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- Tony Vitiello is the first college baseball coach to be hired directly as a Major League Baseball manager.
- The former University of Tennessee coach led the Volunteers to their first national title in 2024.
- Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey cited Vitiello’s ability to build culture as a primary reason for the hire.
After more than 30 minutes of talk about the history he’s making, new San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitiello finally acknowledged the doubts he faces as the first college baseball coach to go straight to a Major League Baseball manager.
“We’re in this together now, whether you like me or not,” the former University of Tennessee coach told reporters at Oracle Park in San Francisco. His introductory press conference.
Vitiello spoke at length for the first time about the unprecedented challenge he faces with MLB, replacing former Giants manager Bob Melvin after a highly successful tenure in Knoxville, Tennessee. The 47-year-old Vitiello led the Vols to their first national title, winning the 2024 College World Series in one of UT’s three trips to Omaha during his tenure. He also coached Tennessee to two SEC regular season titles and two SEC Tournament titles.
Here are five key points and moments from Vitiello’s question-and-answer session with reporters after he became… San Francisco Giants“The new manager:
Why did the Giants hire Tony Vitiello?
Although the Giants are making history by promoting Vitello to the role, Giants general manager Zach Minasian said in Thursday’s press conference that “as outside of the box as this sounds, Tony’s name has been buzzing around Major League Baseball for a while.”
However, Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey said it was often difficult to reach Vitello during the recruiting process, which began with informal conversations when the MLB regular season ended.
“It’s something I really appreciate about Tony and honestly it’s made me feel more confident in this decision,” Bossy said. “It was hard to catch that guy. He was on the field all the time or moving from city to city recruiting, and because that was on him, he was still fully committed to what his job was at Tennessee. I have a tremendous amount of respect for that. I wish communication was easier sometimes, but that’s a little bit of how things work.”
Bossy cited Vitiello’s ability to build culture, his direct style and his infectious personality as the traits he values most in his new manager.
“We kept coming back to this, and it was going to be really interesting, and it got more interesting as we kept talking,” Minassian said.
“When we sit in the recruiting room, there’s a lot of talk about what was going on at that university and what Tony in particular was doing with his players,” he added.
Tony Vitiello calls MLB job ‘a very modern dream’
Vitello was officially hired by the Giants on October 22, and his name first appeared in the coaching search a few days before that. The idea that he could be an MLB manager wasn’t always on his mind.
“As a coach, I was just trying to make my way,” Vitiello explained. “I was pushed into a position at a young age that I probably didn’t deserve, so I was just trying to do well, and fortunately that helped me get to the next place and the next place and the next place, and eventually this became a dream, where I just decided if that’s the case, if I’m lucky enough to get a chance, this is something I wanted to do before I finished training overall.
“And now I am so humbled and blessed to do this,” he continued. “It’s a dream come true, but it’s a very recent dream. It’s not a dream I’ve had in a while, and as much as I’d like to sit here promising things and banging my fist on the desk, all I really want to do is do a good job.”
Tony Vitiello can’t say if the style will change
Vitello’s teams at Tennessee were known as much for their personality as their winning, with their home celebrations and wild antics often making headlines when Vitello turned Volunteers In one of the best college baseball programs. The first question he faced Thursday was whether this same management style could work in the majors or whether it would have to change.
Vitello admitted he’s not sure if that attitude translates to MLB players, but he will take an individual approach to building relationships with players.
“Whether it’s 162 (games) or 56 or whatever, baseball is a sport based on sample size and you have to be willing to separate each one out as an exclusive game and attack it for what it is at that particular time,” Vitiello said. “I wish I had an answer in mind, to be honest with you, because when I first got here, I was like, ‘There are so many unknowns,’ and there were so many questions in my mind. Of course, you can ask people and rely on past information, but until you live it, you don’t know what it’s going to be like.”
“The dues have come in a different way,” he added, referring to the fact that he has never played in the majors. “I wish respect could be earned in different ways, and the only way I know how to do that is through hard work.”
The beginning of more MLB and college baseball collaboration?
Vitiello expressed optimism that his appointment will create more opportunities for MLB and college baseball to work together.
“Trust me: I wouldn’t vote for myself to be a major leaguer in college baseball, but I think the one thing that could come from this is that it would be another step forward in merging the two genres together,” Vitiello said. “I think MLB’s support of college baseball and doing things for it, and college baseball’s interaction with MLB, and seeing how those two things can merge or connect together, can be very beneficial to the game — especially since some of the minor league teams have been cut, and also especially since college baseball’s popularity has skyrocketed so much. There’s real star power and the fan following kind of matches that, and some of these guys are in the major leagues a couple of months after being drafted.”
Tony Vitiello pitched for the Giants’ 2014 World Series Game 7
Vitello emphasized his limited ties to the organization and the Bay Area, noting that he began coaching in the California Collegiate League in nearby Salinas, California and was introduced to the Giants’ lore and culture of the franchise through friends who were also fans. Vitello also made a point to mention some of the franchise’s past greats, but it was an unexpected anecdote about Game 7 of the 2014 World Series that proved the most endearing.
In the midst of a roundabout answer about how different his treatment of players was in the majors compared to in college, Vitello pitched an Alex Gordon single in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Kansas City Royals, taking three bases thanks to multiple errors by the Giants. San Francisco still managed to pull out a 3-2 victory, as Bossy can attest.
Vitello said: “By the way, I was in that match behind the hosts. It was a fairly strong match.”
“Yes, I would support that. It was,” Posey, the Giants’ catcher in the game, responded in response.
