Tony Vitello fought back tears while discussing the fans that turned out at Lindsey Nelson Stadium Tuesday afternoon for Tennessee baseball’s practice as Vitello mulled his professional future.
The support did not keep Vitello from leaving his perch atop the Volunteer program to become the San Francisco Giants manager. But it did have a profound effect on the 47-year old who spent the previous eight years pouring his heart and soul into Tennessee baseball.
“If that is the last time I ever stepped foot on this campus or this field as an employee, or as a Vol wearing our orange, I’m just so thankful for the people that showed up,” Vitello told a handful of media members Thursday. “It mattered. It made a difference. And you know, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do at the moment, but the bottom line is, if they feel like it was a waste of time because they were here to sway me or something like that, it’s not, because it will forever be ingrained in my memory, and it made what was the last day on the job technically, very, very special.”
Vitello wanted to issue a statement in the aftermath of his decision to leave Tennessee. He did so the day after accepting the Giants job, speaking with RTI and a small handful of other outlets. He took a few questions, but only answered ones regarding his time coaching Tennessee baseball and his life in Knoxville.
Vitello’s statement eclipsed 12 minutes and included nine reasons why someone would want to be a Vol for Life— which he still considers himself. The national championship winning coach twice called Tennessee fans “different,” describing both their friendliness and loyalty.
“There was a lot of factors,” Vitello said of his decision. “Like that is a brand new stadium I’m going to miss out on. Anything to do with San Francisco, anything to do with Tennessee, at the end of the day, it was not relevant to the decision. It was selfish. It was personal reasons. Again, I’ve always tried to be a good teammate, but I feel like I made a selfish decision that was one I needed to make. It’s the right decision and I just hope it doesn’t give me Lane Kiffin status around here.”
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Vitello described the reports that he accepted the Giants manager job on Saturday as “nothing” saying that he spent that night with his phone off watching the Tennessee-Alabama football game.
“Saturday, there was no decision mode whatsoever,” Vitello said. “It occurred slowly the next day. More intensely the next day and then the following day, I did not make a decision until — I think some of y’all were at the field on an open field so that would have been Wednesday. Sorry for getting my days mixed up with all this mess.”
Vitello did not have all his boxes checked until then, he said. He checked those boxes in conversations with his assistant coaches and players which gave Vitello the freedom to make the decision.
“The encouragement to do what was in my heart was next level,” Vitello said. “I know someone made the comment that they feel for our guys. It has been tumultuous for them and things like that. I did not see one moment where a guy felt sorry for himself or put himself out in front of things or saw it as a detriment to what they can do as a successful athlete. I think that is a sign of things to come with this particular team.”
Vitello got emotional once more while meeting with the media. Asked what he’ll miss most about Knoxville, Vitello paused for nine seconds before again talking about the community that made it so difficult for him to leave.
“What I will miss about Knoxville is the togetherness,” Vitello said. “We all get gameday to show it on TV or to the highest extent. But you don’t need gameday for the togetherness to be here. It could be a random Tuesday on a September at 11:30, any random time you want to throw out, and the togetherness and the community and in particular surrounding the university is at the highest possible level any human could ever experience.”
