Major league managing is difficult, as Tony Vitello learns the hard way
Vitello's transition from college baseball glory to pro ball has not gone smoothly
Our Town’s Tony Vitello rose to the top of the college baseball world by building a swaggering juggernaut at Tennessee.
He started that climb as a brilliant recruiter at Missouri, where he starred, by wooing future big leaguers like Ian Kinsler, Max Scherzer, Kyle Gibson and Aaron Crow to Boone County. His further recruiting success at TCU and Arkansas had Mizzou fans dreaming of a homecoming.
Instead, Vitello landed in Knoxville, where he guided the big-budget Volunteers to perennial championship contention. He was well on the way to gaining lifetime job security there.
Then San Francisco Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey stunned the industry by hiring Vitello as manager.
True, Vitello built a high profile with his repeated trips to the College World Series. He gained additional prominence as a television analyst for the MLB Draft. His star was rising.
But still . . . managing a major league team is a whole other deal, especially in a division ruled by the billionaire-backed Los Angeles Dodgers. This is an unforgiving environment for on-the-job training.
Predictably, Vitello’s rookie season has not gone well.
The Giants aren’t the biggest disappointment in the sport — the moribund New York Mets own that distinction — but at 16-24 they are already eight games back in the National League West.
After the Giants lost Saturday for the ninth time in 11 games, Bay Area fans booed and Vitello commiserated with them.
“What would you do? They paid for their ticket, or at the very least, even if this was free, they chose this over everything else,” Vitello told reporters. “I mean, there’s 85 million shows you can watch on Netflix or in this city, I haven’t gone out much, but whenever I have, there’s a lot going on. I grew up in a weird situation; I never had one team that was deeply rooted in my family and passed down. I’ve seen it in college and in pro sports, but I kind of had a different deal going on. Whether you paid for your tickets or you just chose to do this over other options, or maybe your walls are painted orange and black and this is the team your whole family for generations has supported, you got a lot invested, so you want something in return. At the very least a good effort, maybe execution here and there , , ,
“There are some big boys in the lineup and it’s a challenging game, you’re not going to be perfect all the time. There might be some things you wish you could redo, a play, you might sit on a different pitch, whatever it might be. I think it got to the point where it wasn’t an acceptable effort, so they probably did what you or I would maybe do. I don’t know that I would do that -- I always try to be as positive as possible -- but I think it’s pretty realistic. Maybe in a reverse psychology, it provides a little extra motivation.”
The chatty Vitello can fill a reporter’s notebook better than most of his peers, so in this corner of the interwebs we’re pulling for him. Before the Milwaukee series, he served up this gem to the scribes:
“Shawshank’s a pretty good movie. Andy Dufresne had to swim through a lot of poo to come out on the other side and see the sunshine. Maybe that’s us.”
See what I mean? I’m an Oliver Marmol fan, but he doesn’t offer up prison poo references to my old colleagues covering the Cardinals.
Writing for CBSSports.com, Mike Axisa noted that key Giants haven’t done much to help their skipper’s transition to the majors:
At some point, you have to call a spade a spade and not dance around the obvious. It’s a largely veteran team and the players know the deal. It’s OK they hear it.
While Vitello certainly hasn’t distinguished himself in his first 39 games as an MLB manager, it is not his fault the Giants are near the bottom of the standings. [Willy] Adames, Matt Chapman, and Rafael Devers have a combined .596 OPS. Ace Logan Webb has a 5.06 ERA. Offseason signings Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle have combined for a 5.60 ERA. Closer Ryan Walker has put 29 runners on base in 15 ⅓ innings. The blame starts with the players, always.
The Giants responded to Saturday’s 13-3 drubbing from the Pittsburgh Pirates by shipping Walker to the minors to reset. Then they persevered for a much needed 7-6 victory in 12 innings on Sunday.
Vitello had his hands full while navigating that tactical marathon.
“There was a lot of chaos in that game,” he said. “Guys had to hand the ball off to a fellow pitcher. You think we’re going to win in one inning, and you’ve got all kinds of different situations popping up. They just stuck together. It kind of had that feeling the whole day.”
The long season’s grind has just begun. Wish Tony well as he takes on this massive challenge.
