Giants' new manager Tony Vitello has plenty to say, plenty to learn as camp opens
· Yahoo Sports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Tony Vitello ran a few minutes behind schedule to his first meeting with reporters.
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Pitchers and catchers report day is chaotic enough for a new manager unaccustomed to the ebbs and flows of spring training, but Vitello's long-ish speech to the San Francisco Giants players on hand slowed his schedule even more.
"I rambled a little bit," Vitello said. "I have a tendency to do that."
All eyes will be on Giants camp this spring to see how Vitello handles the big leagues. He's the first college baseball coach to jump straight to a major eague managerial role, and a larger-than-normal group of reporters waited with more questions to gauge his readiness for the responsibility.
Is he nervous? "(There's more) curiosity," he said. "A lot of good people and people asking if I have everything I need. More autonomy for me coming from my background, but there are a ton of people ready to help … Just need to not screw up the things I'm in charge of and right now it's chatting with you all."
To those who witnessed it, Vitello's speech, verging on a ramble, showed what's been the new manager's strength: A competitive fire.
"He's very passionate, very competitive. Good first day," Logan Webb said. "I thought it was great. It's hard when it's just pitchers and catchers in camp. The bigger one is when we get the whole team in here. Lots of energy. You can tell there's a lot of competitive spirit in him. That's pretty much what the message was. He wants us to all feel the way he feels."
President of baseball operations Buster Posey harkened back to their trip to South Korea last month, when Vitello snapped into coaching mode while working with a group of local high school kids.
"What I've learned about him is he turns the switch on when he needs to and carries himself very confidently," Posey said. "I enjoy listening to him talk. He's usually good for four or five one-liners in the rambles. He'll mix in some comedy, but he's talented. He's one of those guys when he's talking, even if he thinks it's a ramble, you're kind of hanging on the words that he's saying.
"I'm guessing it's something he's been anxious to do and will have a chance to do it again with the larger group in a few days. As much as anything, Tony is authentic. So if you're true to yourself and authentic, people will buy into it whether you're right or wrong."
Vitello likes to punctuate his thoughts with jokes. He compared the Giants' uncertain bullpen situation – no defined roles heading into spring – to looking for a home in San Francisco: "The more I started to look around, the more confused I got," he said. He added that he "didn't have any of the answers" for who will close or set up, but that everyone in Arizona has an opportunity to earn roles.
Vitello joked around when asked if he'd like his bullpen to be modeled after the 2014-15 Kansas City Royals bullpen he became a fan of, the dominant group consisting of Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland.
"You know when your phone starts popping up ads that you were talking about?," Vitello said. "That'd be my response, which is pretty creepy. Then obviously we're in the Waymo capital of the world, which I think is pretty creepy, too."
That Vitello couldn't get more specific when answering questions about the pitching staff, lineup and position battles to come indicates he is still learning as he goes. The curve is expected to be steep, given his unprecedented path.
Among players he's chatted with is Matt Chapman. The pair were on the phone "quite a bit" during the offseason, with Vitello peppering the team leader with questions.
"Nothing groundbreaking, giving him a lay of the land and maybe insight on players he didn't know as well," Chapman said. "How things have been going the last couple of years, what we did well and what we could improve on. Kind of what happened at the end of last year. Nothing crazy, but something if I was coming into a situation, I'd want to know."
Vitello and many of his new coaches have been in Arizona all winter, conducting light workouts and getting to know Giants players who live or stay in the area to work out at the team's facility during the offseason.
Infield coach Ron Washington is "working us hard, and we haven't even started camp yet. We're already doing drills every day and going through his whole routine," Chapman said.
Bryce Eldridge – a full go in spring after undergoing surgery to remove a bone spur in his left wrist in October – took some of his first swings on the field with Vitello. He got a feel for Vitello's style after a rough day hitting off the machine.
"I was getting a little frustrated and he looked at me and said, ‘What are you doing, dude? This is your first day on the field.' And I was like, ‘You're right, dude.'
"He makes you take a step back and realize that we're all human and the way that he naturally connects with players, it took me one day to feel like wow, this is my guy. I can go talk to him about anything. It's exciting."
Vitello took a long time to solidify his staff, in part, to make sure the pieces were complementary – experience paired with novelty, familiarity paired with new ideas – but he will certainly lean heavily on the experienced guys this spring. Washington and bench coach Jayce Tingler flank him in the dugout with years of managerial experience, and they can walk him through the nuances of big league camp. That means managing the schedule intricacies, preparing everyone for the season all while evaluating players for growth and roster fit.
"I think I'm going to rely on coach Tingler and Wash pretty heavily on what boxes we need to check before this thing is over with," Vitello said. "If you ask Wash anything, he's very appreciative. And more often he's got the answer … I would say at this going he's probably worn me out a little bit. So every now and then I give him the Desmond Howard stiff arm. They've both been very helpful."
This article originally published at Giants' new manager Tony Vitello has plenty to say, plenty to learn as camp opens.