Interesting (potential) hire. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a manager jump from college straight to the big leagues.
Has an impressive resume tho. Dude took Tennessee from the laughingstock in the SEC to a national powerhouse.
This is gonna be a great hire. Maximize Gilbert with his college manager.
I don’t know how to feel about this
Nice I love this
I love it. I don’t think I could love it any more.
Well, that’s fucking interesting man!
Dude hell yea! You don’t hire this guy if you aren’t incredibly confident in him.
College managing in the NIL era is so all consuming that I don’t see how the various skills won’t translate to some degree.
i love this
as a giants/ vols fan, this is like christmas for me. he is the real deal. save this comment and come back to it!
YES. Please Buster, please.
Ya know what, I don’t hate this
Please go for it. New ideas!
Super interesting choice!
Honestly super interesting and I love the idea. Dude has been super successful and should bring something we’ve been missing.
I love it. Something new. Something different. Not just an old recycled dude with no motivation. You dont think posey knows what a good leader and baseball guy looks like? Im excited
FWIW, there will be no Sleepy Vitello memes
Where did this even come from? Like UT to SF seems like such a weird connection lol
I’m not saying its going to work because what do I know about this guy, but I do like that Posey isn’t just hiring a friend / former teammate. They really need to hire people on merit, not just “hey I played with him and he’s a “gamer”.” And I think getting an outside perspective is really necessary after years of mediocracy.
they chose traditional last time, didn’t work, why not go nuts
Very interesting
Regardless how it ends up in 5 years I love them doing something new and not being the same old giants!
Unsure about the transfer between college baseball and MLB. But he has proven to be a winner. I take it over a boomer manager.
Knowing absolutely nothing about TN collegiate sports, I could see the benefit of having a college experience manager when we go into drafts and development of AA and AAA ball clubs and the coaches that go along with it.
Could be interesting
Handsome.
This is gonna be sick
Super excited, I want to see new ideas. Hope it gets confirmed soon.
He’s different than MELVIN in almost every way and that alone makes this great.
I love it. Didnt think he’d want the job. Watch Tennessee highlights, the dude has Gilbert-like energy when he needs to but also a good manager. Best part is he’s gonna bring the passion necessary to defeat the grand satans down south.
He’s my top choice, I hope this pans out
Going from sleepy Bob to this maniac. Talk about a 180. I’m excited.
This is awesome I’m just wondering what it will be like with his personality now that he’s coaching big leaguers will they buy in?
As a displaced Giants die hard in TN I’m thrilled for this. Tony is a regular at my oldest’s job and he says he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Our entire household is very excited. Hope it’s real!
Bold, outside-the-box thinking: I like it!
How often does this happen a college baseball manager goes straight to managing a team in MLB? I know the NBA and NFL have had a few examples of this over the years but I can’t think of another example of this happening in MLB off the top of my head.
Make Crazy Crab one of the coaches.
That’s nuts… I love it
Fuck it, let’s do it. Give me an anti-Melvin after these past two years.
Great hire, imo. Tennessee baseball has become a powerhouse under Vitello largely because of his eye for talent and ability to develop.
In 8 years, Vitello took Tennessee from a team that was 7-21 in conference play to 125-85 in SEC play, a CWS, and multiple deep tournament runs. All while teams in the conference constantly threw more and more resources towards the sport.
Super excited for this. I think it’ll be an incredibly fantastic and shrewd hire by Posey.
I have a mixed initial reaction not gonna lie:
1. Skeptical and nervous – Baseball is hard, really hard. The jump between Triple A and the Majors is big enough, so a jump from the collegiate level to the upper echelon of the pros can not be understated. I hope Vitello surrounds himself with as much pro assitants that he can, and that he has a vital support system to help him navigate the grind of the show. There’s a difference between a 65 game regular season vs 162, understanding major league pitching, hitting, dynamics, etc. I don’t think it’s foolish to say that the learning curve for managers and players in the Majors is always going to steep, so I don’t expect this to be any different.
