Giants Boss Tony Vitello Clarifies ‘Change the Course of History’ Comment

For the second straight day, San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello was talking about the past, specifically taking the job as manager.

On Monday, Vitello talked about his departure from the University of Tennessee with beat reporters. He wasn’t asked about it. His comments were unprompted and started with a question he asked reporters about when they found out he was taking the job.

That led to more than three minutes of Vitello talking about what he was dealing with at the time, four days before the news broke that he took the job. He talked about the assistant coaches at Tennessee then lost their minds when they found out he was considering the job and how he had to address his players about a decision he hadn't made yet.

In the middle of it, he said that if he knew who leaked the news it “might have changed the course of history.”

That was the comment he wanted to clarify on Tuesday.

Tony Vitello on ‘Changing the Course of History’

San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello oversees a spring training workout. — San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello. | Matt Kartozian-Imagn Images

Some took that comment as Vitello saying that if he had known who leaked it, and if that someone had been in the Giants organization, he might not have taken the job. He took a moment on Tuesday to clarify that was not the case.

“I wouldn't take what I say too seriously,’ Vitello said to reporters, including Justice delos Santos of the San Jose Mercury-News, who posted the comments on X (formerly Twitter). “I mean, we were talking about Lil Wayne yesterday. I think the facts of the case were what I just said. It's just that. Anybody else would react the exact same way. It had no real impact on the opportunity that was presented and it wouldn't have changed what Buster [Posey] and I would have agreed and joined to do. Just happened to be circumstantial.”

Posey, now the team’s president of baseball operations, was the one that pulled the trigger on Vitello’s hiring. The first-year manager also stated that no one in the Giants’ organization had anything to say about the comments that he made on Monday, and no one was asking him to clarify them on Tuesday.

Now, Vitello can concentrate on preparing his Giants for their first spring training game on Saturday. It will be the first Major League exhibition game he has ever seen in person. That makes sense, considering he has always been busy coaching a college team every February.

Tony Vitello on ‘Changing the Course of History’

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