SF Giants News: Umps 'bully' Vitello, Fireworks Fiasco, Hunter Pence 'Tarps Off'

Most SF Giants fans are only concerned about what the team is going to do ahead of the August 3 MLB trade deadline which is more than understandable. This is the type of season that makes one look ahead to the future rather than at the dismal present.

But there are still some news nuggets surrounding the team that you may have missed what with all the trade rumors and speculation going on as of late. Let’s dive right into three news items you may have missed.

SF Giants news bits ahead of the trade deadline

Vitello getting bullied by umpires 

When Tony Vitello was hired as the manager of the Giants, many worried if he’d be respected by his players. Not many thought about whether he’d be respected by the umpires but it seems pretty clear that he is not.

Giants broadcaster Mike Krukow spoke about how the umps treat Vitello recently on KNBR and said:

 "I think they bully him. And he needs to rise above it and get back in their face. I thought he should have pulled the base out of the dirt and thrown it at the head umpire, I really do. It just ticks me off that they do that to him."

This was in reference to the series finale against the Kansas City Royals in which the second base umpire made a bad call by saying shortstop Willy Adames pushed a runner off the base at second when he clearly did not. It was not a reviewable play, Vitello argued a bit, and then he got tossed by the hot-headed crew chief Lance Barrett even though he didn’t argue that much.

This comes after Vitello revealed earlier in the season that an umpire made derogatory comments about him coming straight from the college ranks during an argument so it’s clear there’s some animus from the umpires towards the rookie skipper.

Maybe that’s to be expected, but it’s still never a great look when the umpires clearly don’t respect the manager. This may speak to an overall lack of assertiveness from the skipper, so Vitello needs to go at them more aggressively going forward just to show he’s not going to be pushed around.

Fireworks Fiasco

As if the Giants needed a physical metaphor for how their season has gone, their Double-A affiliate, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, had a firework show go very wrong earlier this week. The fireworks started shooting off into the stands and the video is pretty wild.

Thankfully no one was hurt and the Flying Squirrels wisely announced that the fireworks would be shot away from the stadium going forward but it still serves as an apt metaphor even though the Giants’ minor league affiliates are doing quite well this season.

Hunter Pence goes tarps off

The Giants broke their losing streak last night with a walk-off victory against the Los Angeles Angels. Giants legend Hunter Pence was in attendance alongside his wife Lexi and his nephew Striker (who is considered a first-round talent in the 2027 MLB Draft). 

Pence was getting into it with the game on the line in the bottom of the 10th and he even went “tarps off” by taking his shirt off and getting the crowd into it.

It apparently worked as the Giants got the win so maybe that won’t be the last time we see Pence shirtless this season. 

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