Why SF Giants’ Vitello wanted coaches with ‘something to prove’

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tony Vitello’s staff is an amalgamation of coaches of different ages and different backgrounds who bring different experiences and different philosophies. To Vitello, there is one common denominator with his 13-person staff:

Hunger.

“I think there are a lot of guys in the group who have something to prove — whether it’s their first chance at something, maybe it’s a second chance at something, maybe it’s their last chance at doing something,” Vitello said. “I think that’s a theme that should serve us well.”

To Vitello’s point, his staff is filled with coaches who are stepping into roles for the first time.

For Hunter Mense, this is his first opportunity to be a head hitting coach.

For Justin Meccage, this is his first opportunity to be a head pitching coach.

For Shane Robinson (first-base/outfield coach), Hector Borg (third-base coach), Frank Anderson (director of major league pitching), Jesse Chavez (bullpen coach) and Christian Wonders (assistant pitching coach), this will be their first opportunities to coach in the majors. Additionally, Alex Burg takes on the additional role of field coordinator while continuing his duties as catching coach.

“I think there’s a sense of motivation underlying each individual’s own story,” Vitello said.

With Meccage and Mense, that motivation derives from the opportunity to run their respective departments.

Meccage spent seven seasons on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ staff as an assistant pitching coach and bullpen coach before being fired following the 2024 season. He spent ’25 as the pitching coach for the Brewers’ Triple-A affiliate, overseeing pitchers who helped Milwaukee post the best ERA in the National League.

Mense, who played at Missouri when Vitello was a coach, spent the last four seasons as an assistant hitting coach with the Toronto Blue Jays, one of baseball’s best offensive teams last season. The hope is that Mense can help unlock more offense with the team’s existing personnel, particularly with players such as Heliot Ramos and Jung Hoo Lee.

“If you talk to the people in Toronto, they give him a lot of credit,” Vitello said. “If you talk to Hunter, he gives all these other guys credit.”

While Anderson, Borg, Chavez, Robinson and Wonders have never coached in the majors, that doesn’t mean they’re lacking in their own forms of experience.

Chavez, 42, just wrapped up an 18-year major-league career. Robinson, 41, played nine seasons in the majors as well. Borg, 40, has held numerous roles with the organization since 2008 and also managed the Dominican Republic during the 2020 Olympics. Wonders, 33, specializes in biochemistry and spent seven combined years in the Padres and Rays organizations.

Among the major-league coaching neophytes, none have seen more baseball than Anderson, who brings more than four decades of collegiate coaching experience to San Francisco.

Anderson, 66, is the father of major-leaguer Brett Anderson and joined Tennessee shortly after the program hired Vitello. Alongside Vitello, the two helped usher in an era of excellence in Knoxville.

When Vitello addressed his pitchers and catchers on Tuesday, he told the group that he wants his staff to look like a “Frank Anderson pitching staff.” What defines a Frank Anderson pitching staff? Throwing strikes and being competitive. Meccage, not Anderson, will conduct the mound visits, but Anderson will travel with the team and have a hand in deciding personnel.

“I think it’s one of the reasons that Tennessee fans fell in love with the baseball team,” Vitello said, “is they could see the guy throwing the ball was literally putting his soul out there competition-wise.”

When it comes to the experience, Washington easily trumps every member of the coaching staff.

The 73-year-old Washington isn’t too long removed from undergoing a quadruple bypass heart surgery last summer, a procedure that forced him to step down in the middle of his second season as the Los Angeles Angels’ manager. It’s only been about eight months since the procedure, but Washington has been an active presence in camp, tutoring infielders such as shortstop Willy Adames and first baseman Bryce Eldridge.

Whether it’s playing, coaching or managing, there’s little, if anything, that Washington hasn’t witnessed on a major-league diamond over the last five-ish decades. For Vitello, the presence of someone like Washington was a necessity.

“We needed somebody in the dugout that can be the seen-it-all, done-it-all dugout guy,” Vitello said of Washington, who will also travel with the team. “There’s a lot of other benefits that come from having Wash around, but that was step one.”

Despite Washington’s experience as a third-base coach, Vitello said Washington was never in consideration for the role. That responsibility will go to Borg, to whom Washington can impart his wisdom.

During the first day of camp, it was Borg who ran Adames through Washington’s famous infield drills while Washington watched and provided feedback. Vitello believes Washington can be a resource for Borg, but also thinks Borg can be a resource for Washington, particularly when it comes to infield drills.

“Zoom calls are not fun, but if you’re on a Zoom call with him it is because you can feel his energy coming through the screen,” Vitello said of Borg. “I told Zack that I was going to quit this job, start a business and just hire him as an employee in order to ensure success.

“He’s an impressive person. He is a younger coach that’s incredibly eager to learn, and it’s been fun seeing him and Wash be hand in hand to each other for the first few days.”

While this staff features nine new coaches, there’s an element of familiarity for both Vitello and the players.

In addition to Anderson and Mense, bench coach Jayce Tingler was teammates with Vitello at Missouri. The two developed a tight-knit relationship, and Tingler, who spent two seasons managing the San Diego Padres, will also provide his own wealth of knowledge.

As for the players, this coaching staff features four holdovers from last year: Burg, assistant hitting coach Oscar Bernard, quality control coach Taira Uematsu and bullpen coach Eliezer Zambrano. And while Chavez is new to coaching, he’s bound to command the respect that comes with pitching nearly two decades in the majors.

“Everybody seems to know him and appreciate him,” Vitello said.