Thoughts On New Giants Manager Tony Vitello

 It's official!  Tony Vitello is the new Giants manager.  No details available yet but I doubt Vitello would leave his rock-solid job as head baseball coach at University of Tennessee for anything less than a rock-solid multi-year contract that pays significantly more then the $3 M/yr he's been getting at Tennessee.  After several weeks of interviewing exclusively ex-catchers, Buster makes his decision and hires an ex.......well, he's not an ex anything!  He never played or coached professional baseball even at the minor league level!  So what's Vitello's cred?

He played college ball at University of Missouri with Max Scherzer and earned degrees in management both as an undergraduate and in a masters program.  He used those skills to become an impact college baseball coach with a reputation for not only being a big motivator but a stickler for "fundamental" baseball, whatever that means.  It seems Scherzer thinks very highly of him and thinks he will make a fine MLB manager.  Does that mean we might see Mad Max in a Giants uniform next season in the Justin Verlander role? Hey!  Maybe Buster can sign both Verlander and Scherzer!  

Reports say Vitello has been on Buster Posey's radar for at least several months, maybe even for years.  It seems they have had many deep conversations about the game of baseball and how it should be played and their ideas are in synch.  While I have no idea if their ideas are what will transform the Giants but I find it encouraging that both men appear to be very thoughtful about the game and are both continually searching for improvement.  

I like that Vitello has formal education in management.  While managing people in any capacity is very much an art and in inborn talent, it's also very much a science.  The days of hiring an ex-player just because they "know the game" and/or are great guys in the clubhouse should be a relic of the past.  Yes, you need someone who knows the game and has the right personality but you also need someone who understands the science of leading and motivating people, as baseball players are people with people personalities and people problems just like all the rest of us.  

What I do think is an open question is how veteran MLB players will react to leadership from someone who never had any formal contact with the professional side of the game.  Mike Krukow, who is way older than old-school has already sounded that alarm.  It would not be a surprise if other old-schoolers like Will Clark and J. T. Snow chimed in with their 2-cents worth.  If they do, and if Buster is committed to seeing this through, then he needs to find a way to lower those guys profile in the organization.  The last thing this team needs is another 4-5 years of influential ex-players carping about lack of respect for the game and about playing the game the "right way."  

As a fan, I am excited by this bold decision and am rooting hard for it to work out.  As for any predictions about that, as always, I remain cautiously optimistic.