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New San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello will manage the 2026 Giants. Vitello is the first manager in MLB history to go straight from the college level to manage in the big leagues. (file photo Chattanooga Times Free Press)

by Stephen Ruderman

SAN FRANCISCO–San Francisco Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has made the unorthodox move of bringing in University of Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello to be the Giants’ next manager in an historic move.

When the Giants dismissed Bob Melvin as their manager on Sept. 28, there were numerous names floated around for who would be the team’s next skipper. From former Giants Nick Hundley, who was Posey’s teammate in 2017 and 2028; to even the legend himself, and Posey’s longtime manager, Bruce Bochy.

After two lackluster seasons under Melvin, Posey wanted to move the Giants in a different direction. Indeed he did, as he chose a college head coach in Tony Vitello to be the Giants’ new manager in an unprecedented move in Baseball History.

Vitello has been immensely successful as the head coach at the University of Tennessee for the last eight years, and he coached them to the College World Series title in 2024. However, Vitello has never been in organized baseball.

Vitello, 47, was born and grew up in St. Louis Missouri, where he went to De Smet High School. He then spent three years as an infielder at the University of Missouri from 2000 to 2002. 

Vitello transitioned into a coaching role as an assistant coach at Missouri in 2003, and spent eight seasons in that capacity. He went on to be an assistant coach at Texas Christian University from 2010 to 2014, and then the University of Arkansas from 2014 to 2017, before being hired as Tennessee’s head coach for the 2018 season.

There have been former college coaches who have managed big league teams. Brewers Manager Pat Murphy is the most notable. Murphy was the head coach at Notre Dame from 1988 to 1994, and then at Arizona State from 1995 to 2009.

Murphy started his career in organized baseball in the San Diego Padres’ front office in 2010 as a special assistant to baseball operations. He then managed in the Padres’ minor league system from 2011 until he was named the Padres’ interim manager in June 2015.

Murphy then spent the next eight seasons as the Brewers’ bench coach under his old pupil at Notre Dame, Craig Counsell. Murphy then took over as the Brewers’ manager in 2024, and got them to the playoffs in both of his first two seasons at the helm.

However, no one, at least in recent memory, has gone straight from being a college head coach one year to being a big league manager the next. Vitello may be the first in Baseball History to do so.

This is actually not uncommon in the NFL. Jim Harbaugh was the head coach at Stanford, and then was the head coach for the 49ers from 2011 to 2014.

There is always room for innovation in Baseball. Perhaps Vitello’s hire will start a new trend and custom in baseball of people going straight from being head coaches at colleges to being big league managers. How Vitello fares as the manager for the Giants will determine if that indeed happens or not.

FILE – Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello looks on during a baseball game against Stanford at the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Neb., June 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz, File)

Giants would be the First to hire a college coach

That’s Amaury News and Commentary

By Amaury Pi-González

In the history of the game, no Major League Baseball team has ever hired a college baseball manager to manage its team. The Giants are reportedly close to hiring Tony Vitello. Vitello would be the first manager in major league history to move directly from a college program to an MLB manager position without any previous experience in a professional organization.

Giants president Buster Posey leads the team’s manager hiring, reportedly targeting Tony Vitello for the role. Posey is part of the Giants’ ownership and has a key role in these decisions. Tony Vitello is the head baseball coach for the University of Tennessee Volunteers, who led the team to a national championship in 2024.

Common sense, and the conventional thinking for many would dictate that if a Major League franchise leaves their organization seeking to hire a new manager, it would be a man that already had managed at the Major League level, but if that is not the case, then the San Francisco Giants have seven managers at their minor league affiliates, including the Sacramento River Cats (Triple-A), Richmond Flying Squirrels (Double-A), Eugene Emeralds (High-A), and San Jose Giants (Single-A), plus two Dominican Summer League teams and one Arizona Complex League team.

The Giants could promote one of these managers to San Francisco. For example, Lenn Sakata, who managed the San Jose Giants for 11 seasons, has the most seniority among minor league managers in the Giants organization.

He holds California League records for wins (757), championships (3), playoff appearances (8), and years managed (11). He is well known and especially here in the Bay Area. So why not pick a man who has paid his dues and has been very successful in the minor leagues, like Sakata?

Of course, like the old saying, ‘it takes two to tango’, Sakata might not want the challenge. Perhaps the Giants’ top brass do not believe he has the leadership skills to guide their team at the Major League level. Buster Posey is the one doing the hiring. Buster Posey, a catcher, could also take the challenge to manage if he so desires.

Catchers are by far the most popular position where Managers come from. The Los Angeles Angels have hired former catcher Kurt Suzuki as their new manager. Suzuki, who finished his playing career with the Angels, has spent the last three seasons as a special assistant to the General Manager.

He replaces Ron Washington and becomes the team’s fifth manager since 2018. Suzuki broke into the major leagues with the Oakland A’s from 2007 to 2011 and later in 2013. He also played and caught for the Nationals, Twins, Braves, and Angels.

During his first season in the majors with the Oakland A’s, I remember Suzuki as a very studious, detail-oriented player —a good catcher, who knew the game and liked the challenge of catching and working game plans with all the pitchers.

When hired as the new Los Angeles Angels manager, Kurt Suzuki expressed his excitement about the opportunity and his commitment to the team’s future, and he expressed gratitude for the role after spending the last three seasons as a special assistant to the general manager. He said he is eager to lead the team as the full-time manager.

If the Giants hire Tony Vitello, it would mark the first time a Major League franchise hires somebody to be their skipper with no experience at the top level of the game. Will it work? Nobody knows. Time will tell. If I were a manager in the team’s minor league system and I learned that the team had hired someone who was managing in College, I believe it would be, in some way, a slap in my face.

At the end of the day, it is a business; this is professional baseball. List of all SF Giants managers from 1958 to 2025: Bill Rigney, Tom Sheehan, Alvin Dark, Herman Franks, Clyde King, Charlie Fox, Wes Westrum, Bill Rigney (again) Joe Altobelli, Dave Bristol, Frank Robinson, Danny Ozark, Jim Davenport, Dusty Baker, Felipe Alou, Bruce Bochy, Gabe Kapler, Kai Correa (interim) Bob Melvin.

Quote: “The secret of managing is to keep the guys who hate you away from the guys who are undecided”. Casey Stengel, Manager, Hall of Fame(1966)

Tennessee Volunteers head baseball coach Tony Vitello watches the football game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the UAB Blazers during the second quarter at Neyland Stadium. (photo from Yahoo News)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Giants are closing in on hiring University of Tennessee Head Coach Tony Vitello to be the team’s next manager according to news sources.

Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey has been searching for a new manager since he dismissed Bob Melvin from the post on Sept. 29. Several names have come up, such as Nick Hundley and Brandon Hyde. 

Tony Vitello’s name has also come up. However, hiring Vitello straight from the dugout of a college team, and bringing him right into the role of a big league manager would be an unprecedented move in Baseball History.

Vitello has his credentials. He has headed Tennessee’s baseball program since 2018, and led them to the college world championship in 2024. In his time at Tennessee, Vitello has built a reputation as one of the most respected college baseball coaches in the country.

There have been other college head coaches who have become big league managers, such as Brewers Manager Pat Murphy. However, Murphy managed in the Padres’ minor league system before becoming a big league manager.

Vitello was present at a team practice for Tennessee on Sunday, which caused speculation that perhaps he will not be coming to the Giants. However, no one can say for sure until the Giants confirm or deny Baggarly’s report.

This is a developing story.