Tony Vitello Nears Jump to the Major Leagues
Tennessee University baseball coach Tony Vitello is emerging as the leading candidate to manage the San Francisco Giants. A resolution on a possible agreement is expected within the next 24 to 72 hours. If an agreement is reached, Vitello would become the first manager in MLB history to go directly from a college program to the Major Leagues without experience in a professional organization. Vitello, 47, led Tennessee to win the College World Series title in 2024 and is considered one of the best college baseball coaches. He would replace Bob Melvin, who was fired on September 29 after an 81-81 season, the Giants’ fourth consecutive season without reaching the playoffs. San Francisco’s president of baseball operations, Buster Posey, has considered several candidates for the manager position, including former Giants catcher Nick Hundley and two other former Major League catchers, Kurt Suzuki and Vance Wilson. However, the Giants have focused their interest on Vitello, who has distinguished himself as one of the country’s most prominent recruiters and talent developers during a two-decade career as an assistant and head coach in college. The termination clause of his contract with Tennessee is $3 million, the same amount as his annual salary. The transition from college baseball to the professional level is uncommon, though not unprecedented. Vitello’s transition to the Major Leagues would be much faster. He would inherit a Giants team competing in a very competitive National League West Division. After more than 10 years as an assistant coach at Missouri, TCU, and Arkansas, Vitello took over the Tennessee program before the 2018 season and recorded a 341-131 record, advancing to the College World Series in 2021, 2023, and 2024. With a couple of first-round and four second-round picks, Tennessee defeated Texas A&M to win the school’s first national baseball championship in 2024. Vitello, whose energetic personality made him loved in Tennessee and annoyed other SEC schools, would enter a different realm in MLB. While college jobs are often defined by the success of recruiting classes, Major League teams are built by baseball operations departments, with the manager depending on clubhouse cohesion, in-game decision-making, bullpen usage, and daily interactions with the media.I don’t want our guys, if they’re given a coloring book, to just color inside the lines. You know, invent something different.
Tony Vitello
