"One of the coolest perks so far of being a big-league manager, Tony Vitello likes to show off to friends from back home, in St. Louis. It's Tony La Russa's phone number. And he's put it to use often. Over the course of the time that I've been hired, you could average it out to once every couple of weeks I've heard from him, Vitello said. And it hasn't been surface-level, stereotypical conversations or just broad comments; it's been very in-depth."
"Most of the calls were short messages wishing him congratulations, but Vitello quickly learned La Russa intended this connection to be more than that. He scrambled to find something, anything, to scribble down notes, and settled on a paper plate. It was the one thing I could find, Vitello said. I don't know that I'll frame it, but I know I still have that. I did actually put it into a computer, as well."
"The relationship, which Vitello described as sincere and almost sweet, has only grown from there. Multiple phone calls. Text messages back and forth. Besides Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, who are both employed by the Giants, Vitello said La Russa has taught him the ropes more than anyone in his transition from the University of Tennessee to a major-league dugout."
Tony Vitello, newly hired as the San Francisco Giants' manager after a college coaching career, has received frequent, substantive guidance from Hall of Famer Tony La Russa. La Russa has contacted Vitello roughly every couple of weeks with in-depth conversations and advice, not just congratulatory messages. Vitello recorded La Russa's counsel on a paper plate and later digitized the notes. The relationship has expanded to multiple calls and text messages, and Vitello credits La Russa, alongside Bruce Bochy and Dusty Baker, with teaching him the ropes during his transition to a major-league dugout.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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