Former Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello was hired by San Francisco to fill its vacant managerial position in MLB on Oct. 22.
Vitello will look to join Bobby Winkles as college baseball national championship head coaches to also win a World Series title in MLB.
Winkles was head coach at Arizona State from 1959-71, compiling a 524-173 record, while leading the Sun Devils to three College World Series championships (1965, 1967, 1969).
Following his tenure at Arizona State, Winkles became a coach with the Angels in 1972. He was named manager in 1973. Shortly after he was fired by the Angels in 1974, Winkles was named third base coach of the Athletics, who won the World Series. He managed Oakland from 1977-78.
Winkles compiled a Major League Baseball managerial record of 170-213. He later served as a coach with San Francisco (1976-77), the White Sox (1979-81) and Montreal (1986-88). Winkles died on April 17, 2020.
Vitello compiled a 341–131 (125–85 SEC) record with the Vols, winning one national championship (2024), two SEC regular-season championships (2022, 2024) and two SEC Tournament titles (2022, 2024).
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