The first season of the San Francisco Giants’ grand experiment is nearly in the books, and it won’t go down as one of the franchise’s better years.
The Giants are 62-85. Only the woeful Colorado Rockies stand between them and last place in the National League West. Just three other teams in the major leagues have a worse record than San Francisco.
President of baseball operations Buster Posey took a big gamble when he hired Tony Vitello from the college ranks last winter to be the Giants’ manager. Vitello had a great run at the University of Tennessee from 2018-25, including a College World Series title in 2024. Yet Vitello is only the third person to go directly from college coach to MLB manager.
There have been growing pains. Vitello has been a lightning rod at times with strategic blunders and odd comments to the media. However, Posey told FanSided that he has not regretted hiring Vitello, who has two years and $7 million remaining on his contract.,
“I know it is easy to look at the record and say good things aren’t happening,” Posey said. “But our guys are working hard every day, and that’s a reflection on Tony and his work ethic. The effort is there, and that is important. There is improvement.”
Vitello has been dealt bad roster hand
In fairness to Vitello, Posey has not provided him with a playoff-caliber roster. Compounding matters, the Giants have been decimated by injuries, with 18 players on the injured list, including standouts like third baseman Matt Chapman, shortstop Willy Adames, and breakout infielder/outfielder Casey Schmitt.
Then there is the learning curve that any rookie manager faces. That curve has been made even steeper by Vitello's lack of experience in professional baseball, even as a minor-league player.
So, it was little wonder that when I recently asked Vitello what his first season in the big leagues has been like, he chuckled.
“We don’t have enough time to give you a complete answer,” Vitello said.
The biggest challenge for Vitello would seemingly be running a faster-paced game at the major-league level and finding big-leaguers harder to motivate than college players.
However, Vitello quickly pointed out that his biggest adjustment has been adapting to the length of MLB’s 162-game regular season.
Vitello, 47, recalled a recent pregame conversation he had with Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jake Mangum. Mangum was playing at Mississippi State and set the SEC’s career hits record when Vitello was coaching at Tennessee. The Volunteers never played 73 games in any of Vitello’s eight seasons.
“We talked about how we saw each other a bunch in college, but Jake was saying how that schedule is nothing like this schedule because 162 hits a little different,” Vitello said. “I'm not playing, so I can't imagine what it's like on the body, especially if you're in a city like Atlanta where the humidity is a huge factor. In my opinion, we're blessed with great weather in San Francisco.
“But the schedule comes with a lot of different challenges, whether it's sleep, taking care of your body, managing the travel, even nutrition for a coach, but especially for the players. There are just so many factors involved.”
The mental toll of a six-month season that comes after spending six weeks at spring training can also wear down the most experienced people in professional baseball. Thus, it is little wonder that Vitello has also had to adjust his emotional scale, too.
Each game on the major-league schedule matters, unlike in college baseball, when teams often play a non-conference game in the middle of the week.
“There are so many mental battles at this level,” Vitello said. “It starts with the day-to-day stuff but also all the things that happen during the game. There seem to be more ups and downs in the major-league season. We’ve experienced them as a team, and I have as a manager.
“It's just, how do you handle the ups and downs? Do you turn it into a roller coaster, or do you just turn it into a journey where it's a windy road and instead of huge curves, you're just going around the bend?”
Vitello wants to leave bread crumbs
It isn’t fair to judge Vitello on only one season. You don’t have to talk with Vitello long to realize he is a sharp guy and understand why he was a championship coach in college.
For years, both the NFL and NBA believed college coaches couldn't succeed in the professional ranks. The same thought has been prevalent in Major League Baseball.
Vitello says he did not take the job as a trailblazer. Yet he would be happy if more college coaches could move to the big leagues.
“I think you're always looking for breadcrumbs for what works and what doesn't,” Vitello said. “So, I will be honest with you and say there is a little extra sense of pressure. Part of it is such a huge hate/love relationship with other college coaches, because you got recruiting, and you're planning against each other, and you're across the way, but yet such a ton of respect, and a lot of people looked out for me when I was in college.
“I didn't deserve my first job, and, you know, a lot of people helped me climb a little bit. So, you like to see other people climb like that. So, hopefully, some successful breadcrumbs can be left behind.”
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