SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tony Vitello fully recognizes he is a most unconventional call-up to Major League Baseball, making the leap from the college coaching ranks at Tennessee to the San Francisco Giants while bypassing the minor league farm system.
Yet Vitello hardly seems fazed by the pressures of taking such a daunting path — “this is a challenge that has been presented to me,” he said Thursday.
He plans to get into spring training drills right away
alongside his Giants team, throwing batting practice or hitting fungoes in an effort to help improve some fundamentals.
Even if his arm is beat up at age 47 and San Francisco's new manager makes it clear his own skills are a far cry from those of the players he will be leading after landing the job with no professional experience as a player or coach. He plans to lean on the team's veteran leaders to guide those who might need some extra support.
He has some solid options, too, including franchise faces Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Logan Webb.
“I do think we're reaching this period where fundamentals and the way guys train are completely different,” Vitello said as he was introduced Thursday. “You've seen growth in velos and power and speed and things like that. ... I think there's been some things lost when a kid is growing up on just how to slide and how to do things that seem overly simple. If you haven't practiced it, you haven't been taught it, how are you going to be good at it? How can you be expected to be good at it? I think (for) some of those younger players, it needs to be emphasized more."
Along with bringing the Giants back to prominence and playoff success — yes, that topic came up in discussions with President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey as they try to gain ground on the NL West power and rival Dodgers — everybody involved hopes to see some long-term stability at the managerial position after constant turnover in recent years.
Posey is also just more than a year into his role after the firing of Farhan Zaidi last year.
The Giants dismissed manager Bob Melvin after they went 81-81 in his second season and missed the playoffs for a fourth straight year. San Francisco hasn’t reached the postseason since winning the NL West with a franchise-record 107 victories to edge the rival Dodgers by one game in 2021 under Gabe Kapler.
“We'll all work together. The whole goal is to create a bond here between everybody at the top all the way down to whatever you consider the bottom of the depth chart,” Vitello said. “We’re in this together now, whether you like me or not.”
He is animated and high-energy, acknowledging there will be a large learning curve, regular adjustments to be made and that motivating college athletes won't be the same as finding ways to push professionals who have been doing this for decades.
His approach at Tennessee: “Coach guys as individuals.”
“I’m fully aware of the tradition that’s here, the excellence,” he said.
All his life, Vitello watched father Greg coach and rehash games afterward, analyzing what he might have done differently. Vitello acknowledged mother Kathy might prefer he tone it down sometimes.
“When we first started talking to Tony, it was abundantly clear he was a natural leader,” Posey said.
He can't wait to embrace Bay Area life, as a music aficionado and self-described foodie. And Vitello has aspirations of jumping in the bay and completing the Alcatraz swim to blow off some steam and burn a few calories.
It was general manager Zack Minasian who first floated to Posey the possibility of hiring Vitello.
“As much as this feels out of the box, Tony’s name has been bouncing around Major League Baseball for a while,” Minasian said.
Vitello said he and Posey had a great conversation after Game 7 of the American League Championship Series between Toronto and Seattle, and negotiations progressed. Posey liked Vitello's common vision.
“The unique thing about this process was and it's one thing I've really come to appreciate about Tony. and honestly made me feel more confident in this decision, is he was hard to get ahold of because he was on the field all the time or he was bouncing city to city recruiting,” Posey said. “And just because this was on his plate he was still full go with what his job was at Tennessee and I have a tremendous amount of respect for that.”
During his various media sessions Thursday, Vitello referenced everyone from Barry Bonds, Willie Mays and Will Clark to Tim Lincecum, Sergio Romo and Brian Wilson.
“The one thing that always got to me was the sense of family that was always part of this organization,” Vitello said.
So it was only fitting that in the front row to cheer him on were his parents, sisters, nieces and extended family. Afterward, they were all smiles when treated to a lunch that just so happened to feature his name — from San Francisco’s Tony’s Pizza Napoletana.
They certainly hope their beloved Tony will one day gain similar prominence here.
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