New San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello admitted it was difficult to leave his job as Tennessee baseball coach but ultimately called it the correct decision to make the unprecedented jump straight to the top of a major league clubhouse.
“It was selfish. It was personal reasons,” Vitello told reporters Thursday, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. “I have always tried to be a good teammate, but I feel like I made a selfish decision that was one I needed to make. It was the right decision.”
Vitello’s hiring marks the first time a big league team has hired a manager directly from a college program without any experience as a professional coach. Vitello was first publicly linked to the Giants on Saturday, when he was identified as the favorite for the job, but he said no decision had been made at that point and expressed some frustration at how the hiring process played out in the media.
“I did not have anything to do with that, and it put everyone in a whirlwind,” Vitello said as part of a lengthy statement. “Now that we look back on it, I think [it] was unfair. Hopefully, people don’t think I’m a diva because that’s kind of how it seemed to play out.”
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He said he leaned on “anyone and everyone” as he tried to decide between his two options. He ultimately chose the Giants, who announced his hiring Wednesday.
Now Vitello, 47, is taking over a San Francisco team that has missed the playoffs for four straight years and is coming off an 81-81 season. He heads to the majors after leading Tennessee to a 341-131 record, three appearances in the Men’s College World Series and a national title in 2024.
This Thursday, Vitello would answer questions only about his Tennessee exit. He is set to address his role with the Giants in an introductory news conference next Thursday.
As Vitello weighed his managing future, Tennessee fans made themselves known during a scrimmage Tuesday, chanting for him and hanging a sign asking him to stay. Though he ultimately chose to leave, Vitello expressed his gratitude to the Volunteers supporters.
“If that is the last time I ever stepped foot on this campus or this field as an employee or as a Vol wearing our orange, I’m just so thankful for the people that showed up,” Vitello told reporters. “It will forever be ingrained in my memory, and it made what was the last day on the job, technically, very, very special.”
