‘It is kind of insulting’ – Former World Series winning MLB manager makes absurd comment about Tony Vitello
Tony Vitello recently left the Tennessee Vols to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Tony Vitello made history last month when he stepped down as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols to become the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.
Vitello is the first manager in modern day baseball to be hired by an MLB franchise without having previous MLB/minor league experience as a player or coach.
It’s an unprecedented move by the Giants. And it’s a move that’s been questioned by a few folks around MLB.
Former World Series winning manager Joe Maddon says it’s a little “insulting” that Tony Vitello was hired by the Giants
Former MLB manager Joe Maddon, who guided the Chicago Cubs to a World Series championship in 2016, appeared on KNBR this week and he shared some thoughts on Vitello that were a bit odd.
Maddon said that he’s rooting for Vitello to do well with the Giants while also suggesting that San Francisco’s decision to hire the former Tennessee head coach is “kind of insulting”.
“I’m using the word insulting only from the perspective that it appears as though you don’t have to have any kind of experience on a professional level to do this job anymore,” said Maddon. “Because when I was coming up, you had to have all that. You had to go through the minor leagues, you had to ride the buses. I was a scout. I started in 1981. I finally get a managerial job in 2006. I mean, there was a rite of passage, a method to get to that point. So, to think that somebody could just jump in there and do what it took you twenty-some years to be considered qualified to do — it is kind of insulting.
“Having said that, the next part is, I wish him nothing but the best. Because I watch videos of the guy, and I can actually understand why it’s perceived that he’s ready to do something like this. So, I guess the overarching point is, in today’s world, prerequisites to get jobs of this caliber…it doesn’t require the years of experience that you may have had to have gone through in the past. I think communication skills, perceived leadership skills, those are the kind of things that become more valid or important. And not necessarily having kind of internal knowledge and working knowledge of the craft at hand — which would be Major League Baseball.
“It’s going to be a good thing for the Giants if it works out well,” added Maddon. “Which honestly, I am rooting for him.”
That’s a weird take from Maddon. He sounds bitter for some reason. And honestly, his comments about Vitello seem downright disrespectful and insulting.
It sounds like Maddon thinks that Vitello hasn’t put in the required work in baseball to be worthy of this job.
And look, it’s true that Vitello has zero experience in MLB. But he’s a baseball lifer. He grew up on baseball fields alongside his dad, legendary high school coach Greg Vitello, before going to Spring Hill College for a year to play baseball and then transferring to Missouri.
Vitello then coached in the California Collegiate League before joining his alma mater as a volunteer assistant coach in 2003.
From 2003 to 2010, Vitello was an assistant coach at Missouri. Then from 2011 to 2013, Vitello was an assistant at TCU before landing an assistant coaching gig at Arkansas. It wasn’t until 2017 — 15 years after his last game as a player — that Vitello landing the head coaching job at Tennessee.
There were a lot of unglamorous recruiting trips, bus rides, and just flat out grinding for Vitello to get to where he is today.
Vitello may not have 20 years of MLB experience, but he’s spent his entire life around baseball. In fact, he’s put in decades of work — contrary to what Maddon had to say this week.
Tennessee Volunteers News
‘It was worth it’ – Tony Vitello delivers statement that will mean a lot to Tennessee Vols fans
Tony Vitello recently stepped down as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols to make the jump to MLB as the new manager of the San Francisco Giants.
