DEVELOPING: Giants “CLOSING IN” on Tony Vitello | Deal COULD FALL THROUGH | Inside the ESCALATION

DEVELOPING: Giants “CLOSING IN” on Tony Vitello | Deal COULD FALL THROUGH | Inside the ESCALATION

The Giants closing in on Tony Vitello. What I think about the hire and what happens if the whole thing falls through. That’s all coming up on Locked on Giants. [Music] You are Locked on Giants, your daily San Francisco Giants podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello and welcome to Locked On Giants, part of the Locked On podcast network where it’s your team every single day. My name is Alan Styles. On the show, we provide daily episodes Monday through Friday talking about the San Francisco Giants and a way that combines passion, analytics with the eye test and a little bit of fun. I’m from the Bay Area. I live in Sacramento now. And I host a show at Sacktown Sports 11:40, the Allen South Show, 10 a.m. 2 p.m. Be sure to check that out. As well as mcing Sacramento Rivercats games. All in all, I’m lucky enough to cover a team I’ve been a fan of all my life. Today we’re talking about the huge news with the Giants closing in on Tony Vitello. That report that came out this weekend, whether or not that’s the right move and what happens if the whole thing falls through. Today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. Okay, so I’m going to be very, very honest with all of you today. It was a confusing situation. my decision for when I wanted to do this podcast just with all of the different reports that have come out. And we’ll go through all of them as I I want to use this first segment as a as a timeline if you will because uh word on the street is that this thing could break any minute now. But the other part of this is uh I’ve been told and it’s been reported as well that there’s also an idea that this might not break until the ALCS is over. It’s just a courtesy that you don’t step on the toes of other teams when they’re still playing. So, keep a close eye. If the Mariners had won last night, that’d be different. But keep a close eye on tomorrow, right? Because obviously the Mariners and Blue Jays are going to close out their series. It’s going to be beautiful, beautiful baseball. Then after that, that little break, the mini break that the uh that the two teams will have, that is where the Giants may look to announce something. Not just the Giants, other teams as well. So, I’m sitting there and we’re going to our third pumpkin patch of October and I get a text from a couple different people because, you know, I was driving. So, when I get to uh when we get in the parking lot, I’m okay, my my watch is going off and I look down and it just says, “Wow, the Giants are going to college, right?” So, I’m thinking, “What? What?” In my mind, that’s that is the first thing I thought, but I got the kids in the back, you know, we’re we’re trying to figure things out. So, my mind wasn’t fully there. And then it came around to say, “Oh, okay. That’s what they’re talking about.” I see the reports from the Athletic as a whole about three different uh journalists, three different reporters that kind of collabed on it as the Athletic tends to do and the Giants are closing in on Tony Vitello. Later on, we saw from the SF Chronicle that Nick Hunley and they mention it in the athletic article as well, but Nick Hunley did end up dropping out of it. So, and I think that’s something else being buried that Nick Hunley, we know if you’ve been listening to the show and watching the show, we know that the Giants had Nick Hunley as number one, but uh it was just kind of out there. They already had said, “Hey, it’s yours if you want it.” Essentially, Nick Hunley sounds like he said, “No, thank you.” And the Giants had to move on. So, again, I tried to tell y’all that Buster has his priority list. Did I think Vella was number two on the priority list? I did not. I’m not gonna act like I knew that because this was something that I didn’t see coming. So, just quick note, if you weren’t able to read the athletic article, just a couple quick excerpts from it. Industry sources confirmed that the Giants are closing in on hiring Tony Vitello, a 47-year-old division 1 head coach who transformed the University of Tennessee from an SEC bottom feeder into one of the most talent-rich programs in the country. Buster was seeking a big personality who could imbue the Giants clubhouse with confidence and Vitello’s dynamism and charisma have been on full display in both his recruiting efforts and the Volunteers brash and buoyant style of play. Velo led his teams to three College World Series appearances in the past five seasons. That’s my biggest thing. I just didn’t think that this was the type of guy that Buster Posey would be interested in. It’s that simple to me. I didn’t think that Tony Vitello was Buster Posy’s style. A Buster Posey played with a Madison Bumgner who didn’t like people bat flipping. And I I feel like I am specifically uh put in this situation, right? And I’m right here for y’all because I watch Tennessee baseball. I’m one of look college baseball the the game is growing but I’ve been watching college baseball for a very long time so I feel like I am one of the most welle equipped people within Giants media to tell you exactly who Tony Vital is. I’m sure a lot of you have been seeing the the clips floating around when they won the College World Series. He’s jumping in the crowd. He’s sliding on the ground everywhere. That’s really who he is. And I think it has shown me and told me a lot about Buster Posie that you are not who your friends are. And