MLB Insider Tips Cap to San Francisco Giants' Tony Vitello
As San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello enters first Spring Training, MLB Insider paints solid picture of him.
Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Joe Rutledge with Giants Roundtable for Roundtable Sports.
By now, the San Francisco Giants fan base is probably tired of hearing that Tony Vitello is a first-year Major League manager that's come over from the University of Tennessee after a successful run leading the Volunteers' baseball program in the Southeastern Conference.
Well, thankfully, that may be the last time you hear it.
I don't think so, really, but this season, e- enlisting some of the surprises that he'll be looking at throughout spring training, MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic, who also hosts a show on SiriusXM MLB Radio and is an avid analyst on the MLB Network, mentioned Vitello as one of those surprises to look out for during spring training.
He's one of three rookie managers that are in the majors this year who haven't any managerial experience, the other two being Craig Stammen of the San Diego Padres and Curt Suzuki of the Los Angeles Angels.
Now, for Vitello, he has a couple of aces in the hole, so to speak, on his coaching staff.
Chase Tingler, who was bench coach for the Minnesota Twins and also was a college teammate of Vitello at the University of Missouri, is on his staff.
Another name to watch is veteran Major League Baseball manager and coach Ron Washington, who came over to the Giants after not being retained by the Angels after he left the team last season to undergo bypass surgery.
Washington is looking good.
He's in camp and helping players with their infield practice and work, and that's gonna be his job as infield guru, infield coach, if you will.
And he- Washington has a lot of experience in helping infielders across the majors in his stops with the Rangers, Angels, Athletics, and Atlanta Braves in improving their infield work.
So Vitello is not gonna go into this season without a couple of solid veteran hands he can lean into for experience and guidance throughout the season.
We'll see what Vitello can do, though, as spring training is here, and he's in camp with the pitchers and catchers right now, and the rest of the team will report pretty soon, and he'll be a full go.
And let's see what he can do during spring training.
