Tony Vitello embracing 'challenge' with Giants as he goes pro - ESPN

SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Vitello fully recognizes he is a most unconventional call-up to Major League Baseball, making the leap from the college coaching ranks at Tennessee to the San Francisco Giants while bypassing the minor league farm system.

Yet Vitello hardly seems fazed by the pressures of taking such a daunting path. «This is a challenge that has been presented to me,» he said Thursday at his introductory news conference with the Giants.

He plans to get into spring training drills right away alongside his Giants team, throwing batting practice or hitting fungoes in an effort to help improve some fundamentals.

San Francisco's new manager, who is 47, makes it clear his own skills are a far cry from those of the players he will be leading after landing the job with no professional experience as a player or coach. He plans to lean on the team's veteran leaders to guide those who might need some extra support.

He has some solid options, too, including franchise faces Matt Chapman, Willy Adames and Logan Webb.

«I do think we're reaching this period where fundamentals and the way guys train are completely different,» Vitello said. «You've seen growth in velos and power and speed and things like that.

»I think there's been some things lost when a kid is growing up on just how to slide and how to do things that seem overly simple. If you haven't practiced it, you haven't been taught it, how are you going to be good at it? How can you be expected to be good at it? I think [for] some of those younger players, it needs to be emphasized more."

Along with bringing the Giants back to prominence and playoff success — yes, that topic came up in discussions with President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey as they try to gain ground