SAN FRANCISCO -- New Giants manager Tony Vitello never dreamed of playing in the big leagues.

The son of a legendary high school baseball and soccer coach in St. Louis, Vitello grew up around the game and managed to earn a spot as a walk-on infielder at the University of Missouri, but he was always realistic about his ceiling.

“My skill level wasn’t very high,” Vitello said. “I think it was just so far above the clouds that I never even saw it.”

Like his father Greg, Vitello ended up finding his true calling in coaching, a profession he transitioned into almost immediately after his playing career ended at Mizzou. He got his first official coaching gig with the Salinas Packers of the California Coastal League in 2002, sparking a 23-year journey that would take him to the summit of colle

See Full Page