Former SF Giants fan favorite warns of 'risky' Tony Vitello hire

Buster Posey and the SF Giants are taking a big swing by making Tony Vitello the next manager of the team. As a first-time MLB manager with no experience in professional baseball, a target is going to be placed on his back and all eyes will be on him.

Former Giants fan-favorite first baseman J.T. Snow appeared on KNBR and talked about how his first reaction upon hearing the news that Vitello was being hired was that it is a somewhat surprising and risky endeavor.

J.T. Snow realizes inherent risk in SF Giants making Tony Vitello the manager

"I'm kind of on the outside. But as a person on the outside, my opinion, when I saw this, I had a couple of reactions. Number one, I was surprised...The other thing I thought about was, wow, this is pretty risky.”

He went on to say that Vitello obviously provides a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but his lack of experience in professional baseball is definitely something that could come with a learning curve which echoes the sentiment of Mike Krukow who said there could be some issues with Vitello's lack of experience.

Perhaps Vitello's lack of experience in big league ball could give him something of a unique advantage as he will come in with fresh eyes and could see room for improvement or changes that people who have spent a lot of time in professional baseball may not be able to envision.

Still, it is only natural to expect that there are going to be some bumps in the road for Vitello as he tries to navigate leading a big league clubhouse over the course of a 162-game season or managing a bullpen on short rest or whether to pinch hit late in a game.

These are the decisions he will be scrutinized for, but perhaps the big bet that Posey is making is that whatever mistakes Vitello will make managing games will be made up for with his energy and personality which, despite the potential for being divisive, could help the team get through rough times better than the more reserved demeanor of Bob Melvin.

Snow is certainly not the only person who feels the Vitello hire is risky. There are probably many fans who have some reticence about someone so green taking over in San Francisco.

But after so many years or mediocre results on the field, maybe a big risk like this is what is needed to get the Giants back to playing in the playoffs.