Buster Posie coming up with Bum Gardner and the idea that hey, we’re much more old school. We don’t we don’t do any of that. That is why I’m the most surprised that Buster decided to go in this direction because Tony Vitello is unapologetic. Look at Drew Gilbert, right? Look at Drew Gilbert. And Drew Gilbert has not turned down at all, but Drew Gilbert has been a little bit different and he’s just kind of this very uh peppy teammate because Drew Gilbert is not hitting 360 or whatever he was hitting at Tennessee. Imagine Drew Gilbert acting the way he acts now, but with a ton of confidence cuz he’s one of the best hitters in the nation. And you all remember and go look it up, that bat flip when Drew Gilbert hit a walk-off grand slam. He threw a bat in the air so high. I don’t know that it’s landed yet. So, this is who the Tennessee Volunteers have been. This is who Tony Vitello has been. The same way we see it with Drew Gilbert. And you know who uh one of Tony Vitello’s favorite players ever is? Drew Gilbert. He said it when Drew Gilbert got drafted. He was talking with he was on with MLB Network because his volunteers get drafted all the time. So, maybe we should have seen the writing on the wall a little bit. And I I’ll kind of explain to you why as we’ve gone through some of these player profiles uh with the the Giants and their top 30 prospects. There has been a theme. So, we will discuss what that theme is. I still have more uh to break down as it pertains to what came out, why this thing is still a little wonky, and if you’re a Giants fan, why you should have some cause of pause, not for the hire, but how things are going. I mean, we’ve seen Carlos Koreah come and go. We’ve seen Arson Judge come and go, and things are a little bit strange as far as the timing on all this. The the one thing, and I’ll get more into this in the next segment, the the one thing is to remember that they did not want things to break during the ALCS. So, that is the hope that I’m holding on to as some people are wondering, well, why isn’t it done yet? So, we’ll continue to break that down. So, don’t move. We have more for you on the other side. More locked on Giants coming up. There’s nothing like catching a baseball game live. The energy, the crowd, the chance to see your team in person, but actually getting tickets, that’s the tough part. Cues, login screen, surprise fees. It takes all the fun out of it. That’s why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to fans. Game time is fast, easy, and backed by the Game Time guarantee. You’ll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included. So, the price you see is the price you pay. The app made it super simple. I could even see the exact view from my seat before buying. Fees are included. Know your total upfront with no surprise fees at checkout. I love the zone deals. You pick the section you uh you pick the seats or Game Time picks you the seats and you save big. Honestly, it’s faster, cheaper, and less stressful than any other way I bought tickets. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase. terms apply. Again, that’s promo code L O C K D O N ML LB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go download Game Time today. So, again, we are continuing with the the timeline conversation. Also, I have some of my thoughts on the hire. And again, this is kind of a weird situation because he’s not hired yet. So, I don’t really want to give my full thoughts on the hire until he’s actually hired. I’ve done this before with Carlos Koreah. I’ve done this before with Aaron Judge. So, I want to be very careful. Although, I know a lot of you want my thoughts on it. And my quick thoughts, I’ll say, is that I think it’s outstanding. I think I’m really proud of Buster for going in this direction. I also think this could be an absolute disaster if it doesn’t work out. But, you know, you got to be bold in life sometimes. And Buster Posie has essentially said, “I’m going to go out with a bang, and if we’re not going to be able to spend the type of money that the Dodgers spend, we have to attack this in a different way. We have to bring a certain uh swagger about us.” I know the kids say aura now, not swag anymore, but we have to bring something new about us that we haven’t seen before. And I think Tony Vital can do that. No disrespect to those that are already in the coaching carousel, but Buster is taking a, as the kids say, a daddy hack, right? Buster is swinging for the fences. And it might not work out, right? And Buster at that point, I think it would cost Buster his job, but fortune favors the bold, as they say, and he is going to go down in a blaze of glory. He’s not going to go down because he grabbed another coach from a carousel. And I get it. There’s other firsttime guys that he was interested in. But I think Buster’s point is if I’m going to get a first time guy, I want to get somebody that kind of speaks to what we’re trying to do and what we’ve represented. And as I’ve said, the writing has been on the wall. Let’s not forget all the guys that we’ve talked about in the player profile. Drew Gilbert’s already in the league. He’s with the Giants right now. They also traded for Blade Tidwell, who will be in the league next season. They got Gavin Keelin, okay, who is a top 10 prospect, right? Then they have Maui Ohuna, who I don’t believe we’ve done a player prospect on quite yet, but he’s another guy that ended up transferring to Tennessee. So that’s four guys in your top 30 list, and I know Drew Gilbert’s no longer a prospect technically because he’s in the league, but that’s four