2. Excitement and curiosity: Despite knowing the potential baptism of fire Vitello might have at the major league level, there’s still some good things we might look at. For starters, his resume at the college level is absurd, as he was one of the key figures that turned the University of Tennessee into a college baseball powerhouse. He’s described as a fiery individual, a players’ manager, and a complete 180 on the Giants modus operandi. One of our biggest complaints last year and the past few seasons lately is the Giants are far too conservative, playing it safe, passive, and within our means. Not only is Vitello the opposite personification of those ideals, but for Posey and the Giants, it shows they want radical change in the clubhouse.
We shall wait and see, to TLDR – Nervous because the gap between MLB and college is wide as fuck, learning curve will be steep. Excited because it’s a new direction the Giants are taking, showing Posey is willing to roll the dice, and Vitello has great praise from his colleagues and players.
This feels like the kind of guy the giants need. Take a big swing on a riskier hire.
I didn’t think they’d be able to convince him to leave Tennessee.
A college coach with no MLB or MiLB experience of any kind is certainly a risk.
But, TBH, this felt like a pretty underwhelming crop of available coaches, so I get the idea behind doing something outside of the box.
From everything I read here the guy sounds like the polar opposite of BoMel in terms of energy/excitement etc.
I didn’t mind Melvin but so often it just felt like he was throwing his hands up when things got bad and at the same time had this weird “ah shucks lucky us!” attitude when things went well. He was so passive all the time, he was incredibly frustrating to watch.
The Giants need a real leader in the clubhouse. Personally I think this sounds very exciting. Posey is such a risk taker, it’s exactly the kinds of things they need to try if they aren’t going to have a billion dollar payroll to keep up with the bums.
This is a great hire. Posey taking risks that are well worth the upside vs going for the revolving door of MLB managers.
cool. win ballgames.
10 years ago, he would have struggled in the majors. Not saying he would have not adjusted. Today’s game is much closer to College. I think he’s the perfect choice. This is who I want.
![[Rosenthal] Giants closing in on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as next manager: Sources](https://www.rawchili.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/cPm7nVkc0aXBtIeL5pyGiyA5a2EDUM5bEgYTR7tST_g.jpeg)
49 comments
Interesting (potential) hire. I don’t think we’ve ever seen a manager jump from college straight to the big leagues.
Has an impressive resume tho. Dude took Tennessee from the laughingstock in the SEC to a national powerhouse.
This is gonna be a great hire. Maximize Gilbert with his college manager.
I don’t know how to feel about this
Nice I love this
I love it. I don’t think I could love it any more.
Well, that’s fucking interesting man!
Dude hell yea! You don’t hire this guy if you aren’t incredibly confident in him.
College managing in the NIL era is so all consuming that I don’t see how the various skills won’t translate to some degree.
i love this
as a giants/ vols fan, this is like christmas for me. he is the real deal. save this comment and come back to it!
YES. Please Buster, please.
Ya know what, I don’t hate this
Please go for it. New ideas!
Super interesting choice!
Honestly super interesting and I love the idea. Dude has been super successful and should bring something we’ve been missing.
I love it. Something new. Something different. Not just an old recycled dude with no motivation. You dont think posey knows what a good leader and baseball guy looks like? Im excited
FWIW, there will be no Sleepy Vitello memes
Where did this even come from? Like UT to SF seems like such a weird connection lol
I’m not saying its going to work because what do I know about this guy, but I do like that Posey isn’t just hiring a friend / former teammate. They really need to hire people on merit, not just “hey I played with him and he’s a “gamer”.” And I think getting an outside perspective is really necessary after years of mediocracy.
they chose traditional last time, didn’t work, why not go nuts
Very interesting
Regardless how it ends up in 5 years I love them doing something new and not being the same old giants!
Unsure about the transfer between college baseball and MLB. But he has proven to be a winner. I take it over a boomer manager.
Knowing absolutely nothing about TN collegiate sports, I could see the benefit of having a college experience manager when we go into drafts and development of AA and AAA ball clubs and the coaches that go along with it.
Could be interesting
Handsome.
This is gonna be sick
Super excited, I want to see new ideas. Hope it gets confirmed soon.
He’s different than MELVIN in almost every way and that alone makes this great.
