Tony Vitello speaks to the press before San Francisco Giants spring training practice at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Tony Vitello doesn’t get a gentle introduction to his first season as a big-league manager: The San Francisco Giants open Wednesday against the Yankees in the official start of the 2026 Major League Baseball season.
He’ll be in the spotlight from the get-go. After six weeks of spring training, also a first for him, Vitello knows the regular season will be another beast altogether.
“It’ll be completely different from spring training, as far as the pace and the circumstances, the crowds are bigger,” Vitello said. “But I do think baseball is going to be the same.
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“Ready or not, here we come.”
Bench coach Jayce Tingler, who has known Vitello since they played together at Missouri, is not concerned about how Vitello will handle the new environment and the bigger stage, or a schedule that opens against the Yankees, Padres (in San Diego), Mets and Phillies — postseason contenders all.
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“He’s ready to go, and most importantly, the team’s ready to go,” Tingler said. “We’ve got a hell of a gantlet — the teams we open up with are predicted to be very strong, so it’s going to be a fun challenge. And it’s going to be a good test right off the bat Opening Night.”
Just as Vitello was learning about his new team and pro ball at the same time during the spring, everyone was learning about him. What we can glean most clearly from the way the Giants played during the Cactus League is that they will be aggressive, especially defensively and on the bases. They might also have a little extra fire.
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“Tony has a ton of energy, and I feel like that’s what he wants us to play with,” said Logan Webb, Wednesday night’s starting pitcher. “He brings a lot of passion and I think he wants us to play with passion. I’m not saying he wants us to play like a college baseball team, but I would say it’s more that the last couple years, there have been some lulls throughout the season. I think he’s trying to stay away from that, which is good.
“We’re playing really hard. I’m not saying that we weren’t playing hard before, but it’s very aggressive, that’s kind of the new wave of baseball, and that’s how a lot of good teams are doing it.”
While some might second-guess hiring a manager with no pro experience of any kind, the Giants players see the flip side: Vitello is completely undaunted by a high-profile job that ensures his every move will be extra scrutinized and that every losing streak will be a referendum on the “college coach.”
“There’s a presence there, there’s no fear — obviously this has never been done before, you just don’t see that,” catcher Patrick Bailey said. “But what really stands out is how he communicates, how he holds himself to a standard and I think we’re going to be held to that standard as well.”
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Vitello has numerous coaches on his staff with pro experience, including Tingler, the former Padres manager, and Ron Washington, who managed the Rangers and Angels. Maybe even more important, Vitello has a strong sense of what he doesn’t know, frequently mentioning how green he is or telling reporters they probably have better knowledge of a certain topic than he does (doubtful).
Manager Tony Vitello #23 and Infield Coach Ron Washington #37 of the San Francisco Giants talk during Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Andy Kuno/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images
The media will be one thing that changes substantially, particularly during the New York series. The manager interview sessions will be bigger, the postgame interviews televised. The lines of questioning might be more critical than what a coach in a college town might get — Vitello, for instance, said Knoxville, Tenn., media “felt like part of our family,” though he hastened to say they were businesslike. Vitello answers some questions by noting that reporters might be looking to critique his response or his decision-making, so he’s well aware he’ll be under a microscope.
Indications from spring are this won’t be an issue, Vitello’s beef with a report that jumped the gun on his hiring aside. He’s funny, speaks his mind and provides reporters with all the time they need, attributes that will go a long way as Vitello establishes relationships with local media members. And if you think “who cares?” it’s worth noting that the inability to deal with the media has sparked the end of more than one managerial career.
“It’s been similar, but it’s been twice a day instead of once a day — so I’m getting a lot of reps,” he said when asked how he was finding the big-league media experience. “But I appreciate you all, good and bad, whatever comes of everything, appreciate y’all letting everybody know what we’ve got because, bragging on those fans we have, I know they’re interested in every little thing that goes on.”
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The other major difference from college and from spring training will be bullpen usage, a topic that has been brought up often since the Giants hired Vitello. During Cactus League play, relievers just need to get in their work, so there was no game strategy involved. The college game obviously doesn’t include games six or seven days a week, nor does it have a three-batter minimum for relievers.
“Once guys settle into a bullpen role, they’re more likely to be used back-to-back days, even three days in a row, and that’s pretty hard in college,” Vitello said. “Having more guys available might make things easier when you’re looking at the sheet, but I think things will be more difficult because everything is magnified at this level with what’s going on, who you’re going to pitch against this guy, bringing a guy in a certain situation. But at the end of the day, what you’re trying to do is have your starter leave the game with an opportunity to win, and after that, you’re trying to hand the ball off to the guy that the group feels like this is the best guy in this particular situation.”
Vitello got a look at the Cactus League teams — at least their big leaguers who played against the Giants — but he’ll need to get up to speed with every opponent quickly, scouring scouting reports before each series and breaking down potential matchups for in-game decisions.
Giants manager Tony Vitello talks the team during San Francisco Giants spring training practice at Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Vitello is also new to big-league etiquette, something he’ll have to learn on the fly. He usually knows what he doesn’t know, a great starting point for any leader, but there’s no handbook for a lot of the little everyday things everyone else just … knows. He has found himself even asking things such as where he should stand in the dugout.
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“I’m still learning what the unwritten rules of Major League Baseball are,” he said. “I kind of like the WBC is permission to act like an idiot, and the fans get into it a little bit, too. Where that line is between old-school rules and new-school behavior is a topic that keeps social media probably pretty busy.”
Will he cross a line somehow? Probably. He did so at Tennessee sometimes.
“Oh, I think we went over,” he said with a laugh about his team’s capacity for annoying opponents with celebrations. “You know, the Tennessee fans are about as avid as it gets in college, and I think the Giants follow suit with that, too. … I think baseball fans and Major League Baseball are craving as much personality as possible.”
Tingler said he thinks Vitello is curious to know about big-league etiquette, “but I don’t think he really cares, because I think he’s going to do things his way, and that’s what I’d encourage him to do.”
Vitello had a much smaller coaching staff and support staff at Tennessee, so he’s used to doing things for himself. He’s uncomfortable having someone else carry his bags, for instance, but he’ll just have to get used to some of the perks of the league. “There’s just an incredible amount of help,” he said.
The Giants finished the Cactus League 18-9-1 as they led the majors in batting average, finished sixth in runs scored and saw their pitchers finish in the top 10 in most categories with a solid defense to back them up.
It’s tough to take much out of spring training when so many minor-leaguers play in the latter innings. And lest anyone get too excited about the Giants’ record in Arizona this year: San Francisco had MLB’s top spring record in 2025 and finished 81-81.
But the play this February and March was crisp, the vibe positive, the lineup, outfield defense and baserunning better. An untested big-league manager certainly wasn’t holding the Giants back.
“I think he has absolutely passed every test and is just kind of flying through it,” Tingler said. “I think he’s doing an outstanding job.”
“We’re just playing well overall,” Webb said. “Whatever we’re doing, it’s working, so keep doing it.”