Giants' Buster Posey Calls Tony Vitello 'A Natural Leader' After Historic Manager Hire

The San Francisco Giants made a bold decision by making Tony Vitello the first person ever to go from college to the majors without any previous experience at the professional level.

While hiring the inexperienced Vitello to be the team's new manager is a bit of a risky move, president of baseball operations Buster Posey has no doubt about his leadership abilities.

"When we first started talking to Tony, it was abundantly clear he was a natural leader," Posey told reporters on Thursday.

Vitello, the former skipper at Tennessee, has been arguably the best coach in college baseball in recent years, leading the Vols to three College World Series appearances and their first national championship in program history.

His fiery, somewhat unconventional approach has led to elite recruiting classes and a national spotlight on Knoxville.

As good as Vitello was at the college level, the majors are a completely different challenge. That's why the Giants' decision to hire him stunned many.

But general manager Zack Minasian hinted that the Giants weren't the only team that had interest in Vitello; they were just the first to actually give him the job.

"As much as this feels out of the box, Tony's name has been bouncing around Major League Baseball for a while," Minasian said.

The Giants are more than a decade removed from their last World Series title and have made the postseason just twice since 2014, the latest appearance coming in 2021.

San Francisco needs a coach to reignite its franchise, and Posey is confident Vitello can do just that.