The San Francisco Giants are finalizing a deal to name University of Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello as their next manager, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reports.
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Vitello becomes the first manager in the Giants’ historic development to transfer from college to MLB without any professional experience.
Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has proven bold in his short time in charge of the franchise. However, this move is not as bold as Vitello, as he has no professional experience and is entering a much different environment in terms of managing at the MLB level.
Nevertheless, Posey and the Giants were clearly impressed with Vitello during the interview process and now trust him to make the jump directly to MLB.
The Athletic, which first reported the Giants’ interest in Vitello on Saturday, offered some insight into the decision:
“Posey was looking for a great guy who could bring confidence to the Giants’ clubhouse, and Vitello’s dynamism and charisma are on full display in both his recruiting efforts and Boranci’s brash, playful style of play. Vitello has led the team to three College World Series appearances over the past five seasons.”
With the Los Angeles dominating the National League West for the past 13 years, Posey and company felt they needed to make a big change. That’s exactly what they did.
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Photo credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images
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