Well, there was hope over the last few days, but it appears that hope is running out for Tennessee fans waiting to see if Tony Vitello would stay in town or leave to become the new manager of the San Francisco
Giants. As it turns out, it appears as though the worst-case scenario for Vol fans is coming to fruition.
Per Pete Thamel, Vitello is finalizing a deal with the Giants to become their next manager.
It’s a painful day for Tennessee Athletics for reasons I don’t have to go into in detail. Vitello brought an energy to the baseball program at a level I can’t ever remember seeing in any sport, to be honest. Aside from the obvious, the three trips to the College World Series (2021, 2023, 2024) and the national championship, he and his teams were balls of emotion that UT fans loved and other fans hated. That passion spilled over into the stands and made the product as energetic and exciting as any sport in decades.
I’m gutted right now. I don’t know what to say. Looking forward, Josh Elander will likely take over, although I guess we’ll see how the coming days play out.
I will always support Vitello (as long as he doesn’t ultimately end up somewhere like Arkansas down the road), and with him and Drew Gilbert together on the West Coast – and me being a night owl – I’ll be up watching them play from time to time.
Thanks for the memories, coach, and best of luck in the bigs.
