SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — With a black sweatshirt pulled over his head and a glove in hand, Tony Vitello blends in almost as if he’s one of the Giants players.
San Francisco’s new manager grabs a piece of gum from a dugout basket then heads out onto the grass at Scottsdale Stadium and gets to work. He lingers for a while in right field, surveying the scene, before making his way to the indoor cage. A short while later, he’s all the way back to home plate, leaning on the right side of the cage, where he fist bumps Heliot Ramos after one of the left fielder’s rounds of batting practice. Vitello moves several feet to his left and takes in more hitters’ work.
“He’s everywhere,” shortstop Willy Adames said. “He has a lot of energy. He likes to be watching everybody, making sure that everybody is working right and doing the right things. He’s just trying to push the guys to work hard and to be better and I think that’s something that’s going to help the guys a lot and I think that’s something we needed.”
All eyes are on Vitello as he takes over one of baseball’s most storied franchises without a professional baseball backstory of his own. Giants executive and former catcher Buster Posey made the unconventional hire, entrusting the top dugout step to someone with no major league experience as a player or coach.
And everybody will be paying attention for his high-profile managerial debut when the Giants host the New York Yankees in baseball’s season opener March 25.
“As ready as I’ll be if you ask me that question before the season starts,” Vitello said ahead of the club’s Cactus League opener. “I don’t think you’re ever really ready to do something until you get to do it. ... Inevitably something pops up in where you’re like, ‘I wish I could go back in time and know that.’”
An avid swimmer who aspires to one day complete the famous event from Alcatraz in San Francisco, Vitello scans his various baseball zones much like a lifeguard with eyes up, observing everything and everyone.
He also has committed to taking in the wisdom from former managers he has surrounded himself with, such as Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy, and also new Giants infield coach Ron Washington.
“I’ve talked with those guys, they’ve been awesome,” Vitello said. “A lot of little things. When Boch says it, not only do you hear it but you hear it in that thunderous voice. I’ve taken notes from all those guys. I don’t think there’s been one drastic thing said to me, like, ‘Holy cow, reinvent the game’ or anything like that. It’s just been a lot of consistent help.”
Bouncing between fields during spring training has been one of the biggest adjustments for the 47-year-old Vitello.
When he addressed the full team on Day 1, Vitello aimed to just be himself — “hopefully it didn’t sound like a speech, more of a conversation,” he said.
Everybody realizes there will be a large learning curve, but Vitello has already made a strong impression on his players.
“Tony’s passion for baseball is something else,” outfielder Jung Hoo Lee said. “Just being around him, I feel like my passion grows more with him. It’s really nice being around Tony.”
Near the end of one spring training practice last month, Vitello squatted with hands on his thighs watching Washington work with Adames.
“That’s going to help him a lot,” Adames said of all the support. “He’s got Bochy that’s going to be around and Dusty that’s going to be around and Buster is always around. We’ve got a lot of people who have a lot of experience in baseball and have a lot of people who have a lot of experience being a manager, and I think that’s going to help him a lot.”
Ex-Padres manager Jayce Tingler is Vitello’s good friend and now bench coach, too. Vitello only announced his coaching staff at the start of spring — months after many other teams — because that’s how much thought he put into who he wanted by his side.
And because not doing everything himself has been a process. Previously, there was recruiting, planning road trips, monitoring studies and all of the other demands in the college game.
“I think get more comfortable with delegating, but about nine years ago I definitely warmed up to it with the group of people that I was around,” he said.
First-year San Diego Padres manager Craig Stammen understands the questions about inexperience and that scrutiny comes with the job.
“He’s a baseball guy, so I’m going to respect him the same way I respect somebody that played 20 years in the big leagues,” Stammen said of Vitello. “I think he’s earned the right to be a manager in the big leagues. Some people will question me if I earned the right to be a manager in the big leagues. His track record in college is very successful, so he’s going to have the opportunity to bring that track record to MLB.”
Vitello acknowledges there have been some early hurdles — and knows there will be plenty more along the way. He replaces three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin, a 22-year managerial veteran who was fired after two years and the Giants’ fourth straight season out of the playoffs.
“I don’t think it’s been too wild. I think everything that was a precursor to here was the key,” he said. “FanFest, just how welcoming everybody is. It might sound silly, but just interacting with the 49ers group a few different times and other people in the Bay Area, it made you feel like you were in high school instead of a freshman. I still remember freshman year in high school was kind of nerve-wracking.
“So I think there was a little bit of momentum for myself coming in. Seamless is a high standard. I think there’s been some snags, but it’s kind of been like, ‘OK, I get how this goes now.’”
