In case you forgot, 49ers president of football operations and general manager John Lynch knows a thing or two about baseball.

The Pro Football Hall of Famer initially was a minor-league pitcher after the then-Florida Marlins selected him in the second round of the 1992 MLB Draft out of Stanford.

Lynch, with serious baseball knowledge and an understanding of high expectations paired with questionable experience, chimed in on the San Francisco Giants’ decision to hire former Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello as the team’s new manager.

“Well, first of all, I’d tell you Vitello does have experience, just not at this level,” Lynch told KNBR’s “Murph and Markus” on Thursday. “I think some level of baseball is baseball; I think there’s some nuance and differences to running a big-league team right out of the University of Tennessee — sure. But I think Buster [Posey] was pretty forthright in the comments I saw. They needed to take a big swing, [and] they did. 

“I’ve had the opportunity to meet Tony on one occasion, and [he’s] a really impressive guy. I spent some time with him. He’s kind of like when people say, ‘That guy’s got that it factor.’ He has that. He’s got a big-time presence to him. He comes off as an easy guy to talk to. I commend [the Giants] for thinking outside the box.”

Lynch believes Posey made a move the Giants needed to make.

The 49ers’ executive also knows the Orange and Black’s new skipper himself, and generally sounds like a fan of the hire.

But most importantly? Lynch knows what it’s like to have his experience questioned, much like Vitello’s résumé and blank MLB service time currently are under a microscope. 

“And yeah, when I jumped into this, people did say that the lack of experience, in terms of front office experience,” Lynch said. “But I’ve said it many times, I knew that I knew football, and I knew that I knew how to lead people and bring people together; I felt like I could supplement the rest. And you have to be strategic about maybe supporting him. For me, obviously working with [Kyle Shanahan] was a big thing for me; we linked up first. 

“But then, it was important that I had somebody like [49ers VP of player personnel] Martin Mayhew, a guy I trusted implicitly. He was a teammate, he was a mentor of mine. But he had sat in my chair before. He had been the GM for the Detroit Lions … I think if Buster and them can come up with somebody who’s been a manager, maybe before was a bench coach at the big-league level; there’s ways to kind of supplement that lack of experience and support that.”

Lynch’s first GM job was the one he still has now. And when he was appointed to the role in 2017, his lack of experience was criticized.

He knows what Vitello and the Giants are going through right now. Yet Lynch seems confident in the hire and is hopeful that Vitello can find some resourceful mentorship to help him as he goes.

In Lynch’s case, things have worked out well in the Bay. Time will tell if Vitello has similar luck.

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