guys in your organization, highlevel prospects that the the Giants have taken with connections to Tennessee. So clearly they’ve liked what Tennessee is is doing and how Tennessee is building their program. That’s that’s obvious. So that’s where uh this thing starts to make a little bit more sense when you see the writing on the wall. I wanted to get to what Passin had to say and this show in particular. everything is going to kind of blend together a bit because there’s just so much to to discuss and I want to make sure I get out all the information and that we’re reacting to everything as well. Of course, put your comments, put everything uh in the the the YouTube on the YouTube page and you know, however you want to get at me at the underscore styles files styles with an I. So, this is what pass said and this is where people are are starting to get a little wonky, but I’d say don’t don’t worry quite yet. The decision on whether Tennessee coach Tony Vitello will be the next manager of the San Francisco Giants is expected to come in the next 24 to 72 hours. Sources uh tell me Vitello has emerged as the top target of the Giants, but sides have yet to reach a deal. Okay. And just as far as this being unprecedented, should a deal between Vitello and the Giants come together, he would be the first manager in MLB history hired directly from the college ranks with no professional baseball experience. The buyout on Bello’s contract at Tennessee is 3 million according to sources. They also go on to say that he definitely won’t be one of the uh cheaper coaches because he’s not one of the cheaper coaches at the college level. So, if you’re getting him to leave, I don’t think y’all understand. Tony Vital probably never pays for uh any type of food or any type of beverage, anything in Tennessee. Okay? He brought them that World Series, that national title. They haven’t been able to get it in basketball. They haven’t been able to get it in football. and they got it in baseball in one of the most uh brash ways possible. So Tony Vitello, a lot of people just love who he is and what he what he brings to the table. And did I initially think that Buster Posey would be one of them? No. But it goes to show that I’m learning about Buster Posey the same way we all are. Again, as far as the hire is concerned, the X’s and O’s, I think this is the same situation you see with uh and actually it’s not the same cuz he didn’t play in the major leagues, but a a JJ Reic, if you will, a JJ Reic and guys like that. I I think more JJ Redic Kirk because Steve Kirk was at least around and he was in a front office as well. But Tony Vitello, no connection to the pros as far as I’m concerned. And that is a little alarming. It is a little alarming, but I think that you have to just go for it. You know, I I like what I like about it, and I’ve seen a couple different things come out. This is from John Sheay, who says, quote, “He’s the guy who probably convinced Buster Posey he could beat the Dodgers.” An industry source said of Tony Vitello. No doubt in my mind he walked in and said that just give me the horses. So that’s just the type of uh the confidence that Buster Posey is looking for that he hasn’t really had, right? Or I guess he feels like the organization hasn’t had. There were also some notes that I saw about uh the actual X’s and O’s that a lot of people aren’t talking about, but the actual X’s and O’s when it comes to what the Tennessee Volunteer Program has created, what they’ve done, how they’ve uh how they’ve put guys in a better position to throw harder to Here we go. This is from uh fan graphs, right? So, this says, “Here’s Vitello from July talking about conditioning that resulted in vo and power jumps. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Giants tried to get on board with this throughout the organization. Me and Frank talked about wanting to pitch and throw strikes and play defense. If we planned anything, it was said by it was that Velo says, but what came out of it was all these guys making VO jumps and then our guys hitting for power. I come back to our strength coach for a lot of this. Conditioning is a big thing. Vitello noted with some pride that Doyle dropped 19 pounds of fat during his junior year, which contributed to his superb drafty year performance. Vitello says getting into Tennessee’s conditioning program can be a tough transition for some players. There ends up being not even a lovehate, just a hate relationship there, Bella says. But with Liam, he was determined to get it. So even though he was getting his butt kicked the first month and really couldn’t keep up with the group, he was very determined to get through it. So again, if you’re drafting guys that are these older players, right, from college, and we know that since 2020, these guys have been accelerating their process into the big leagues. Why wouldn’t you bring somebody else that can speak their language and that is used to some of these college players? Now, this is that is a not a tiny portion, but that’s just a small portion of what Tony Bello’s job is. But I think that Buster sees it as uh the the beginning of a of a foundation, right? And this is who we are. This is our voice. This is what everybody knows about us. We take college guys and we take dudes that are pretty much ready to go and we get them to the next level. As well as taking swings on international guys that they feel Vitella will be able to speak to as well because he’s normally he’s used to bringing in freshman and younger guys. Now, he’s not going to be working with these kids daytoday, but he will, I