The San Francisco Giants are set to make their season debut in a home opening series against the New York Yankees beginning Wednesday, March 25.
It's also the debut for Giants manager Tony Vitello, who's getting his first crack at the major leagues after a successful collegiate baseball coaching career for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Vitello signed a three-year contract with the Giants on Oct. 22, which is reportedly going to pay him $3.5 million annually, according to The SF Standard.
He's the first collegiate coach to make the jump straight to the majors as a manager. It's an honor he doesn't take lightly, especially as he lives out a dream to be a MLB manager.
"As a coach, I was just trying to make my way," Vitello said during an October news conference. "I got thrust into a position at a young age that I probably didn't even deserve, so I was just trying to do a good job, and fortunately it helped get me to the next spot and the next spot and the next spot, and eventually this did become a dream, where I just decided if it was, if I was blessed enough to receive an opportunity, this is something I wanted to do before I was done coaching, in general."
