Dusty Baker Gives Biggest Piece of Advice to Giants Manager Tony Vitello

Dusty Baker is just one of many voices that new San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello will have to lean on in 2026.

San Francisco Giants special advisor to baseball operations Dusty Baker chats with a Washington Nationals staff member as San Francisco Giants hitting coach Pat Burrell (95) looks on during batting practice before the game at Oracle Park. | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Dusty Baker’s role as special advisor to the San Francisco Giants isn’t ceremonial. It will be even more relevant in 2026.

Tony Vitello isn’t just a first-time manager. He’s a first-time professional in every form. He’s never played in pro baseball or coached in pro baseball. He’s a grand experiment, authored by president of baseball operations Buster Posey and general manager Zack Minasian.

Whether he succeeds or fails will be largely up to him. But Vitelllo won’t be lacking for mentors, including Baker, who at one time managed the Giants. Since he retired, Baker has been in the Giants organization and in the wake of Vitello’s hiring he’s been asking those skeptical to be patient and give Vitello a chance.

He’s also given Vitello one big piece of advice as he enters his first season.

Dusty Baker’s Advice to Tony Vitello

Hannah Mattix/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Baker was part of the interview process for Vitello and in his conversations with him he’s given Vitello a significant piece of advice, according to NBC Sports Bay Area.

"Don't read the tweets and the blogs," Baker said, "Because now you're judged every day versus just on the weekends."

The weekends are college baseball, where most teams play a Friday-Sunday series. Vitello was enormously successful at Tennessee, where he coached for eight seasons. He rebuilt the Volunteers into one of the best baseball programs in NCAA Division I.

That reached a zenith in 2024 when he guided Tennessee to 60 wins and the Men’s College World Series championship in 2024. He also took the program to the MCWS in 2021 and 2023. He also led the program to two SEC regular-season and tournament championships. 

Baker is a likely Baseball Hall of Fame selection and can be considered for the Class of 2027. Baker is one of a handful of managers with more than 2,000 career wins. He finished his career as 2,183-1,862. He’s also one of a few that have World Series rings as players and managers.

He is also the first manager to MLB history to lead five different franchises to division titles and the ninth to win an AL and NL pennant. He was also the first African American manager with 2,000 or more victories and the 12th all-time.

With San Francisco, he spent a decade leading the Giants to two NL West titles, three playoff berths and the 2002 World Series, where the Giants lost to the Angels. Baker finished with an 840-715 record.

Vitello can only hope to be that successful. He’ll have Baker to lean on all season.