The San Francisco Giants on Wednesday named University of Tennessee head baseball coach Tony Vitello as their new manager, marking the first time an MLB team has hired a manager directly from a college program without any experience as a professional coach.
As reported by Jeff Passan and Pete Thamel of ESPN, the hiring followed days of negotiations.
The Giants fired Bob Melvin on Sept. 29 following an 81-81 season — the Giants' fourth in a row without a playoff berth.
"I'm incredibly honored and grateful for this opportunity," said Vitello, 47, in a statement. "I'm excited to lead this group of players and represent the San Francisco Giants. I can't wait to get started and work to establish a culture that makes Giants faithful proud."
Vitello, a respected recruiter who led the Volunteers to the 2024 College World Series championship, emerged as the Giants' main target after former San Francisco catcher Nick Hundley withdrew from consideration.
"By making Vitello his first managerial hire, San Francisco president of baseball operations Buster Posey is banking on Vitello's success at Tennessee translating to the major leagues," Passan and Thamel wrote. "Chosen over former Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and two other former big league catchers interviewed by the Giants — Kurt Suzuki and Vance Wilson — Vitello distinguished himself as one of the preeminent coaches in the country during a two-decade career as an assistant and head coach in college, enough so that the Giants were willing to pay the $3 million buyout on his contract, sources said."
Vitello served as an assistant coach at Missouri, TCU and Arkansas before taking over the Tennessee program in 2018. He compiled a 341-131 record, with CWS appearances in three of the past four years.
"Vitello, whose boisterous personality endeared him at Tennessee and chafed other SEC schools, enters an entirely different realm in MLB," Passan and Thamel wrote. "Whereas college jobs are often defined by the success of recruiting classes, major league teams are constructed by baseball-operations departments with the manager relied upon for clubhouse cohesion, in-game decision-making, bullpen usage and daily media interactions.
"The reticence of MLB teams to dip into the college ranks for managers is long established and has run counter to the hiring practices of other professional sports leagues. NFL teams have regularly plucked head coaches from the college ranks, and in the NBA, there is no stigma associated with college coaches. Major league organizations have been more open to hiring coaches from college than managers."
The Milwaukee Brewers, which led all of MLB in wins this regular season, are managed by Pat Murphy, who spent 25 years as a college coach before joining the San Diego Padres organization as a minor league manager. Murphy spent eight years as Brewers bench coach under Craig Counsel, who had played for Murphy at Notre Dame, before taking over as Milwaukee's manager in 2024. He won National League Manager of the Year following his debut season, and is a favorite to repeat. NL Manager of the Year will be announced Nov. 19.
