MLB Superstar Paul Skenes Shares Honest Tony Vitello Update Following Vols Departure

Paul Skenes shares an honest statement on Tony Vitello accepting the San Francisco Giants job

Sep 7, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) walks in the outfield before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Former Tennessee Vols baseball coach is now officially an MLB manager with the Giants, which has caught the attention of many. This includes one of the better pitchers in the league. That pitcher being Paul Skenes.

Skenes is a former LSU pitcher who has played against Tony Vitello in the past, and he earned the respect of the Giants manager, while the Giants manager has earned the respect of the now Pirates pitcher.

Skenes shared an honest statement on Vitello recently, according to NBCSportsBayArea. Here is what was said.

Paul Skenes Statement on Tony Vitello

Pittsburg Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches in the first inning between Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburg Pirates at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati on Sept. 24, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“I think out of all the people that are in college baseball, there are probably three or four that could make the jump to being a major league manager,” Skenes stated. “I think Vitello is one of them. He's a winner.”

He then went into conversation about how Vitello will be tasked with putting together a roster full of players that are better than the college level.

“The big leagues are a lot faster than college. Obviously, the players are better. In many ways, I think it's a different game, just in terms of how pitchers attack hitters, how hitters make plans against pitchers."

There may be a learning curve for the former Tennessee Vols coach, but Skenes predicts the situation to be bright.

“In terms of a learning curve, I think he'll figure it out pretty quickly. He's sharp, he's a winner,” Skenes said. 

Vitello accepted the job with the Giants then spoke with Tennessee media, including RockyTopInsider about his departure. Here is what he had to say.

“By now, you all know I officially accepted a position to babysit Drew Gilbert. Normally I don’t read to y’all, but hopefully I can just get through some notes without any tears. There’s been a lot. Had to watch some Leanne Morgan to stop here and there a few different times. But here we are. I just wanted to kind of get some things out there and not have any regrets, so that’s why I wrote some notes down. First off, just people saying bye and everything like that, I’m not going anywhere. So real estate people quit texting me. I’ll figure out what I want to do. But whether it’s football games, basketball games, supporting these guys in some form or fashion, I’m not going anywhere. I don’t know if this will get me in trouble, but in my mind, a goal is to come back to Tennessee in some capacity. Whether it’s part-time living or some other job way down the road or maybe I go back to Nashville and become a country singer or something like that. But that’s something that stuck out in my head because obviously I feel like this was a great place for me. A big one for me is just the last practice. If there’s anything valuable out of this or, hopefully, heartfelt — if that is the last time I ever stepped foot on this campus or this field as an employee or as a Vol wearing our orange, I’m just so thankful for the people that showed up. It mattered. It made a difference. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do at the moment, but the bottom line is — if they feel like it was a waste of time because they were here to sway me or something like that, it’s not because it will forever be ingrained in my memory. It made what was the last day on the job technically, very, very special. I say this humbly. At one point they started chanting my name and I wanted to go up and address the crowd and I’ll just do it now. The fans, the people who were here, the people that were in the stadium — they don’t need me. They need the players. The players don’t need me. They need the fans. I think we’ve got great players here. We’ve got great players signed up and we have incredible fans. They filled the porches because of the construction, that’s all it would allow. They need to fill the stadium and bring the same energy they brought (to) the last game of the year last year. Our kids need to play to their full potential because it’s pretty dangerous. But that’s one thing I definitely want to get off my chest."

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