SAN FRANCISCO — Giants ace Logan Webb is a Gold Glove finalist this year and should again be listed on plenty of Cy Young Award ballots, but there’s one thing missing after an outstanding all-around season.
Webb wants nothing more than to return to October baseball, and those hopes are now in the hands of new manager Tony Vitello.
On a Zoom call with beat reporters, Webb said he texted Vitello as the deal was being made official and told him he was “super excited to see him lead the team.”
“I’m pretty sure I said ‘Let’s win the damn thing a couple of times while we’re here,’ ” Webb said. “You could see the passion. He sent me a long text. He was energetic, he was ready to go.”
Webb is the face of the franchise, but he said he was not involved in the search for Bob Melvin’s replacement. He briefly chatted with president of baseball operations Buster Posey at the end of the season and checked in again late in the search, but for the most part, he was just like Giants fans and spent his time following rumors from home.
Webb watched some of Vitello’s introductory press conference on Thursday and caught other highlights online. He also has spoken to Drew Gilbert and other big leaguers like Garrett Crochet, a former Tennessee star.
Vitello’s world is spinning right now, but at some point, he figures to make a mini-tour of Arizona and catch up with all of his stars who live there, including Webb. The ace said he’s looking forward to getting to know Vitello either in Scottsdale or San Francisco and is confident they’ll have plenty of conversations before camp starts in February.
“He seems like he has a ton of energy. He’s very smart and he brings a ton of passion,” Webb said of Vitello. “You talk to some guys that have played for him before — I heard Crochet say great things about him, Drew Gilbert, guys going to my gym that were recruited by him have the best things to say about him. I’m super excited. I know the guys are super excited.
“I think it’s going to be a healthy energy boost to our team and our clubhouse … you never know what’s going to happen, you don’t know what’s going to happen until you get to spring training or see it live, but as of right now, I think we’re all super excited about it.”
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