Logan Webb knew Tony Vitello’s phone was probably blowing up after he was hired by the Giants on Oct. 22, but he wanted to be among the first to reach out and start connecting with his new manager.
“I texted him,” Webb said during a Zoom call with reporters on Friday. “I just told him I was super excited. I was excited to see him lead this team. I’m sure he was getting bombarded with texts and calls and everything, so I figured I’d just reach out and try to make it a little easier for him. I said, ‘I’m excited to learn from you and work with you.’ I’m pretty sure I said, ‘Let’s win the damn thing a couple of times while we’re here.’”
It didn’t take long for Webb to hear back from Vitello.
“Automatically, you could see the passion,” Webb said. “He sent me a long text. He was energetic; he was ready to go.”
Earning the trust of Giants veterans like Webb will be critical for Vitello, who entered uncharted territory when he became the first person to jump directly from college head coach to MLB manager without previous professional coaching experience.
The Giants are betting that Vitello’s fiery energy and competitiveness -- which helped him transform the University of Tennessee into a national juggernaut over the past eight years -- will enable him make a smooth transition to the Majors, but he’ll have to first secure buy-in from a clubhouse filled with seasoned pros who may not be quite as malleable as young college kids.
“There are a lot of unknowns and a lot of wonder in my mind,” Vitello said during his introductory press conference at Oracle Park on Thursday. “Of course, you can ask people and draw on previous information, but until you live it out, you don’t know what it’s going to be like.”
Webb said he wasn’t consulted during the Giants’ hiring process, but he was aware of the Vitello rumors and said he’s heard nothing but good things from several of the 47-year-old’s former players at Tennessee.
“I’ve heard Garrett Crochet say great things about him,” Webb said. “I’ve heard Drew Gilbert say great things about him. Even guys going to my gym that were recruited by him have the best things to say about him. I’m super excited. I know the guys are super excited. I think it’s going to be a healthy energy boost to our team and to our clubhouse. I think he’s very smart, too. You never know what’s going to happen. You don’t know what’s going to happen until you get to Spring Training and you see it live, but as of right now, I think we’re all super excited about it.”
Vitello still is getting up to speed on the Giants’ roster and working on putting together his coaching staff, but once he gets a bit more settled, it seems likely that he’ll start having more conversations with players. Webb, for his part, said he’s looking forward to meeting Vitello and getting a better feel of what to expect from his new skipper.
“This guy is up and moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, going from college to the big leagues. I’m sure there’s a lot that goes into it,” Webb said. “We’ve got a long way to go until we get to spring, so we’ll give him his time. Hopefully at some point we can catch up -- whether that’s phone calls, or if he’s ever here in Arizona while I’m here or I’m up in San Francisco while he’s there. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of good talks before we get to Spring Training.”