I would assume, change the whole organization and the process in the farm system to represent who he is. And we talked about different jumps from AAA to double A, things like that. That is a a big big change and a big big stance on creating a new uh profile on who you are as an organization. And you you have to do new things, you know, you have to do it. You have to say, “Hey, this is who we Look, I know a lot of people don’t like the the Astros because of the cheating thing. So, I am not applauding the Astros obviously for that, but the Astros, they created an identity of who they were and they stuck to it. Not the cheating, but how they drafted and who they wanted to go after. The Red Sox did it with the hybrid moneyball model. The A’s did it with the moneyball model. You have to, if you’re not going to be able to pay the the likes of the the Dodgers and things like that, you have to do it in a different way. And that’s what Bosi is going to attempt to do here with Tony Vital possibly joining the crew. And the reason I say possibly is because there’s still a lot out there. What happens if it falls through? I have some notes from Kendall Rogers who is huge in the college baseball world. And he has some notes that would make Tennessee fans feel good and make Giants fans feel not so good. Do not move. One more segment with you. More locked on Giants coming up. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer you don’t want to miss. Right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks. And if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. What I love about FanDuel, I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. I’ve built parlays, tried player props, and even followed the live lines during games. It makes watching football even more exciting when you’ve got a little something riding on the action. Whether you’re a casual fan or love diving into the stats, FanDuel makes the game day experience so much better. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. So, what happens if this thing falls through? I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen, but some people think it’s weird that this thing isn’t done yet. I’m not one of those people because Tim Kawakami said this would happen within the next couple days. I’ve also been told, again, as I mentioned, it’s kind of a unspoken rule that these things don’t happen while a series is going on, especially at game seven. So, I’m not really too worried about it quite yet, but I can understand why some people may be. I can understand why some of you may be scarred from the Aaron arson judge thing, from the Carlos Koreah thing. I completely understand it. But let me tell you right now, I am not worried yet. If nothing happens tomorrow after game seven is over, then I would say, “Okay, something weird is going on.” But I’m not worried quite yet. This is what Kendall Rogers of D1 baseball had to say, and he’s very, very plugged in on the college side of things. I was told a couple weeks ago, the sides had very, very serious interest. Things went quiet for a bit and now this interesting sequence of events, the behind the scenes info and the Giants insiders confirming everything on the pro side gives series credence. But again, the longer things are drawn out, the better it just might be for UT talking about University of Tennessee. So, he was at practice yesterday, Tony Vitella was. and everybody look, University of Tennessee, one of the uh largest followings in all of college sports. And they they have all their people out there and hey, he was at practice and it’s all good. Blah blah blah blah blah. Look, I don’t know if it’s all good or not. All I know is, well, isn’t he still the coach? Isn’t he still the co Why wouldn’t he be out there? Again, I’m looking at this from the pro side of things. I’m looking at this from what Tim Kawakami is saying with other what other people are saying. Let me know. I am not worried unless nothing comes out after after this this series is over after tonight when the Mariners who are in a tough spot now as they weren’t able to win yesterday. Great series. Mariners taking on the Blue Jays. They win. I would expect an announcement tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen tomorrow then yeah I would be a little worried. The other part of it too is the money aspect and the whole buyout. Look man, we understand that the Dodgers are on a level another level, but the Giants got plenty of cash. Okay, so if they really want Tony Vitello, this buyout thing should not be a question at all. I think it more so comes down to is Tony Vitello in in some capacity getting cold feet. Tony Vatello, like I said, you go from being a a big fish in a small pond in Tennessee baseball, it was a really small pond as far as SEC baseball is concerned, and he turned it into a bohemoth. And it probably feels like his baby, right? So, he’s going to leave his baby to take a chance uh in the bigs, do something that nobody’s ever done before, and I’m sure that’s a little bit scary. So, you know, some have been discussing, is this a matter of cold feet or or something like that? I don’t know. But all I know is it’d be really hard for me to leave. There’s a reason. I know Nick Sabin did mess around for a second uh in in the NFL and then come back. But this college to pro thing, you get treated a lot differently. Even with NIL, he has a great system. Not to mention those, and I and I said this a couple weeks ago, those home run numbers, those power numbers. Let’s just say playing at Lindsay Stadium, Lindsay Ballpark, is not the same as playing at Oracle Park. So, there’s a lot of things that are going to have to translate for Tony Vital in order for this to work. