Giants manager Tony Vitello gets hit with a headline that he is not going to recover from
It’s been a tough go this season for San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello, who is in his first season in MLB after spending eight seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Vols
It’s no secret that Tony Vitello’s had a rough go in his first season as the manager of the San Francisco Giants.
But that was to be expected, to some extent, as Vitello made the jump to the big leagues without having previous minor league or MLB experience.
It hasn’t been all bad for the former Tennessee Vols coach — he handled an awkward situation with Rafael Devers as well as anyone could’ve expected — but it’s been bad enough that plenty of folks are questioning whether Vitello will last longterm in MLB.
Tony Vitello gets hit with a headline that won’t be easy to recover from
One of the best things about Vitello is his candid and honest approach to speaking with reporters. Unlike many of today’s coaches who resort to “coach speak” anytime a microphone is around, Vitello is unabashedly himself.
Unsurprisingly, some national media outlets that cover baseball have taken some liberties with some of Vitello’s quotes this season.
One quote this week in particular led to a brutal headline from the New York Post.
“Giants rookie manager Tony Vitello admits he’s completely clueless as team flops”
That’s not exactly what Vitello said.
Vitello was asked why the Giants haven’t been able to string together wins this season.
“If I had the answer, we’d be in a lot better spot…I don’t think it’s any one thing. If you forced me to answer, I always boil everything down to mentality,” said Vitello.
I mean, what else is he supposed to say there?
The New York Mets have one of the worst records in baseball despite having one of the highest payrolls and they’ve been asked this same question for the last two months. And the only answer the Mets — from players to the owner to the fired manager to the interim manager — have been able to provide is a collective “I don’t know.”
Baseball is a vibes sport. Sure, you’ve gotta have talent, but if the vibes aren’t there, the wins won’t be there either. And sometimes, there’s no good reason for why the vibes aren’t there.
Vitello had the vibes on his side at Tennessee. He’s still trying to figure it out in MLB, and there’s no guarantee he’ll get enough time to.