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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – New Giants manager Tony Vitello likes to ramble. He says so himself. He rambled Tuesday morning when addressing his pitchers and catchers for the first time in a group. He rambled some more when answering reporters’ questions. And he’ll likely ramble throughout spring training.
For now, everyone is OK with that. It’s who he is.
“I enjoy listening to him talk,” said president of baseball operations Buster Posey, who hired Vitello out of the University of Tennessee. “He’s usually good for four or five good one-liners through his rambles, and he’ll mix in some comedy. When he’s talking, even if he thinks it’s a ramble, you’re kind of hanging on the words that he’s saying.”
It’s part of the energy and passion that drew Posey to Vitello, who’s known as a communicator, motivator, and even an instigator and was brought in to move the Giants past their .500-ish mediocrity and into the playoffs.
Rambling or not, Vitello’s speech before the first pitchers and catchers workout hit home. Inside the Giants’ clubhouse at Scottsdale Stadium, Vitello introduced himself, shared his experience working with pitchers, and offered thoughts on building a winning culture and aggressively attacking opponents.
“You could tell there’s a lot of competitive spirit in him. He just wants to win,” ace Logan Webb said. “That’s pretty much what his message was. He wants us to all feel the way he feels, and I think it’s a great message.”
Ryan Walker, the leading candidate to assume the closer’s role, said, “The message was, when you put on the uniform, you’re like Superman. You go out with that mentality, and it’s, ‘All right, I’ve got the uniform on. I’m ready to go out and attack hitters.’”
New pitching coaches Justin Meccage and Christian Wonders said a few words to the group, and infield coach Ron Washington — who’ll help pitchers improve their glove work, not just position players — chimed in too.
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Vitello, who often shows signs of humbleness, came away from the speech saying, “At least everyone hopefully knows my name.”
When the speech ended, it was time to meet the press. Scribes covering the Giants who recalled the lateness of Gabe Kapler and promptness of Bob Melvin wondered how Vitello would compare. His first media session was scheduled for 9 a.m., and he was 18 minutes late.
Good reason, though: The speech went long.
“I rambled a little bit. I have a tendency to do that,” Vitello said.
Facing a throng of cameras, microphones, and notepads in the first-base dugout, Vitello was asked about the bullpen makeup (“it’s pretty wide open”), Bryce Eldridge’s chances of making the opening-day roster (“I think he’s just got to mature as a player; he’s incredibly mature as a kid”), and whether newcomer Luis Arráez could lead off (“I think so; I mean, he’s comfortable with it. I like debates”).
Arráez’s one-year, $12 million contract was made official Tuesday, and he took the roster spot of Randy Rodriguez, who was placed on the 60-day injured list to recover from Tommy John surgery.
Vitello’s answers weren’t exactly definitive, which was predictable on Day One for a first-year manager with no experience in pro ball. More will be known as camp progresses, and he’ll get more comfortable as he builds relationships with his players and coaches.
Say this for Vitello. He has personality. He can be entertaining. He can spin a yarn. He can go off topic at any moment. At one point during the briefing, he called Arizona the “Waymo capital of the world, which I think is kind of creepy” and admitted he has never stepped inside a driverless car. He said hanging with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan in a suite at the Super Bowl was “a goal and the best part. If it was a really good game, I would’ve missed a lot. Fortunately, it wasn’t a good game. I did see the streaker.”
Does Vitello talk about college ball and Knoxville and the Vols and the SEC too much? Probably. That will wear off, undoubtedly, but it was pretty much all he knew until the Giants called, so he gets a pass for now. Eventually, the only focus will need to be winning games in the big leagues and preparing his players for the next big moment.
On that note, Vitello finished his briefing and ventured to the back fields. Wearing No. 23 on his bright-orange jersey – a new spring training look for the Giants – and grasping a clipboard with the day’s schedule attached, Vitello oversaw his first official workout: pitchers throwing bullpen sessions, hitters taking batting practice, and Washington working his magic with Arráez, Willy Adames, and other infielders.
Vitello didn’t ramble. He mostly observed and took mental notes. A lot of decisions are coming. A lot of jobs are up for grabs. Nothing was settled on Day One, but it was an encouraging first step. Asked afterward how it went, Vitello smiled and said, “I followed [bench coach Jayce] Tingler around and listened to Wash for some good soundbites. Good day.”
The first impressions were good too.
“Vitello’s been amazing so far. We’ve connected well, and he keeps bringing up the fact that I chose Alabama over Tennessee, but I think we’ll move past that at some point,” said Eldridge, who committed to the Crimson Tide out of high school before signing with the Giants as a first-round draft pick. “He naturally connects with players, and it took one day for me to feel like, ‘Wow, OK, this is my guy.’ ”
It’s unprecedented territory for someone to step off a college campus and right away transition into a successful big-league manager. Not everyone in the clubhouse played in college, so not everyone fully grasps Vitello’s résumé. Third baseman Matt Chapman, of Cal State Fullerton fame, gets it.
“There’s going to be a learning curve in some areas,” Chapman said. “You can’t fully know how to run a major-league clubhouse unless you’ve been in one, but I think it’s not something foreign to him. He’s a baseball guy. He’s done things at a high level. So I think the transition will be smooth. Maybe there weren’t as many Spanish speakers at Tennessee and things like that, but we’ve got a lot of good guys in this room, and I don’t see any problems.”
Ditto for Posey, who shared an anecdote from the time a large Giants contingent went to South Korea to visit Jung Hoo Lee and promote the team’s brand. During a clinic for high school kids, Posey noticed Vitello transforming from bystander to a leader commanding everyone’s attention.
“You just saw a switch come on,” Posey said. “I saw it today in the meeting when he was addressing the pitchers and catchers. What I’ve learned about him is that he’s really good about turning that switch on when he needs to. He carries himself very confidently. He talked a lot about mentality and mindset, which I’m a big believer in. It’s hard to glean too much from the first day of pitchers and catchers, but we’re off to a good start.”