New Giants manager Tony Vitello is making history as the first MLB skipper to earn a job having only coached at the collegiate level, but one of his former players believes the 47-year-old is more than qualified.
Veteran Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, who played for then-assistant coach Vitello at Missouri from 2004 to 2006, explained to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal last week why the ex-Tennessee coach will excel in the MLB ranks.
“It’s the competitiveness. It’s the fire. It’s the intensity,” Scherzer told Rosenthal. “And it’s the communication skills. He makes it so relatable. He’s such a players’ guy. He makes you want to run through a brick wall for him. He was perfect for me when I was in college. He helped even to foster my mentality and add to it, really helped bring it out of me. Mizzou was my ground zero where I really took off and his fingerprints are all over that. So I absolutely believe in him. He’s to this day one of my closest friends and I absolutely believe he’s gonna get it done at the big league level.”
It might be hard to find anyone more familiar with what it takes to succeed in the big leagues than Scherzer, an eight-time MLB All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion who most certainly is headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Vitello played a huge role in developing Scherzer into the player he is today — a skill that president of baseball operations Buster Posey coveted when deciding to hire the longtime college coach to be the Giants’ next leader. Vitello’s eight-year coaching tenure at Tennessee came after stops at Missouri, TCU and Arkansas, and he produced 10 first-round MLB draft picks with the Vols and 42 total draft picks since 2021.
Scherzer is more than confident that Vitello’s success connecting to college players and bringing the best out of them will translate to The Show.
“He’s going to get players to buy in,” Scherzer told Rosenthal. “I know there’s going to be this narrative that he doesn’t have any pro ball experience. But his ability to relate to players and his fire and passion for the game is going to resonate with everybody within that clubhouse. So I just don’t see that as an issue.”
After four consecutive seasons of .500 ball or worse, Posey and the Giants have decided to enter uncharted territory with their Vitello hire. But if Scherzer’s prediction proves true, the risk will be well worth the reward.
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