Copyright The Mercury News
SAN FRANCISCO — Born a Midwesterner, adopted by Southerners, Tony Vitello was a long way from home when he was introduced Thursday as the next manager of the San Francisco Giants. It wasn’t, however, the first time the 47-year-old headed west while charting unfamiliar terrain. “He was probably the most passionate about baseball of all the players that we had,” Debra Cole said of the college-aged Vitello who arrived at their house in Salinas, some 100 miles south of Oracle Park, in the summer of 2001. “And, seriously, he was a whole lot of fun. But I can’t talk about that.” As he attempts to make the first successful jump from college straight to the major-league managerial ranks, Vitello faces a different set of challenges than his first entreaty to California. Back then, he slept in the bunk bed of the Coles’ elementary-aged sons and spent most of his time at Salinas Municipal Stadium, where he first played one season then got his start in coaching the next with the Packers of the California Collegiate League. More than two decades later, Vitello extended an invitation to make sure the family that hosted him then was there with him, again. Debra and her youngest son, Matt, now 34, were both on hand to witness the kid they hosted for two summers replace a black suit jacket with a No. 23 home jersey. “Isn’t that awesome? He reached out and said, ‘Come up!’ ” Debra said, fighting back tears. The Coles hosted players for eight summers, up to five at a time, “and all we ever did it for was to help these guys achieve their dreams.” The dream of one day donning a major league uniform hadn’t entered Vitello’s mind then, he admitted Thursday, seated to the left of a future Hall of Famer, Buster Posey, who ultimately made the final call on the unprecedented hire but credited general manager Zack Minasian with floating the original idea. It took years of climbing the collegiate coaching ranks, eventually turning a dormant program at Tennessee into national champions, before Vitello considered the idea of coaching at the big league level. Playing was never an option. “My skill level wasn’t very high (as a player),” Vitello said. “It was just so far above the clouds that I never even saw it. For me, as a coach, I was just trying to make my way. I was just trying to do a good job, and fortunately it helped me get to the next spot and then the next spot … and eventually this did become a dream. So it is a dream come true, but it’s a very recent dream. It wasn’t one I had for a while.” Vitello led the Volunteers to a .722 winning percentage over his eight seasons. Minasian said the interactions San Francisco’s amateur scouts had while evaluating their players — eventually drafting or later acquiring a handful of them, including outfielder Drew Gilbert and last year’s first-round pick, Gavin Killen — gave him the confidence that Vitello was up for the leap, which is common in other sports but almost unheard of in baseball. Traditionally, managers have typically risen through the minor league ranks and served on other staffs at the major league level before getting their first gig. They call it paying your dues. Greg Vitello, who raised Tony in the suburbs of St. Louis, says it’s “junk.” “That’s what I’m calling it right now,” Greg Vitello said of any doubts over his son’s lack of any professional playing or coaching experience. “His personality is such that he convinces people to trust him. I just think that if you can get people to trust you, that’s the most important thing. Being able to play minor league baseball or major league baseball, I think that’s inconsequential right now. I think it’s trust. His personality is built that way. He gets people to trust him, no matter what level you’re talking about.” A path to playing professionally may have never crossed Vitello’s mind, but a career in coaching didn’t seem so far-fetched to his father, who coached multiple sports for 46 years at DeSmet High School, where Tony eventually went to school and played baseball. On car rides home from games, Greg would pose questions to Tony about strategy and other players on the team. One of them was Bill Mueller, who would eventually go on to his own big-league career, playing for the Giants in 2002 and winning the World Series with the Red Sox in 2004. “I would put him on the spot because I coached by myself,” Greg said. “I would ask him, ‘What do you think about the third baseman? Should he be hitting third? Should he be hitting seventh? Do we need a new right fielder?’ Even though he was talking about his peers, he was willing to give me feedback and talk about that stuff. His insight to the game was just tremendous.” Vitello’s baseball acumen will show itself over time, but his personality came through seconds into his response to the day’s first question. His teams at Tennessee played with lots of passion and emotion, so how did he expect that style to translate at the major league level? “I think if you’d ask my mom, she’d want me to tone it down. But if you’d ask my dad, he’d say to kick it up a notch,” Vitello said, garnering laughs from around the room. It didn’t take long for Vitello to namecheck the Giants’ storied history, either, noting the “excellence” of former managers Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, the “toughness” of Madison Bumgarner and Sergio Romo and the “loyalty” of Posey and the “records set” by Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Tim Lincecum — all in his opening statement. “I’m fully aware of the tradition that’s here,” he said. Despite growing up near St. Louis, Vitello said his dad “kind of brainwashed me” into growing up a Cubs fan. His favorite player was Ryne Sandberg, one reason why he chose No. 23. (The other he gave: “It means you’re sandwiched between two legends,” i.e. Willie Mays and Barry Bonds). Greg, who took young Tony to games at Wrigley Field, kept using the word “surreal.” “You just can’t fathom the fact that he’s going to wear a Giants uniform and be the Giants’ manager,” Greg said, reflecting on the times he “dragged” young Tony to Wrigley Field. “I keep using the word ‘surreal,’ but that’s what it is for us.” It would have been just as hard for the Coles to know they were hosting a future big league manager. A lifelong family of Giants fans, Debra noted the names of her two boys: Matt (as in, Williams) and his older brother, Will (as in Clark). And now, an even closer connection to the franchise. “I was in good hands,” said Vitello, describing his time in Salinas as “very special.” “I was educated on the Giants fanbase, the organization itself and just how great of an area this is,” he said. “It’s different up here. It just is. Abnormal may sound like weird in a bad way, but very abnormal these past few days I’ve been here. The attention to detail. The people at the hotel. It’s not random, it’s not coincidental. It’s culture.”
