SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Tony Vitello, Jayce Tingler and the Missouri Tigers wanted one last hurrah.<\/p>\n
Following the Tigers\u2019 loss to Mississippi State in the 2003 NCAA Starkville Regional, Vitello, Tingler and Missouri\u2019s baseball team returned to Columbia, Missouri and convened at Harpo\u2019s Bar and Grill. Vitello, a volunteer coach, and Tingler, a departing senior, chatted over drinks. Vitello recalls the conversation vividly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember talking about a coach that I admire and look up to in college baseball.\u00a0He said, \u2018You can be better than that guy.\u2019 I never forgot that,\u201d Vitello recalled on Saturday morning. \u201cI know exactly where I was sitting. I know what was going on. Obviously, I wasn\u2019t overserved because I remember exactly what he said and it stuck with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for whether Tingler remembers the conversation?<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the days at Harpo\u2019s I do not remember,\u201d Tingler said with a smile. \u201cBut Tony\u2019s always been different. He has always connected with people, players. \u2026 I think it\u2019s maybe one of his best gifts \u2014\u00a0he\u2019s got a lot of gifts. But the way he can communicate, the way he can connect with people, he\u2019s always been different.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than two decades later, Vitello and Tingler are reunited in San Francisco, their first opportunity to work together since Vitello was a coach and Tingler was a player on that 2003 Missouri team. Vitello has never spent a game in a major-league dugout, but Tingler, his bench coach, provides a lot of invaluable experience and insight.<\/p>\n
It doesn\u2019t hurt that the two are buddies.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I could get vulnerable for a second, you need co-workers and you have to lean on people, but you also need a friend,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cI think having somebody who\u2019s lived out about every scenario you can in this game, it\u2019s valuable on the work side but also on the personal side.\u201d<\/p>\n
There aren\u2019t many responsibilities that the 45-year-old Tingler hasn\u2019t had over two-plus decades in pro ball.<\/p>\n
Tingler spent the last four seasons as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins under Rocco Baldelli, where he had an opportunity to work with new second baseman Luis Arr\u00e1ez. Before his time in Minnesota, Tingler managed the San Diego Padres in 2020 and \u201821, finishing second in the 2020 NL Manager of the Year voting.<\/p>\n
From 2007-19, Tingler took on many different roles in the Texas Rangers\u2019 organization. That included being a coach (\u201807) and manager in the Dominican Summer League (\u201808-\u201809); a major-league field coordinator (\u201815-\u201916); an assistant general manager (\u201817); interim bench coach (\u201818); and major-league development field coordinator (\u201819).<\/p>\n
With his experience, Tingler hopes to help Vitello \u201ccover some blind spots\u201d during spring training and the regular season, crediting catching coach and field coordinator Alex Burg for helping with the day-to-day schedule. Along with Tingler, infield coach Ron Washington, who worked with Tingler with the Texas Rangers, will be an invaluable resource.<\/p>\n
When it comes to getting Vitello up to speed with all the ins and outs of the rulebook, Tingler joked that the Dodgers\u2019 field coordinator Bob Geren is the only person in baseball who knows every rule aside from the umpires. Tingler said the Giants are looking at \u201cbizarre plays\u201d and that the staff is constantly studying from a video list.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be times when I\u2019m working maybe two innings or three innings in advance and giving him ideas, but I want to make sure he\u2019s staying present,\u201d Tingler said. \u201cI\u2019m going to give him options on moves and scenarios. \u2026 We play 162 (games). The plan is to play more than that.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to have some things come up, and between myself and the staff, our goal is to handle some things and keep as much off Tony\u2019s desk \u2026 as possible so he can do his job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Before his four-year pro career, which peaked at Double-A, Tingler was a standout at Missouri. Vitello, though, didn\u2019t think Tingler looked the part when he met him for the first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cJayce, now, is physical, but back then, whatever he was, he was small,\u201d Vitello said in December at MLB\u2019s Winter Meetings. \u201cAnd I was like, \u2018Who the hell is this guy?\u2019 It kinda boosted my immediate confidence. I thought, \u2018Maybe I could make this team.\u2019 It turns out he was our best player. He was also our best competitor, and he also became one of my best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
In college, Vitello and Tingler eavesdropped on opposing teams\u2019 Thursday night practices. Both were especially fond of legendary Texas coach Augie Garrido, who won five College World Series. One time, Oklahoma\u2019s coach thought Vitello was a groundskeeper and tipped him $100.<\/p>\n
