There’s been plenty of discussion in recent weeks about former Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello and whether he’s going to be successful as the manager of the San Francisco Giants.

Vitello and the Giants have gotten off to a slow start this season, which has led to some folks in San Francisco speculating that the former Tennessee coach wishes he was back on Rocky Top.

I even wrote last week that Vitello may have chosen the wrong MLB situation (it would’ve been easier for Vitello to manage a roster full of young players).

Ultimately, though, none of us know how Vitello’s tenure in San Francisco will play out.

But Giants fans received a sign this week that Vitello is going to be just fine.

Tony Vitello handled a tough situation to perfection

Vitello caught some heat from fans this past week for not benching shortstop Willy Adames after a baserunning blunder that ran the Giants out of an inning.

Shohei Ohtani catches a break with a double play on a base-running error from the Giants.

His night is over, putting up seven shutout innings.

He has gotten historically low run support recently, but he is in line for a win with the team up 4-0. pic.twitter.com/oHhEYrOYad

— Nelson Espinal (@nelson__espinal) May 14, 2026

The mistake by Adames put Vitello in a tough situation. The first-year MLB manager essentially had to tell a veteran player how to be a pro. And the way Vitello handled it with Adames would either earn him credibility in the clubhouse or become a distraction.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, with runners on first and third and no outs, A’s infielder Jeff McNeil hit a hard ground ball that was fielded by first baseman Rafael Devers, who made the tough throw to Adames at second base to get the first out of the inning.

San Francisco wasn’t able to turn the double play, and a run scored in the process, but Adames’ reaction — he clapped for several seconds while gesturing toward Devers — showed how locked in the shortstop is despite getting chewed out by a rookie manager this week.

Adames could’ve been dismissive of Vitello, which would’ve cost the former Vols coach a ton of credibility with the team.

But the subtle reaction from Adames, who was encouraging Devers after the beleaguered first baseman made a great play, shows that Vitello is more than capable of leading a big league clubhouse, even though he had no big league experience before this season.