Tony Vitello’s first week as a Major League Baseball manager could have gone better.
The San Francisco Giants opened the 2026 MLB season by getting swept by the New York Yankees in a three-game series. Not only did the Giants lose, but they scored only one run in the entire series and were shut out in back-to-back games for the first time in franchise history.
The first-year skipper who was hired directly from the college ranks came into the season with a lot of question marks surrounding how well he’d be able to handle the bright lights of the big leagues. Those questions grew louder in the preseason when he seemed more concerned with how his hiring was reported than with how he was preparing the team.
His burgeoning reputation for saying things he didn’t need to say continued over the weekend when he blamed himself for the team’s slow start, saying he got “all fire and brimstone” before the season and that it was “a little emotional” in the locker room where there’s “a lot of try hard.” It didn’t help that several players seemed to refute that sentiment.
During Saturday’s game, Vitello was interviewed by Fox’s Ken Rosenthal, who asked him what the biggest adjustment has been since getting to the majors.
“I can’t talk down to guys anymore, they’re my age!” 😆
Tony Vitello spoke with @Ken_Rosenthal about the biggest adjustment he’s had going from managing in college to now managing in the big leagues pic.twitter.com/vGd2eejjyc
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 29, 2026
“I can’t talk down to guys anymore, they’re my age — or it feels like they’re close to it,” Vitello said. “But in all honesty, I think there are just so many more people involved. There are so many more people in the stands, there are more people in the clubhouse. It truly is a manager position, not just a head coach position. But the thing I like doing more than recruiting or managing is coaching, so just trying to fill in spots when I can and just help these guys out.”
As SFGate’s Alex Simon noted, that’s odd because it’s not exactly true. Vitello is 47, and the oldest player on the Giants roster is 34, with most of them being in their 20s or early 30s (the average age is around 28-29). While a 28-year-old is certainly older than your average college baseball player, it seems strange that it would create a barrier for Vitello as a manager, even if he only meant it half-jokingly.
Ultimately, it’s not the most harmful comment ever, and the manager might just be trying to seem personable, but it’s part of a larger, growing collection of comments that feel a bit off for someone managing a Major League Baseball team. If San Francisco turns things around and gets back on track, it won’t matter much and will likely make Vitello seem charming. But if the franchise falters this season, these kinds of comments will only pile up, further fueling speculation about whether he can handle the job.
