Former Vols coach Tony Vitello goes viral during Giants’ win over the Phillies and he’s getting a lot of strange criticism for it

Former Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello went viral during the San Francisco Giants’ series-clinching win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Vitello is in his first season as the manager of the Giants.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello went viral on Wednesday during a series-clinching win against the Philadelphia Phillies thanks to internet lip readers.

The former Tennessee Vols baseball coach was caught in the sixth inning commenting to himself about one of the Giants’ ball boys.

After an adult ball boy, who moved like he was a ball boy back when Willie Mays was patrolling center field in Candlestick Park, slowly went into the field of play to grab a foul ball, Vitello appeared to comment that he’s either the “oldest” or “slowest” ball boy he’s ever seen in his life.

There’s a lot of downtime for managers during baseball games where they aren’t actively making moves. All kinds of things are said to pass the time and to also keep things light in the dugout. This seemed to be one of those moments.

But that didn’t stop fans on social media from taking aim at Vitello, suggesting that he instead said “the worst f—ing ball boy I’ve ever seen” in the viral clip.

Expert lip reader Jomboy, however, tweeted that it looks like Vitello said “the oldest ball boy” in the clip.

Vitello, despite the reputation bestowed upon him by rival SEC fans, isn’t a malicious person who takes shots at people. He’s competitive, and sometimes he can get lost in the moment and get a little emotional, but that never comes from a place of malice.

But the internet is going to do what the internet does, which is why Vitello’s decision to stay away from social media is wise.

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