Vitello graduated a year before Tingler but remained with the program as a volunteer coach. For the 2003 season, Vitello was ahead of Tingler in the hierarchy. They remained tight, but the dynamic had shifted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe about killed each other about 17 times that year,\u201d Vitello joked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would bang heads, and it was in a healthy way,\u201d Tingler said. \u201cIf he didn\u2019t think I was giving an effort, he was the first (to call me out). But he could do that because of the history and the relationship. I think the bottom line is, I feel accurate in saying he made me a better player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tim Jamieson, who coached both players at Missouri, recalls Vitello being the more intense of the two, but noted that neither of them ever crossed the line. Jamieson raved about their collective competitiveness, recalling that there was \u201cnever a point in time where they lost the fire or threw in the towel or quit competing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re two peas in a pod as it relates to the sport and how to go about winning, teaching, their knowledge and their passion for all that stuff,\u201d Jamieson, currently Missouri\u2019s director of program development, said. \u201cThey\u2019re both extremely competitive. \u2026 They\u2019re going to beat you. That was their mentality. They\u2019re going to find a way to beat you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe hasn\u2019t slowed down. He wants to practice jiu jitsu on me out there in the outfield,\u201d Vitello laughed.<\/p>\n
When Vitello started receiving interest from MLB teams a year or two ago, Tingler recalled telling Vitello to be very picky about the organization he chooses. Tingler\u2019s point: Teams will continue calling if he succeeds at Tennessee. Tingler didn\u2019t want to push Vitello in any particular direction when the Giants reached out, telling him to \u201cstay true to his heart and what his gut was telling him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tingler was a fan of the bold, brash Tennessee teams led by Vitello, whose energy and intensity became his signature. In the majors, Tingler expects Vitello to continue being himself \u2014 even if that means mixing it up every now and then.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an emotional guy,\u201d Tingler said. \u201cI think he\u2019s got some Italian blood in him and some Irish blood in him, so I\u2019d be surprised if it doesn\u2019t come out at times. But I expect him to be himself. That\u2019s worked and I believe it\u2019s going to work as well going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tingler was \u201cdown the line\u201d with several other teams this offseason but shifted gears when Vitello inquired about this position. While most bench coaches around baseball parlay their positions into managerial roles, Tingler doesn\u2019t have his eyes on his next move.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe when I was younger, I may have had those desires to manage,\u201d Tingler said. \u201cI\u2019ve managed. I\u2019ve got two young boys who are 14 and 12. If I\u2019m being perfectly honest with you, I\u2019m probably one of the few bench coaches in the league that has no desire to manage in the next few years. \u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t tell you that one day, my wife and I are empty nesters \u2014 and hopefully, if she does her job right, not me, and she gets both of them out of the house either to work or college \u2014 maybe that\u2019ll come back around. But right now, I\u2019m excited. I enjoy the bench coach aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dating back to their time in college, Tingler and Vitello always had a feeling that they\u2019d work together. More than 20 years after forming a friendship in Columbia, Tingler and Vitello will get that chance in San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey love everything they do. So, from that, you\u2019re going to get consistently great effort,\u201d Jamieson said. \u201cYou can\u2019t coach that. You can\u2019t teach that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. \u2014 Tony Vitello, Jayce Tingler and the Missouri Tigers wanted one last hurrah. Following the Tigers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":572925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2408],"tags":[5,5776,2178,162,5774,5775,853,4,5777,378,5778,66,4343,4340,4344,4341,4342,185],"class_list":{"0":"post-572924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-giants","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-bay-area","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-giants","12":"tag-giants-hq","13":"tag-inside-sports","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-peninsula","17":"tag-san-francisco","18":"tag-san-francisco-county","19":"tag-san-francisco-giants","20":"tag-sanfrancisco","21":"tag-sanfranciscogiants","22":"tag-sf","23":"tag-sf-giants","24":"tag-sfgiants","25":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116071374952127373","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=572924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/572924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/572925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=572924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=572924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=572924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}