Tony Vitello explains differences between Tennessee, MLB spring training

To this point in his coaching career, Tony Vitello would be playing meaningful baseball games by now. College gets underway in mid-February, and Tennessee has already taken the field eight times. Instead, Vitello is getting his first taste of what it’s like to be a manager in MLB. Year One of Vitello with the San Francisco Giants is underway in Arizona for spring training.

Differences are certainly there between the two levels, which Vitello outlined on Thursday. His biggest takeaway thus far is how many people are involved in an MLB organization, getting spread out across multiple fields. Not the same as Vitello’s usual set-up in Knoxville.

“The obvious, I’ve never experienced before,” Vitello said via MLB Network. “The similarities are there with the baseball part and everything. But there’s a lot more people, there’s a lot more fields, there’s a lot more variables. So, it’s been a learning experience.”

Vitello says communication has become a big part of his operation. If he cannot get eyes on everything going on, somebody with the Giants has to. At some point, decisions about the MLB roster and Minor League guys need to be made. So, some trust is being put into other people since Vitello can only be in one place at once.

“You like to see everything,” Vitello said. “Eventually, you’re going to have to make educated guesses or maybe wise decisions… Those are based off observations and communicating with coaches. You get spread a little bit more here than you do when there’s the one stadium feel that you’re used to in college. But maybe it’s the recruiting background. I don’t like to miss stuff, you like to see things. Again, there’s so many people under the roof, and we’ve got good people. I feel like communication has been pretty consistent. That’s almost as good as seeing it for yourself.”

Spring training games will continue on almost a daily basis for San Francisco until Opening Day. The spotlight will instantly be put on Vitello, with the Giants hosting the New York Yankees on March 25. A standalone national broadcast from NBC is scheduled to take place. So, outside of two historic franchises getting together, the storyline of Vitello will take center stage.

Many other new experiences are set to pop up for Vitello. The Giants are hoping their new manager can find the same kind of success he produced at Tennessee.