The Giants are reportedly close to hiring a new manager—and he will potentially be an unorthodox one.
San Francisco is nearing a deal to hire Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as its new manager, according to a Saturday afternoon report from Andrew Baggarly, Brittany Ghiroli and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Vitello would replace Bob Melvin, who the Giants fired after an 81–81 season.
The 47-year-old St. Louis native has never worked in Major League Baseball in any form or fashion. He has served as the Volunteers' coach since 2018; he previously worked as an assistant for Missouri, TCU and Arkansas.
With Tennessee, Vitello won a national championship in 2024 and advanced to three College World Series. The brassy, bombastic coach would depart the Volunteers with a career record of 341–131 in eight seasons.
San Francisco has not made the playoffs since its out-of-nowhere 107-win season in 2021, which ended with a loss to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Giants Nearing Deal to Name Top SEC Baseball Coach Manager.
