🚨 The #SFGiants are reportedly closing in on hiring Tennessee coach Tony Vitello as their next manager. It’d be a first in MLB history—no pro experience, straight from college. I broke it all down 👇

Directly from the @SFGiants press release: Tony Vitello's last name is pronounced vie-TELL-oh ... not vih-telloh. Just to get that out of the way 😮‍💨

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Also, remember how poorly Gabe Kapler’s inexperienced staff was received? They’re doing pretty well for themselves: Albi’s a new manager. Bailey (BOS) & Katz (CWS) are pitching coaches. Correa is Mets’ bench coach, where Richardson coaches 1B. Viele is Texas’ hitting coach.

So happy for Craig. Such a well-liked, hilarious dude. Well deserved and good luck 👍

I'll never understand the #SFGiants letting Kevin Gausman walk when he wanted to return and was best friends with Logan Webb. No way Buster would've let that happen. Anyway... happy he's on the #BlueJays right now! #WorldSeries

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Rafi turns 29 today. Eight years, $237.3M left on his deal (accounting for deferrals). Lot of people seem to forget that Jordan Hicks, owed 2/$25M, was offloaded as part of the trade. Subtracting Hicks' contract makes Devers' deal more like 8/$212.3M ($26.5M AAV) for #SFGiants.

So stoked about this hire. The #SFGiants have played it safe for too long, and the result has been mediocrity. Time for upside swings. Between Adames and now Vitello, two of Buster’s biggest adds are famous for their infectious energy/personalities. Major culture shift underway.

Max Scherzer—one of the game’s ultimate competitors—with a ringing endorsement of Tony Vitello (via @TheAthletic).

Max Scherzer on new Giants manager Tony Vitello, his former pitching coach at Missouri: “I absolutely believe in him. He’s to this day one of my closest friends and I absolutely believe he’s gonna get it done at the big league level.”

Tony Vitello might not work out, but there are only 30 managerial jobs and hundreds of good candidates, so you might as well go for upside. It's certainly more interesting than "OK, let's find a 1980s NL West catcher who needs a job."

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This team needs to take big swings, and this is exactly that. By helping to finalize the Matt Chapman extension, signing Willy Adames to the largest deal in franchise history, trading for Rafael Devers, and now hiring Tony Vitello, Buster Posey’s showing he’s all about boldness.

Reposting my original thoughts on the #SFGiants "closing in" on hiring Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello as their next manager. Per @PeteThamel the deal is being finalized.

TONY VITELLO, WELCOME TO SAN FRANCISCO

BANNNG. BANNNNNG. OH WHAT A SHOT FROM BUSTER. #SFGiants

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Several of you offered the more likely explanation: MLB prefers that teams avoid major announcements on days with big playoff games.

This is definitely possible too, and probably the better explanation. MLB doesn’t want teams announcing major news on days with big postseason games. #SFGiants

@TheAthletic @sfchronicle It's also worth reiterating that those five are a very heavy-hitting collection of baseball journalists.

.@TheAthletic reported that the #SFGiants were "closing in" on hiring Vitello, while the @sfchronicle reported that SF was "close to hiring" him. Both publications mentioned their reports were "confirmed," and far I can tell not one of these reporters has walked a word back.

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I'd imagine it's just contract finalization (maybe a physical too? jk 💀) @extrabaggs, @Britt_Ghiroli, @Ken_Rosenthal, @ShaynaRubin, @susanslusser all reporting that SF is "closing in" on this carries a ton of weight. @JeffPassan said decision in 24-72 hours about 42 hours ago.

Thanks, I appreciate your support! $5/month (or $50/year) supports always independent, always ad-free #SFGiants coverage. 👉

This is the first paywalled podcast, so please let me know if you run into any issues. I didn't realize I wouldn't be able to send paid subscribers a separate RSS feed that'd allow you to listen off Substack. Will work on figuring out if that's possible ASAP.