After several days of negotiations, Tennessee coach Tony Vitello was named the team's new manager. San Francisco GiantsThe team announced Wednesday, marking the first time a major league team has hired a manager directly from college without any professional coaching experience.
Vitello, who had considered staying at Tennessee, where he won the Men's College World Series in 2024, will replace Bob Melvin. who was fired on September 29 following the 81–81 season, the Giants' fourth straight year without making the playoffs.
“I am incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity,” Vitello said in a statement. “I am thrilled to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants.” I can’t wait to get started and work to create a culture that the loyal giants will be proud of.”
Vitello, 47, was considered one of college baseball's best coaches, a dynamic recruiting wizard who built talented teams and turned around a program that had endured decades of mediocrity. He became the Giants' top target after former San Francisco catcher Nick Hundley declined consideration.
By naming Vitello his first manager, San Francisco baseball operations president Buster Posey is betting on Vitello's success at Tennessee to move on to the big leagues. Preferred to ex Baltimore Orioles Manager Brandon Hyde and two other former major league catchers interviewed by the Giants – Kurt Suzuki and Vance Wilson – Vitello had established himself as one of the country's preeminent coaches during a two-decade career as an assistant and head coach in college, and that was enough for the Giants to be willing to pay a $3 ransom. million dollars under his contract, sources said.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tony to the Giants family,” Posey said in a statement. “Tony is one of the brightest, most innovative and most respected coaches in college baseball today. What stood out throughout our search was Tony's leadership, competitiveness and commitment to player development. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring and the memories to be made as we focus on the future of Giants baseball.”
The closest facsimile to Vitello would be Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy, who spent 25 years as a college coach before joining the team. San Diego Padres as a minor league manager. Murphy then spent eight years as the Brewers' bench coach before taking over as manager in 2024, when he was named National League Coach of the Year.
Vitello's transition to the big leagues will happen at a much faster pace. Outside of first place in the NL West in 2021, the Giants have finished third or worse in the division every year since 2017. Los Angeles Dodgersevaluators view the Giants as a less talented team than San Diego and Arizona. San Francisco first baseman core Rafael Deversbuddy Willy Adames and third baseman Matt Chapman It is solid and could be strengthened this winter through free agent spending, sources said.
After more than 10 years as an assistant coach at Missouri, TCU and Arkansas, Vitello took over a moribund Tennessee program before the 2018 season and compiled a 341-131 record, advancing to the Men's College World Series in 2021, 2023 and 2024. With a pair of possible first-round draft picks and four second-round picks, Tennessee beat Texas A&M to win the school's first national baseball championship last year.
Vitello, whose boisterous personality endeared him to Tennessee and irritated other SEC schools, is entering an entirely different realm in MLB. While college jobs are often determined by the success of recruiting classes, major league teams are created by baseball operations departments and the manager is relied upon to handle club cohesion, in-game decision making, use of the bullpen and day-to-day interactions with the media.
Tennessee athletic director Danny White made a statement Wednesday credited Vitello for elevating the Vols to “a championship program.”
“Congratulations to Tony on this incredible opportunity to lead the San Francisco Giants,” White wrote. “We wish him the best as he begins this new chapter in his career and thank him for all he has done to build Tennessee baseball into a championship program.”
MLB teams' reluctance to enter the management college ranks is long-standing and runs counter to the recruiting practices of other professional sports leagues. NFL teams regularly select head coaches from the college ranks, and there is no stigma associated with college coaches in the NBA. Major league organizations are more open to hiring college coaches than managers. Pitching coach Wes Johnson left Arkansas to take the same role with the team. Minnesota Twins in 2019; he left the Twins three years later to take a job as pitching coach at LSU and then join Georgia as head coach ahead of the 2024 season.
In a June interview with ESPN, Vitello said his reputation as a rabble-rouser doesn't bother him and that he has no plans to change his boundary-pushing approach to coaching.
“I think you don't know where the line is until you cross it. And then you make adjustments,” Vitello said. “I don’t want our kids, if they give them a coloring book, I don’t want them to just color inside the lines. You know, come up with something else.”