I love it. Didnt think he’d want the job. Watch Tennessee highlights, the dude has Gilbert-like energy when he needs to but also a good manager. Best part is he’s gonna bring the passion necessary to defeat the grand satans down south.
He’s my top choice, I hope this pans out
Going from sleepy Bob to this maniac. Talk about a 180. I’m excited.
This is awesome I’m just wondering what it will be like with his personality now that he’s coaching big leaguers will they buy in?
As a displaced Giants die hard in TN I’m thrilled for this. Tony is a regular at my oldest’s job and he says he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. Our entire household is very excited. Hope it’s real!
Bold, outside-the-box thinking: I like it!
How often does this happen a college baseball manager goes straight to managing a team in MLB? I know the NBA and NFL have had a few examples of this over the years but I can’t think of another example of this happening in MLB off the top of my head.
Make Crazy Crab one of the coaches.
That’s nuts… I love it
Fuck it, let’s do it. Give me an anti-Melvin after these past two years.
Great hire, imo. Tennessee baseball has become a powerhouse under Vitello largely because of his eye for talent and ability to develop.
In 8 years, Vitello took Tennessee from a team that was 7-21 in conference play to 125-85 in SEC play, a CWS, and multiple deep tournament runs. All while teams in the conference constantly threw more and more resources towards the sport.
Super excited for this. I think it’ll be an incredibly fantastic and shrewd hire by Posey.
I have a mixed initial reaction not gonna lie:
1. Skeptical and nervous – Baseball is hard, really hard. The jump between Triple A and the Majors is big enough, so a jump from the collegiate level to the upper echelon of the pros can not be understated. I hope Vitello surrounds himself with as much pro assitants that he can, and that he has a vital support system to help him navigate the grind of the show. There’s a difference between a 65 game regular season vs 162, understanding major league pitching, hitting, dynamics, etc. I don’t think it’s foolish to say that the learning curve for managers and players in the Majors is always going to steep, so I don’t expect this to be any different.
2. Excitement and curiosity: Despite knowing the potential baptism of fire Vitello might have at the major league level, there’s still some good things we might look at. For starters, his resume at the college level is absurd, as he was one of the key figures that turned the University of Tennessee into a college baseball powerhouse. He’s described as a fiery individual, a players’ manager, and a complete 180 on the Giants modus operandi. One of our biggest complaints last year and the past few seasons lately is the Giants are far too conservative, playing it safe, passive, and within our means. Not only is Vitello the opposite personification of those ideals, but for Posey and the Giants, it shows they want radical change in the clubhouse.
We shall wait and see, to TLDR – Nervous because the gap between MLB and college is wide as fuck, learning curve will be steep. Excited because it’s a new direction the Giants are taking, showing Posey is willing to roll the dice, and Vitello has great praise from his colleagues and players.
I like this more than Hundley
i kind of like this energy he brings [https://x.com/BaseballAmerica/status/1805436525947023461](https://x.com/BaseballAmerica/status/1805436525947023461)
This feels like the kind of guy the giants need. Take a big swing on a riskier hire.
I didn’t think they’d be able to convince him to leave Tennessee.
A college coach with no MLB or MiLB experience of any kind is certainly a risk.
But, TBH, this felt like a pretty underwhelming crop of available coaches, so I get the idea behind doing something outside of the box.
From everything I read here the guy sounds like the polar opposite of BoMel in terms of energy/excitement etc.
I didn’t mind Melvin but so often it just felt like he was throwing his hands up when things got bad and at the same time had this weird “ah shucks lucky us!” attitude when things went well. He was so passive all the time, he was incredibly frustrating to watch.
The Giants need a real leader in the clubhouse. Personally I think this sounds very exciting. Posey is such a risk taker, it’s exactly the kinds of things they need to try if they aren’t going to have a billion dollar payroll to keep up with the bums.
This is a great hire. Posey taking risks that are well worth the upside vs going for the revolving door of MLB managers.
cool. win ballgames.
10 years ago, he would have struggled in the majors. Not saying he would have not adjusted. Today’s game is much closer to College. I think he’s the perfect choice. This is who I want.
Sure why not