Giants' Tony Vitello warned of brutal awakening if Tennessee mindset sparks early-season panic

The baseball world was shocked when the San Francisco Giants decided to hire Tony Vitello from the college ranks. Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey called the decision a perfect alignment.

“Throughout our search, Tony’s leadership, competitiveness, and commitment to developing players stood out. His ability to build strong, cohesive teams and his passion for the game align perfectly with the values of our organization. We look forward to the energy and direction he will bring, along with the memories to be made, as we focus on the future of Giants baseball,” Posey said.

Vitello’s first series against the New York Yankees did not go as planned. He even commented on the biggest adjustment from college to the professional level.

“I can’t talk down to guys anymore, they’re my age,” Vitello said. “Or it feels like they’re close to it. But in all honesty, I just think it’s just so many more people involved. There’s more people in the stands, there’s more people in the clubhouse. It truly is a manager position, not just a head coach position. But the thing I like to do more than recruiting or managing is coaching, so trying to fill in spots when I can and help these guys out.”

Throughout the weekend, Vitello showed glimpses of his college coaching habits—habits that may not translate well at the MLB level.

“The one thing you’re afforded in baseball is patience; two games into a 162-game season is not the time to panic. But Vitello’s lineup change suggests that he's still operating under a different mindset. Coaching in a 60-ish game season in college baseball, with big talent disparities, is vastly different than a league full of the best in the world. He’ll have to change his mindset if he wants to succeed with the Giants, because rejiggering your lineup after two games smacks of a man without either answers or confidence,” FanSided’s Wynston Wilcox wrote.

Vitello will need to learn patience, especially with 159 games still remaining for the Giants. In college baseball, a slow start can be costly, but in the majors, an 0-3 start is far from the end of the world.

There will be a learning curve for Vitello, and some growing pains are expected. However, in MLB, making quick decisions like early lineup changes does not always sit well with players in the clubhouse.

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