Sunday, September 20

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- For Garrett Crochet, the history that his former college coach Tony Vitello is making this season as manager of the Giants might not fully sink in until Aug. 21-23, when the Red Sox host San Francisco for a three-game series at Fenway Park. 

Whether he is standing on the mound for that series or just watching from across the dugout, Crochet will be competing against the man he believes had much to do with helping him become one of the top pitchers in baseball. 

While Brewers manager Pat Murphy had a strong career as a college coach, his background was different because he played and coached in the Minor Leagues and was a coach in the Majors for close to a decade before Milwaukee promoted him to manager prior to the 2024 season. 

Vitello is going straight from the college ranks to Major League manager, which had never been done. 

Though this wasn’t a possibility Crochet considered when he was pitching for Vitello at the University of Tennessee, he can see why his former coach was an appealing option to the Giants.  

“To make a jump like that is no small feat,” Crochet said. “And I think that he's got the personality and the drive, and I feel like he's a very natural leader and a trustworthy guy. So I think that he's got what it takes to win over a big league clubhouse without even necessarily trying to.” 

For sure, Crochet can see that there is a different dynamic between college player and coach than Major Leaguer and manager. But he thinks Vitello has the people skills to be just as relatable to players who are at the highest level of their sport. 

“I think the biggest difference is that, in college, you recruit these guys, so even before they step foot on campus, they're already kind of looking to you as that leader, and almost like a father figure in a way,” Crochet said. “In pro ball, you don’t call anyone ‘coach,’ but in college you do. So it’s like that sort of thing. But I think that V is very genuine and authentic, and the passion is very, very easy to see with him, and I think that’s really all it takes.” 

Was Crochet surprised that Vitello took the leap once the Giants offered him the job? 

“I feel like I was hearing whispers [he would go],” Crochet said. “With V, my thing was I didn’t know if he would really leave Tennessee. But I think that when you're in that position, and you get that chance, it’s just the challenge of it. And he's a very competitive guy. I think that the thought of being challenged in that way appeals to him. I think, for him, it’s all about the challenge.” 

Crochet is pleased that Vitello will embrace his new challenge with two members of his UT braintrust in Frank Anderson (director of Major League pitching) and Quentin Eberhardt (director of sports performance). 

“I don't feel like I would be where I'm at, or even remotely close to this without V, Q. Eberhardt and Frank Anderson,” Crochet said. “Those guys played a very pivotal role at a very pivotal time in my life. I feel like I learned a ton from those guys, whether it just be work ethic, but even morally. And even when it comes to competing and just not giving up and not being satisfied, I feel like I learned a ton from those guys.” 

For a Giants club that hasn’t finished above .500 since a dominant 107-win campaign in 2021, Crochet sees parallels from when Vitello arrived in Knoxville. 

“When I first got to Tennessee, we kind of sucked,” Crochet said. “So it was that underdog mentality he instilled in us. I think I kind of took to that and I still keep that inside me, and it’s like I just said, that ‘never being satisfied’ outlook he has.” 

Three years ago, Roman Anthony and several of his friends in the Red Sox’s farm system felt that the World Baseball Classic championship game being played in Miami (just a couple of hours south from Boston’s Spring Training base in Fort Myers) was too big of an event to miss. So they ordered tickets, made the drive down and saw one of the most dramatic baseball games ever played on the international level. From the stands, Anthony saw Shohei Ohtani strike out Mike Trout to earn the championship for Japan.

Little did Anthony know at the time that he would get the chance to avenge that gut-wrenching defeat in the WBC’s next go-around. Earlier this week, the 21-year-old Anthony was named as an injury replacement on Team USA for D-backs outfielder Corbin Carroll.  

“Amazing,” Anthony said. “It was one of those opportunities that you dream of as a kid. Obviously it’s super unfortunate what happened [to Carroll], hoping for the best for him with a speedy recovery, but it was exciting on my end to be able to just get that call.”

One of the biggest themes of this Spring Training in all 30 camps will be teams preparing for the automatic balls and strikes challenge system that has been used in the Minor Leagues the past several years. 

Sox coach and former captain Jason Varitek has been serving as the umpire in live batting practices on the main diamond at JetBlue Park, missing some borderline calls on purpose to give players the opening to challenge. 

With many core Red Sox players headed to the WBC, don’t be surprised to see several challenges early in contests as Grapefruit League games commence on Saturday. Typically, the main players only get a couple of at-bats per day at the start of the game schedule. 

“We might challenge from the get-go at the start of the game. Guys that are for sure going to be on the roster, they should try it,” said Cora. “Hopefully we can get used to it.”

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