For SF Giants’ Tony Vitello, a St. Louis homecoming brings childhood memories rushing back

When the SF Giants' team plane landed in St. Louis, Missouri, after yet another frustrating series against the San Diego Padres, the air felt different for first-year manager Tony Vitello. It felt like home. Except this time, he was returning to his roots at the helm of a big-league squad.

As Vitello walked into the manager's office at Busch Stadium, he saw a picture of Whitey Herzog, a Hall of Fame manager who led the Cardinals to a World Series title in 1982. Then, inside the ballpark, he caught a sight of the stately Gateway Arch. Those two moments were enough for all the flashbacks to come flowing in. Vitello, a St. Louis native, grew up a Cardinals faithful and was a big fan of the style of play brought by Herzog: the "Whiteyball".

Vitello went to high school at De Smet Jesuit in Creve Coeur, Missouri, where his baseball and soccer coach was his dad, Greg Vitello, a Missouri Sports Hall of Famer. Greg spent 46 years of his life coaching both baseball and soccer at the high-school level, which benefited Tony early in his baseball life. The two of them would dissect games and practices at home. Tony quickly became his father's unofficial assistant. Years later, after spending three seasons at the University of Missouri as an infielder, Tony, came back in 2003 as a volunteer assistant before becoming a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator in 2004 while also serving as pitching coach.

So for the first time this season, the rookie manager knew his way around the city and stadium.

"All year long I've been the dummy that doesn't know where to get into the stadium, and where we're staying," he said pregame. "It was nice to have some familiarity."

Tony Vitello created a lot of memories in St. Louis

Busch Stadium, the old one, used to be Vitello's stomping ground. His childhood is filled with memories that took place between those walls. He was in the bleachers in right field in 1988 when Will Clark ran through the Cardinals' second baseman and cause the benches to clear and punches to be thrown. He was also in the park the year after when Kevin Mitchell made an incredible catch with his bare right hand in the left corner. Almost a decade later, Vitello apparently stood yards away from where Mark McGwire hit his 62nd homer of the season, breaking a then-single-season record. McGwire finished the year with 70 homers and his record stood until a certain Barry Bonds broke it in 2001 by sending 73 balls over the fence.

In hindsight, was he actually that close from catching the ball?

"Probably 20 yards, but close enough," he joked. "Maybe I should have just grabbed a ball from a bucket and say I caught the darn thing and sell it on eBay."

But none of those memories were the first to pop up in his mind when he came out early to run and get his mind ready to coach a game in such a flashback-heavy place. The actual first one involved some nachos stealing, when one of his high-school friend picked up the leftover nachos the fans sitting in the row in front of them had slid under their seats.

A lot of family and friends will be on hand throughout the three-game series, and Vitello was surprised by how they all managed to get their tickets on their own.

"Everybody's been pretty good to me about tickets," he said with a smile. "I think people have ponied up or paid their own way, so I guess I say I appreciate that. Maybe they think I'm cheap."

He'll get more time once the season ends in now less than two weeks. Even with the injuries and controversies his team was subjected to, Vitello is bummed that the season's end is looming. He's had a lot of fun watching and coaching those young players and seeing them enjoying being on the field every day. Witnessing Rafael Devers develop as a leader of the locker room also made that rough period, from a results standpoint, one he learned to appreciate. Vitello called his reaction to Devers getting placed on the 60-day IL "a night of mourning", though he's already excited to see him compete next season.

"He needed to get done what he needed to get done, and I'm happy for him that way, I'm excited how much he's pumped up about next year," Vitello said about Devers.

With now just a few games left on the schedule, Vitello wants his team to focus on doing the little things better. He wants to continue to see improvements at the margins. Overall this season, it's been a disaster. With their 2-1 loss in the series-opener against the Cardinals, the Giants fell to 15-27 in one-run games on the season. The loss also was their 50th on the road, marking just the sixth time in the San Francisco era — since 1958 — that a Giants team loses at least 50 games away from home.

But for the first time in a while, Vitello was back home. He remembered when, back in grade school, he and his classmates would count down the days until Opening Day. Now, decades later, he's counting down the final days of his first season in the big leagues, an accomplishment he never even dared to dream about.

"No chance," he answered when asked if he'd ever imagined coming back to St. Louis as a manager in the major leagues.

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