Baseball legend Ron Washington leaves absolutely no doubt on how he feels about Tony Vitello in the big leagues
Ron Washington is a member of Tony Vitello’s coaching staff with the San Francisco Giants.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello, who is in his first season as an MLB manager after spending eight seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols, has one of the most respected minds in baseball on his coaching staff in Ron Washington.
Washington’s resumé speaks for itself. The 73-year-old baseball lifer spent over a decade as a player in MLB before transitioning to his career as a coach/manager. Washington’s expertise as an infield coach has helped numerous players through the years — from Eric Chavez with the Oakland A’s to Ozzie Albies with the Atlanta Braves.
Many baseball fans know Washington from the scene in the movie Moneyball, where he (portrayed by an actor) explains how difficult it is to learn first base (it’s incredibly hard).
All that to say that an endorsement from Washington is quite an honor.
Ron Washington likes Tony Vitello a lot
Washington recently joined KNBR, and he quickly made it clear that he’s a fan of Vitello.
“I think you guys have recognized how sharp he is, and he speaks with a lot of clarity,” said Washington. “He actually knows exactly what he’s doing — he’s just never done it at the major league level. He’s been a winner. He’s been the best winner in the world at what he’s done.
“He’s handled families. He knows a lot of people in the game of baseball. He’s been around. So, it’s just a matter of tomorrow (first spring training game) showing up, and then the questions can get away from his past and into what he’s getting ready to accomplish. And hopefully that can bring another championship back to San Francisco. I like Tony. I like his clarity. He’s clear with everything that he wants to do. He’s clear. And he gets on the field and he gets involved in what’s going on on the field. I think his players are going to like that. He’s not one of them managers that just manages and hides. No, he’s visible, and he’s willing to answer anything you’ve got to ask. I just recently heard where there was a little controversy about something he said. But hey, as a manager, that happens a lot. And one thing is for sure, he won’t be running away from it.”
“He’s the manager,” added Washington. “If I see something that I think he needs to know about, I’ll let him know. But as far as running the game and running his baseball team that he’s in charge of, that’s his…I’ll just give him my opinion. Doesn’t mean that he will use my opinion, but if he asks for it, I’ll give it to him. And that’s the way I will approach it. I’ll do whatever he needs me to do when he needs me to do it. I like Tony Vitello.”
If you’re a Giants fan who is still on the fence about the hire, that endorsement from Washington should be all you need to hear. It doesn’t mean the Giants are going to rattle off 100 wins this season — a lot of things out of Vitello’s control will have to go right for that to happen — but it’s clear he’s well-respected by some of the most respected minds in baseball.
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In just his second spring training game, Tony Vitello experienced something that no MLB manager has ever seen before
Tony Vitello’s first two MLB spring training games as a manager have provided some interesting moments.
