The Giants Haven't Seen the Real Tony Vitello Yet

As a sad season approaches in September, it's been a stressful start for rookie skipper Tony Vitello. The former University of Tennessee coach entered the league with much skepticism when he was plucked from the college ranks by the team's president of baseball operations, Buster Posey.

It was definitely a groundbreaking move, one that was met with wonder and with anger. But all San Fran fans wanted to know was: Can this guy manage?

It would be easy to write off the move to bring in Vitello as a mistake if you only look at the Giants' record this season. At 42-75 and currently in fourth place in the National League West Division, they have looked almost hopeless at times.

However, much of that isn't trouble of TV's own creation; he inherited a team that was clearly going to face some big challenges ahead, no matter who the skipper was.

Have there been growing pains? Of course, every rookie leader is going to experience that, given that it's a new environment. So, it's likely better to judge the St. Louis native at the end of year two. Which is exactly what Posey will do around this time next year, if there aren't signs of a turnaround.

Vitello can manage like Sparky Anderson or Whitey Herzog, and it wouldn't have mattered in 2026. This team came into the season woefully undermanned to MLB-caliber arms in the rotation.

The rotation is made up of steady veterans like Logan Webb or young pitchers who are still developing, as Carson Whisenhunt is doing right now. That lack of balance has hurt the team, and it's caused them to go into long stretches of poor play without a heroic effort on the hill.

The team has been mired in injury, inconsistency, and (mostly) underachievement. The bullpen is a mess, and high-priced veterans like Rafael Devers and Willy Adames struggled through much of the season. So even the proven players didn't perform well.

That's not Tony Vitello's fault. He just got here.

Vitello is a Long-Term Investment

Tony Vitello smiling, laughing — Vitello, joking with the media | Credit: D. Ross Cameron | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

To give up on Vitello at any time within the first three years of his tenure would be a mistake on the team's part.

Given time, his penchant for working with young players will pay off. He's already proven he can develop talent; he did so at the amateur level. Currently, four of his former Vols players are in the Giants' organization.

Who better to lead them into the future than the man who coached and mentored them in college? In that sense, TV is a perfect fit for this team.

With a pipeline of prospects and a great mind for the game, Vitello can succeed with the situation improving in San Francisco. If not, and the Giants decide to let him go? He will likely work as a coach for another club and eventually get another manager's gig in the game.

And as has been the case on several occasions, the last thing any team wants is to bring in a new skipper, let him go, and find out it was a mistake later on down the road.

In San Francisco, Vitello should be the man long enough to find out if he can see this thing through.

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