Tony Vitello praises Tennessee fans while sending a message to 'new' fans
Tennessee Vols baseball isn't off to the start that many expected in 2023. Just a year after dominating during the regular season, the Vols are 16-6 through the first 22 games of the season. That's still a good baseball record, but none of those 16 wins include a win over a Power-5 opponent. After getting […]
Tennessee Vols baseball isn't off to the start that many expected in 2023.
Just a year after dominating during the regular season, the Vols are 16-6 through the first 22 games of the season.
That's still a good baseball record, but none of those 16 wins include a win over a Power-5 opponent.
After getting swept by Missouri last weekend, the Vols are looking to get back on track this weekend at home against Texas A&M.
On Thursday, Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello met with reporters and he had a message for some of the sport's "newer fans".
Vitello praised the passion of Tennessee fans while noting that fans newer to the sport may not understand that teams don't earn trips to Omaha in March.
"A casual Tennessee fan does not exist — it’s bleed orange entirely throughout your body, or don’t bleed at all," said Vitello on Thursday. "And that’s been fantastic. And it’s helped us win games. And part of last weekend is we’re on the road. It’s challenging wherever you go. When we’re at home, we have the benefit of playing in front of those folks."
“Now I will say, without disrespecting anybody, some fans are new to college baseball or new to following our program because of last year’s team, or the years prior, which is awesome, and we love it," continued Vitello. "As they get to understand the landscape of our game, there’s a lot of parity in college baseball. You don’t just go to Omaha because you wish it, or you play in the SEC or you win some games. And I could go on down that road of, there’s challenges, but fans don’t want to hear that, and I don’t want to hear that, either. You want to see success, and this team is capable of success, but it’s gonna be in a style that’s way different than last year."
Vitello is right. Baseball is a beautifully strange game at times — and that's at all levels.
Last fall, the Philadelphia Phillies barely made the playoffs and they ended up going to the World Series.
And last spring/summer, Ole Miss had a losing record in SEC play (14-16) and they went 0-1 in the SEC Tournament before making a run in Omaha and eventually winning the College World Series.
It could be argued that Tennessee peaked too early last season. That won't be the case this season. They still have to make sure they "peak", but the Vols are nowhere close to being in trouble. There's plenty of time left for Tennessee to make a run. And there's no reason they can't follow the same path that Ole Miss went down last season.
