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Giants’ Tony Vitello shows self-awareness in reaction to first MLB ejection
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- Giants’ Tony Vitello shows self-awareness in reaction to first MLB ejection
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An fired-up manager is often lauded as a leader of men when a ballclub is winning games, but when a team is losing, such a display is perceived as being desperate or unbecoming of an MLB skipper. When Tony Vitello of the San Francisco Giants got ejected amid a 3-6 start to the season, which descended into a 3-7 record by the end of Sunday, many people surmised that he was trying to light a spark in his squad. Regardless of his intent, the 2024 national champion took accountability .
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"I said one last thing just out of frustration or being all fired up that was complete nonsense," Vitello admitted after a 5-2 loss to the New York Mets , per KNBR. "I think it was misinterpreted a little bit, but if you're on the field that long and you're not a player, you're probably out of place a little bit."
The former Tennessee Volunteers manager was tossed in the bottom of the seventh inning after Jerar Encarnacion was called out for running inside the baseline on his way to first. An impassioned Vitello pleaded his case before earning his first MLB ejection. If he was hoping to motivate the club, it was not reflected in the scoreboard. The Giants fell apart in the eighth, blowing their slim lead and ultimately ending the four-game series with a third straight loss.
San Francisco is now 1-6 at Oracle Park this season. Tony Vitello was bound to draw attention just because of his lack of big-league managerial experience, but he is generating more headlines than the Bay Area probably expected in early April. And unfortunately, most of them are following losses.
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Giants ace Logan Webb , who threw seven innings of one-run ball on Sunday, is not worried about the team's slow start to the year. He is maintaining a big-picture outlook during this turbulent time.
"There's 152 games left in the season," Webb said, per KNBR. "I think before anyone hits the panic button you just gotta take a deep breath. We've played some good teams, just go out there tomorrow and try to compete."
The two-time All-Star is right. A 3-7 record does not always portend a catastrophic campaign. Fortunes can change in a flash several times during the MLB calendar. However, when a franchise that has posted four consecutive disappointing seasons struggles after plucking a skipper right out of the NCAA , fans will inevitably worry.
A Monday night win over the Philadelphia Phillies (5-4) would assuage some of that uneasiness.
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