust to the big league game and lifestyle.

“He’s a 14-year veteran of playing up here, so he obviously knows how the game is played,” said Giants outfielder Brian Horwitz, who played for Kelly in the minors. “We listened. He was tough on us a little bit, but it was for the right reasons. He expected a lot out of us even though we were young. If you performed you would be rewarded with playing time. You can go to him with a problem or a question. It’s good to hear from him and listen to what he has to say.”

In 2005, the Giants named Kelly manager of their Class-A minor league team at Augusta, Georgia and he saw immediate results. In his three seasons helming the club, Kelly produced a 285-187 record and led the Green Jackets to a pair of playoff appearances. In 2006 he was named the South Atlantic League Manager of the Year after the club produced the best record in all of minor league ball (92-47).

“At first it was a hard adjustment, because you think you can still play,” says Kelly, who looks as physically fit as any active Giant. “But it’s very exciting to have the adrenaline flowing and being part of the stuff that I used to do on the field. Now it’s a different level. You get to see the enjoyment from different perspective.

After playing for a number of high-profile big-league managers including Billy Martin, Lou Piniella, Bobby Cox and Felipe Alou, Kelly had plenty of role models to choose from. But he says his managerial style had a more personal feel.

“I managed the way I played, my game was running. My game was speed so I managed the game the way I liked to play,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on the defense. We manufactured runs. We concentrated on fundamentals, getting the runners over, hitting and running. We were successful at those things and won a lot of games. For years baseball was going in the direction of the long ball. Now the game is coming back where you have to bunt, hit and run and get the guys in scoring position.”

This year Kelly was promoted to the Giants major league coaching staff. In San Francisco – where the club has adopted a youth movement after a decade of veteran laden ball clubs -- Kelly is again working with the same young players he led at Augusta, including pitcher Jonathan Sanchez, closer Brian Wilson and catcher Steve Holm.

Kelly appears to be on the fast track to a future big-league managerial position.

“After I stopped playing coaching or managing was the furthest thing from my mind,” he said. “Then the last three seasons I was in A-ball at Augusta, who would have thought I’d be here now.”