{"id":340876,"date":"2025-12-10T11:13:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T11:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/340876\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T11:13:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T11:13:18","slug":"giants-tony-vitello-on-playing-with-emotion-bryce-eldridge-and-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/340876\/","title":{"rendered":"Giants\u2019 Tony Vitello on playing with emotion, Bryce Eldridge, and more"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the Section 415 podcast wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Tony Vitello wouldn\u2019t be the Giants\u2019 manager right now if he was a perpetually low-profile guy, if he wasn\u2019t so gregarious, and if he always eluded the media lights and responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The random chaos of the winter meetings, though, can make anybody shrink away a bit. Especially in Vitello\u2019s first time through these proceedings, a few months after he was hired by Buster Posey directly from college coaching with zero MLB experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cDownstairs or in the lobby, it\u2019s been a little bit more of almost \u2026 I find myself keeping my head down,\u201d Vitello said on my podcast Tuesday from the meetings in Orlando. \u201cI\u2019m new to all this, so don\u2019t want to take up too much space or say too much.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut in the room, we\u2019ve been meeting in a suite with all the Giants reps. It\u2019s been a really inviting environment as far as just everybody speaking up on any topic or any player. We\u2019ve been conducting a lot of business in a way I think is very informal and collaborations at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitello has been a voice in the room and he can also read it \u2014 he made sure to mention the good vibes emanating from the mini-celebrations that have dotted the Giants\u2019 time at these meetings, starting with Jeff Kent\u2019s surprising Hall of Fame election<\/a> and including league-wide awards announced for public-relations chief Matt Chisholm and clubhouse guys Brad Grems (home) and Gavin Cuddie (visiting team).<\/p>\n

\u201cHigh standards for the Giants,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cIt validates what I thought when I first got hired. I was just like, \u2018Well, this guy\u2019s a superstar,\u2019 and then I\u2019d meet somebody else and say, \u2018This lady\u2019s incredible, her energy and how organized she is.\u2019 \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad I don\u2019t have to recalibrate my opinion on folks. We truly are surrounded by some superstars.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a hint about how Vitello will approach leading this roster through 162 games. He\u2019s going to read the room. He\u2019s going to try to understand and speak about everybody\u2019s strengths, then get everybody moving in the same direction, if possible.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019ll bust the Giants out of their four-year run of extremely mediocre baseball. Or maybe it\u2019ll make it worse. That\u2019s the grand experiment here.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s becoming quite clear that the Vitello Era will be interesting, that players will be encouraged to show their personalities, and that the energy levels will be amped up high.<\/p>\n

\"AVitello\u2019s Tennessee teams had a reputation for playing with intensity, passion, and emotion. | Source: Wesley Hitt\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cThey need to be comfortable in their own skin,\u201d Vitello said when asked what he encouraged from his Tennessee players and what he wants to see from the Giants now. \u201cAnd what kind of spun out of that was a lot of personality and a lot of moments that were well-liked. (Also), a lot of moments where you didn\u2019t see it, but behind the scenes I had to correct behavior and tell (Volunteer star and 2025 fifth overall pick) Liam Doyle, like, this is not a bar fight, this is a baseball game.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I would rather have guys playing too hard or showing too much emotion than not enough. I mean, the World Baseball Classic is one where there\u2019s probably several moments where it\u2019s like, well, that got too heated or that got outta hand, but I\u2019ll tell you what, that\u2019s entertaining baseball.<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

4 days ago<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday, Dec. 2<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you would never doubt that those guys are playing hard or that it means a lot to \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is that enough to chase down the two-time defending champion Dodgers \u2014 who just added the top closer on the free-agent market, Edwin Diaz, on Tuesday? Well, it\u2019s probably not healthy to get too focused on the latest addition by the team in blue.<\/p>\n

Vitello will have to overcome the Dodgers at some point to be remembered as a successful Giants manager, but he\u2019s just starting. He\u2019s meeting his new players. He\u2019s figuring out what the roster will look like when Posey and general manager Zack Minasian are done this offseason.<\/p>\n

The practical and healthy focus: Just to win as many games as the Giants can, preferably many more the 81, 79, 80, and 81 totals of the last four years, respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow can we become the very best version of who we are?\u201d Vitello said. \u201cNow that the season\u2019s over and I wasn\u2019t a part of it, so nobody slashed my tires \u2026 81-81 is kind of a fun number. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are sitting literally right at .500 and right at a breaking point where if you\u2019re worse, it\u2019s incredibly disappointing and you literally are labeled a losing team. And if you just teeter a little bit towards the other direction, not only are you a winning team, but you\u2019re pretty dang close to the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ThreeVitello joined Giants\u2019 president of baseball operations Buster Posey, left, and Zack Minasian at his introductory news conference in October. | Source: Amber Pietz\/The Standard<\/p>\n

