Tennessee baseball had voluntary workouts scheduled at Lindsey Nelson Stadium on Oct. 22 with no formal practices nor a scrimmage scheduled as coach Tony Vitello continues to mull his future.
Vitello is a candidate for the vacant manager position with the San Francisco Giants. He has been for at least a week, but the status remains the same as it did when Vitello told Knox News “nothing is done” following an Oct. 18 scrimmage.
That appears to still be the case as Vitello continues to perform duties as UT.
He was at Tennessee’s practice on Oct. 19 throwing batting practice to players, sources told Knox News. He was present and active as usual during an Oct. 20 practice and scrimmage.
Vitello also attended a golf outing at WindRiver Golf Club on the morning of Oct. 20 in support of the Pat Summitt Foundation. He spent the night of Oct. 20 watching the ALCS Game 7 as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Seattle Mariners 4-3 to advance to the World Series. Vitello is close friends with Blue Jays pitcher Max Scherzer, whom Vitello recruited and coached at Missouri in the early 2000s.
Tennessee is scheduled to have a scrimmage in Nashville at First Horizon Park on Oct. 26.
Vitello addressed his team in right field following the Oct. 18 scrimmage and openly discussed reports that he is set to be the Giants’ next manager. He told his players they would hear it from him if he was leaving for another job.
As Vitello addressed his players, the Athletic, citing sources, reported that Vitello and the Giants are closing in on a deal.
If Vitello is hired by the Giants, it would be an an unprecedented move for an MLB franchise. He would be the first sitting college baseball coach to jump directly into an MLB manager job without prior professional experience.
He would be replacing Bob Melvin as the Giants’ manager. Melvin was fired on Sept. 29 after two seasons. He went 161-163 with an 81-81 mark in the 2024 season.
Vitello, 47, earns $3 million annually after signing a record-setting five-year contract in 2024. Vitello’s buyout for leaving for another job is $3 million. The Giants could choose to pay all or part of that. If not, Vitello is on the hook for the buyout.
Tennessee athletics director Danny White could choose to promote either associate head coach Josh Elander or pitching coach Frank Anderson to an interim coach role if Vitello left. Both have been on UT’s staff since 2017 with Vitello. White also could choose to conduct a coaching search, but the timing would be odd as the college coaching carousel typically is in May and June.
Vitello is 341–131 in eight seasons at Tennessee.
He led the Vols to their first national title, winning the 2024 College World Series in one of UT’s three trips to Omaha in his historic tenure. He also coached Tennessee to two SEC regular-season titles and two SEC Tournament titles, sweeping the crowns in both 2022 and 2024.
He was hired in June 2017 to take over a dormant Tennessee program. The former Arkansas hitting coach vaulted the Vols into relevance and on the path to excellence. He got UT back to the NCAA Tournament in 2019 for the first time since 2005.
Vitello led them to Omaha two years later in 2021, their first trip since 2005.
The Vols had arguably the best team in college baseball in 2022, winning 57 games and producing a bevy of MLB talent but falling in the super regional. He got Tennessee back to Omaha in 2023 then made history in 2024.
Tennessee ripped through the SEC, winning the regular-season title and the tournament title to earn the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It reached the CWS, where it rolled to the finals with three straight wins. It beat Texas A&M in the three-game finals to win the national championship and become the first team in SEC history to win 60 games.
Vitello also was an assistant coach at TCU and Missouri, where he played before entering coaching in 2003.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
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