TALKIN’ BASEBALL
Here is what folks have been writing about Our National Pastime:
Bob Nightengale, USA Today: “Executives and scouts believe the Mets just don’t have the personnel to turn it around, putting out lineups that look more suited to rebuilding teams than the most expensive team in baseball. This is why the Mets soon may be the center of attention once they realize that this season is a lost cause, letting their rivals know they are open for business. They have three of the top trade chips in the game in starters Freddy Peralta and Clay Holmes and infielder Bo Bichette. Peralta, 2-3, 3.12 ERA, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in January, is a free agent after the season, after failing to reach an agreement on extension talks. They could re-engage before the trade deadline, but if they don’t reach a deal, why not get something for him now? Holmes, 4-2, 1.69 ERA, is off to another great start in the second season to a three-year, $38 million contract. Holmes is under contract for $12 million in 2027, but with the season he’s having, will certainly exercise his opt out and become a free agent. He may too valuable on the trade market for the Mets to take that gamble he won’t leave. Bichette has gotten off to a miserable start (.237, two homers, 16 RBIs) but the two-time All-Star has a glossy resume. He signed a three-year, $126 million contract last winter with two opt outs, and considering the season the Mets are having and the boos serenading him, it’s difficult to see him wanting to stay put. And if he leaves a free agent, there will be no qualifying offered attached for the Mets to receive a draft pick. Why not trade him and let his new team deal with the opt-outs?”
Jorge Castillo, ESPN.com: “The Yankees are clearly the best team in the American League -- and maybe in the majors with a 26-12 [start] and plus-81 run differential. Their offense ranks second in the big leagues in runs scored, third in OPS and fourth in wRC+. Aaron Judge is mashing baseballs again, leading the majors with 15 home runs, but he hasn’t even been the team’s best hitter. That title belongs to Ben Rice. The third-year first baseman is tops in the majors in OPS, tops in wRC+, second in batting average and ninth in average exit velocity.”
Will Leitch, MLB.com: “The Cubs have been freakishly hot, and it is pretty much unprecedented: They’re the first team since the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers to have multiple distinct 10-plus-game winning streaks within their first 40 decisions of a season. That’s actively difficult to do! Now that they’ve lost a couple . . . we fully expect them to rattle off another 10-game streak in the next few weeks.”
David Laurila, FanGraphs: “The Chicago Cubs’ winning their 15th straight home game on Thursday — they began a road trip the next day — brought them to within three of the club record, which dates back to 1935. Notable in the almost-century-old accomplishment was that it was part of an overall 21-game winning streak in which the first 18 were played at Wrigley Field, and the last three on the road in St. Louis. In the long-ago days when teams travelled by train, home stands were typically much longer than they are now.”
Lindsay Dial, Baseball Prospectus: “Perhaps the core of the Astros has become this kind of compact mass, this dense, self-destructive thing from which no matter can escape. Perhaps it hasn’t. But like the rotting log, the supernova, too, gives rise to new life. The great explosion leaves interstellar flotsam in its wake; the shock wave sets off sparks that become stars in their own time. You know what they say: one team’s collapse is another team’s Crab Nebula.”
Brittany Ghiroli, The Athletic: “The Orioles tanked loudly and unapologetically upon the arrival of former general manager Mike Elias in November 2018. It worked. Three 100-loss teams (and one that went 25-35 during a shortened 2020 season) gave way to squads that finished above .500 in 2022 and ran away with the AL East in ’23, giving Baltimore its first division title since 2014. The O’s were back, and more than a half-million more fans showed up to Camden Yards in 2023 than the year prior, drunk on the potential of a robust young core and a top-ranked farm system teeming with talent. Never mind that they were promptly swept out of the AL Division Series by the would-be champion Texas Rangers. The unanimous industry consensus was that the window was just opening. Baltimore went back to the playoffs in 2024 courtesy of a 91-win season, a record that papered over a 42-46 finish. That team was swept out of the AL wild card by the Kansas City Royals, who didn’t have the Orioles’ offensive upside but came to the same conclusion many of their opponents had: Those big swings had big holes in them, prompting one rival executive to liken the Orioles to a showcase team. The Orioles lacked heart, hustle and veteran player leadership, the latter being a particular sore spot for former manager Brandon Hyde, who was fired in May 2025 after Baltimore’s dismal 15-28 start. Suddenly, a team that looked to be on the precipice of a long, fortuitous window seemed rudderless, limping to a last-place 75-87 finish. So forgive fans if a flat start to ’26 brings back some painful recent memories, even if rookie Craig Albernaz is now in the manager’s chair, somewhat defiantly telling beat reporters not to write off this club. Without Hyde, the fans’ ire has fallen squarely on Elias — quietly promoted to team president before the 2025 season — and the rest of the front-office members, who deserve some criticism.”