Tennessee Vols' Tony Vitello has a hilarious self-own for decision that backfired during Vols' 4-1 win over Texas A&M
Sometimes in life, all we can do is look at the decisions we've made, chuckle to ourselves, and say, "what was I thinking?" Tennessee Vols head coach Tony Vitello is not immune to that it seems. The Vols' head honcho met with the media after the Vols' 4-1 win over Texas A&M on Sunday in […]
Sometimes in life, all we can do is look at the decisions we've made, chuckle to ourselves, and say, "what was I thinking?" Tennessee Vols head coach Tony Vitello is not immune to that it seems.
The Vols' head honcho met with the media after the Vols' 4-1 win over Texas A&M on Sunday in game two of the College World Series championship series, and he brought up on his own a coaching mistake he feels he made as the Vols were attempting to mount a comeback against the Aggies.
In the sixth inning with runners on first and second and one out, Cal Stark was up to bat. With leadoff hitter Christian Moore on deck, Vitello called for Stark to bunt, which he attempted unsuccessfully. Stark would follow that up with a ground ball to third for an inning-ending double play.
"It's kind of like the bunt thing," Vitello mentioned during a question about Zander Sechrist. "I wanted to throw myself off a ledge there because it looks like, hey, let's get C-Mo (Christian Moore) in a position where he can drive in two runs potentially, and then you can take it off because Cal's in an advantage count. I could explain the numbers and all of that stuff, but the bottom line is you have to make tough decisions over the course of a game, and fans can tweet about them and say this or that, but the one thing with all due respect – we wouldn't be here without our fans – they get to do that on Twitter and voice their opinion, and then they get to go to the bars because I can hear – it goes all night long – I can hear from my level. And I wish I could do that to be honest with you, but I grew up in this damned household with crazy Greg Vitello, and kind of got into this deal right here.
"With your decisions, you have to live with it, and when the game is over, we go back to the hotel, and I've worked with the guy across the dugout, too. No one's more invested than him. And you live with it, you think about it, and then you start preparing for the next day. It's all you do. So, trust me, it means a lot to us, you know what I mean?"
Fortunately, Vitello's decision ultimately ended up being moot the following inning. With a runner on second, Dylan Dreiling launched a dead-center fastball over the bullpen in right field for a no doubt two-run blast, and the Vols had finally broken through.
Ironically, the following inning Stark came back up to the plate with a runner on and two outs, and he deposited the ball over the bullpen in left field for some breathing room.
Sometimes players pick up their teammates, and sometimes they even pick up their own managers. Stark certainly did that on Sunday afternoon, and the only one who's still annoyed by the decision appears to be just Vitello himself.
We'll see if Stark gets the chance to swing away if he's in a similar situation on Monday night, when the Vols and Aggies play a winner-take-all game for the national championship.
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