""It was selfish. It was personal reasons," Vitello told reporters Thursday, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. "I have always tried to be a good teammate, but I feel like I made a selfish decision that was one I needed to make. It was the right decision.""
""I did not have anything to do with that, and it put everyone in a whirlwind," Vitello said as part of a lengthy statement. "Now that we look back on it, I think [it] was unfair. Hopefully, people don't think I'm a diva because that's kind of how it seemed to play out.""
"He said he leaned on "anyone and everyone" as he tried to decide between his two options. He ultimately chose the Giants, who announced his hiring Wednesday."
Tony Vitello left Tennessee to become the San Francisco Giants' manager and described the decision as selfish and personal but ultimately right. The Giants became the first big league team to hire a manager directly from a college program without prior professional coaching experience. Vitello compiled a 341-131 record at Tennessee, won a national title in 2024, and led the team to three Men's College World Series appearances. He expressed frustration with media coverage of the hiring process and said he leaned on many people while deciding. The Giants announced his hiring Wednesday, and he will address his new role on Oct. 30. Tennessee fans publicly urged him to stay during a scrimmage.
Read at ESPN.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]