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s just a little bit of uh I don’t know, you know, I the the money’s good, but the money’s pretty good here. And and it really comes down to how much he wants to challenge himself. And I don’t say that in a negative way at all as if if he doesn’t want to go to the bigs. He doesn’t want to challenge himself. He’s put this himself in this position. There are a bunch of other coaches, college coaches that they’re they don’t even pick up calls. Why would they? You know, this is something that has never happened before. The only time it’s happened, there have been college coaches, but they’ve all been connected to a major league team, right? They were with the Yankees or they were with somebody, then they came back. Nothing like this has ever been the case. So obviously he’s going to take his time and try to figure it out. What happens if it falls through? Real quick on the Nick Hunley front, he did decide that it was better for his situation and his family. And I would I don’t know. I you never say never, but I would feel like that might be the one of the last times that Nick Hunley gets a call. Look, I guess you hope it would be because that would mean that Tony Vital would work out, right? We don’t want to be sitting here in two years saying I wonder if Nick Hunley’s ready to say yes because that means that Tony Vatel didn’t work out. So this I guess you hope and again this is not anything against Nick Hunley but you hope this is the last conversation that the Giants have about Nick Hunley because that would mean that whoever they pick whether it’s Tony Vital or any of the other names it worked out right and either you know Nick Hunley maybe he decided to take a manager job a couple years from now somewhere else maybe the Padres’s recycle another guy in a couple years but that’s my take on it as far as he’s concerned, he decided or he cited family reasons. And we knew that was going to be the thing. And we knew it was always kind of uh not weird, but we knew that it was kind of fishy, if you will, when the report was that it was just out, right? And and Nick Hunley was basically mulling it over. That’s how I knew I just don’t think he’s going to take this job. Right now, I guess you could say the same thing. The difference is more logistics with Tony Bello because he is under contract. He’s going to have to they’re going to have to buy him out. So, ot. But, you know, the the TLDDR version of how I’m feeling, the too long don’t read version of how I’m feeling about uh the Giants making this move is I think it’s outstanding. I think it’s uh bold. I think it’s uh a risk. I think it’s exactly what Buster Posey uh wants to show the baseball world that he is not afraid to take chances and that you will have to deal with us. And we’ve seen the overcorrection before. By the way, I almost I almost finished the the episode without bringing up. Yeah, people are giving some Gabe Kavler comparisons, but that’s just any young coach. Any young coach could Gabe Kavler comparisons. I don’t know enough about Tony Vitella’s philosophy from an analytical standpoint, but people see a young coach and they say, “Is that what are we just doing? Gabe Kappler again.” So, every young coach is not Gabe Kappler. Okay. Can So, don’t be afraid about that. And Gabe Kappler was the last person to get the Giants to the playoffs. Don’t make me bring it up. So, there’s that as well. But I I think this is the the right move for Buster. We’ll see if it ends up working out. I I’ll give more of a take once it’s official, but I wanted to give you all the information and how I’m feeling about it. It was a crazy weekend and hey, maybe this thing maybe you’re listening to this and the news breaks, but I feel like it’s going to be tomorrow. I feel like it’s going to be tomorrow. So, we’ll keep an eye on that and and go from there. Thank you for listening to Locked On Giants. Uh please follow me on social media at the_styles Files Styles with an I. Thank you for making locked on Giants your first listen. For your second listen, find the all night locked on MLB game night every game every night until a World Series champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale. Find MLB game night on Locked on MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast. We will talk to you tomorrow, possibly with a new head coach. Until then, peace.

Over just a few days, the Tony Vitello-to-San Francisco Giants storyline has gone from rumor to reality. What started as light curiosity about the Tennessee head coach quickly turned into legitimate negotiations, with multiple outlets now reporting that the Giants are “closing in” on Vitello as their next manager. This episode unpacks the entire escalation—from Buster Posey’s first outreach to where talks stand now—and why the move, while risky, perfectly fits Posey’s vision of energizing the clubhouse with a bold, culture-driven leader. We break down the timeline, the reasoning behind the urgency, the remaining hurdles (buyout terms, staffing structure, lack of MLB experience), and what to expect next if the deal gets finalized. Plus, we react to Nick Hundley officially withdrawing from consideration, how that opened the door wider for Vitello, and why the Giants’ search feels like it’s approaching a franchise-defining moment.

0:00 Giants “closing in” on Tony Vitello
9:11 Thoughts on possible hire
19:15 Deal could fall through

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