A ‘visibly emotional’ Tony Vitello admits he made a bad decision that cost the Giants a game they should’ve won
Former Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello had a rough night on Tuesday in a loss to the San Francisco Giants, but he owned up to his bad decision after the game.
Tony Vitello had a bad night on Tuesday in Phoenix.
But he’ll be the first to tell you that.
Vitello, who is in his first season as the manager of the San Francisco Giants after leading the Tennessee Vols for eight seasons, made a 9th-inning decision that cost his team a win.
Tony Vitello takes the blame for Giant’s walk-off loss to the Diamondbacks
With the Giants clinging to a one run lead and two runners on base for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Vitello brought LHP Matt Gage into the game to face second baseman Ketel Marte.
Marte then hit a walk-off three-run home run to give the Diamondbacks a 5-3 win.
Vitello was described by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale as “visibly emotional” after the game while taking the blame for the loss.
“At that point, [Caleb] Kilian had 25 pitches,” said Vitello after the game. “Went with a fresh arm, a different look, and [I] made the wrong decision. It cost us the game. Not that Gage… I mean, he’s got as good of numbers as anybody on our team. And he’s gotten it done for us more times than not, but obviously it’s on me.”
Vitello may be taking that loss a little too hard. He knows as well as anyone that nothing is guaranteed in baseball. You can make the right decision on paper and still get a bad result. That’s just baseball sometimes — it can be a weird sport at times.
Marte hit a pitch that was well below the zone out of the park for his first home run as a right-handed batter this season. Sometimes, you just have to tip your cap. I know most Giants fans won’t agree, but that’s all Vitello can do in that situation.