"Following its loss to Mississippi State in the 2003 NCAA Starkville Regional, Vitello, Tingler and Missouri's baseball team returned to Columbia, Missouri and convened at Harpo's Bar and Grill. Vitello, a volunteer coach, and Tingler, a departing senior, chatted over drinks. Vitello remembers the conversation vividly. He said, You can be better than that guy.' I never forgot that, Vitello recalled on Saturday morning. I know exactly where I was sitting."
"Most of the days at Harpo's I do not remember, Tingler said with a smile. But Tony's always been different. He has always connected with people, players. I think it's maybe one of his best gifts he's got a lot of gifts. But the way he can communicate, the way he can connect with people, he's always been different. More than two decades later, Vitello and Tingler are reunited in San Francisco, their first opportunity to work together"
Tony Vitello and Jayce Tingler were teammates on the 2003 Missouri baseball team and later reunited in San Francisco with Tingler serving as Vitello's bench coach. The 2003 team gathered at Harpo's Bar and Grill after a regional loss, where Tingler told Vitello, 'You can be better than that guy,' a remark Vitello vividly remembers. Tingler praises Vitello's communication and ability to connect with players. Vitello has not yet spent a game in a major-league dugout, while Tingler brings decades of pro experience, including four seasons as bench coach for the Minnesota Twins under Rocco Baldelli and work with Luis Arraez. The two combine professional insight with personal friendship.
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