Here are some other highlights from our conversation \u2026<\/p>\n

\u2022 Vitello tried to recruit Bryce Eldridge as a Virginia high schooler to Tennessee back in 2023 before Eldridge declared for the draft and was taken in the first round by the Giants. And now, after the organization\u2019s No. 1 prospect got a brief look with the big-league team at the end of last season, Vitello certainly isn\u2019t starting his evaluation from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s clearly got skill, but I think one of the reasons he\u2019s so highly thought of in the organization is one of the reasons we were so excited about him (at Tennessee) and thought maybe he would turn down the draft is he is a kid of strong value and strong character,\u201d Vitello said.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t sound like a manager who expects Eldridge to be traded soon. It\u2019s unknown what Posey will decide to do with the 21-year-old slugger who, as a left-handed, first-base\/designated hitter, overlaps with Rafael Defers. If the Giants need to put a valuable piece into the trade market to land a quality starting pitcher behind Logan Webb, it\u2019d almost have to be Eldridge.<\/p>\n

But again, it doesn\u2019t seem like Vitello is expecting that. When I asked if Eldridge can play first base at a major-league level, Vitello pointed out that he doesn\u2019t have a lot of experience there and has tons of room to grow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the thing you have to do is, again, backtrack to the foundation \u2014 he was a outstanding pitcher (in high school),\u201d Vitello said. \u201cSo that took away from a lot of reps. \u2026 The other thing is he\u2019s not exactly from Texas or Arizona or Southern California (where high-schoolers can play almost year-round). He has not played a lot of baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Vitello and the Giants haven\u2019t formally announced his full coaching staff yet, but most of it has been assembled \u2014 including the great Ron Washington and Vitello\u2019s old friend, former Padres manager Jayce Tingler.<\/p>\n

The emphasis, Vitello said, was on putting together a wide-ranging group that would be comfortable together.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of my input was, \u2018When I come to work, I want be excited about it and want to have fun,\u2019\u201d Vitello said. \u201cAnd certainly, in a first-year situation like this, where criticism\u2019s gonna probably come at a high level, like it or not, you want to have a loyal group around you.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo a lot of it was just like, who would I want to go get something to eat with? Who do I want to hang out with in the office extra time? Who\u2019s gonna be in the dugout after a tough loss you don\u2019t mind being around and going back into battle with the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitello said it was also very important, given his MLB experience, to have several former managers (Washington and Tingler) on his bench<\/p>\n

\u2022 Posey has mentioned several times he\u2019d like to see the Giants put the ball in play more often \u2014 the way Toronto did on its way to almost knocking off the Dodgers in the World Series. Vitello said that\u2019s definitely an area of emphasis this offseason, along with a few others.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just an area to improve upon, if you will,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cBase running\u2019s come up as well. Outfield-play defensively has come up as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Posey asked Bruce Bochy (who visited Vitello in person) and Dusty Baker (by phone) to talk with Vitello during the hiring process. I asked Vitello: Were these talks more of an interview situation or an oh-my-I-just-talking-with-a-legend situation?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more of hang up the phone, call somebody and say, \u2018Holy shoot, you won\u2019t believe who I just talked to\u2019 \u2014that was literally the immediate follow up to talking with Dusty,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I should admit that or not, but visiting with him was just an honor in general, but then it was real educational and for me it was more about just asking some questions and, and trying to learn.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then doing the same with Boch was great, but even better because I got to hang out with him in person and we met up and my parents were with me and how kind he was to my family, kind of overshadowed everything that was baseball talk. But the baseball talk was pretty special as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"TwoBruce Bochy, left, returned to the Giants this offseason as a special advisor to Posey. | Source: Tony Avelar<\/p>\n

\u2022 Vitello said he hasn\u2019t had a chance to talk with Joe Maddon about the longtime former manager\u2019s comment<\/a> on KNBR that Vitello\u2019s hiring was \u201cinsulting\u201d to all the people who have gone through the ranks in professional baseball.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cBut if I did, I would say thank you. One of the best moments I\u2019ve ever had in my life was going to Game 7 of the World Series when the Cubs won (under Maddon in 2016). My dad is from Chicago \u2026 for that pinnacle moment to happen and for us to be there in person. And I think Joe was incredibly instrumental with that group …<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he was defending his peer group more than he was attacking me; and even if he was attacking me, I think if we did get to have that conversation, he would be appreciative of how I\u2019ve looked at him as a coach and the things I\u2019ve said about him and the examples we\u2019ve used of him to coach our team at Tennessee, I think would be pretty cool for him to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[12402,363,2329,99,130744],"class_list":{"0":"post-340876","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-buster-posey","9":"tag-mlb","10":"tag-san-francisco-giants","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-tony-vitello"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=340876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}