Tony Vitello predicts his hiring will make for a lot more SF Giants fans

The SF Giants may be the only show in the Bay Area when it comes to major league baseball, but manager Tony Vitello thinks that the team will be getting a mass infusion of fans from Tennessee.

Vitello appeared on KNBR recently to talk about spring training and adjusting to his new role, and he said the following about winning over fans from Tennessee:

"Tennessee is kind of migrating that way. There's kind of a pocket there where there's Braves fans, Cubs fans, but there's really no home team kind of in that area. So there'll be a lot of new fans on board, I think.”

New SF Giants manager Tony Vitello thinks team will have fans from Tennessee

It is not the craziest idea, but it definitely seems like the fanbase in Tennessee was pretty distraught that Vitello left to join the Giants. When Vitello was still making his decision after it was leaked that the Giants were honing in on him, social media users from Tennessee did not hesitate to degrade the Giants' roster and the city of San Francisco in an attempt to get Vitello to stay.

Those more intense and negative Vols fans certainly do not represent the entire fanbase, but it will probably take some time for them to get on board with the Giants. Some may even be hoping that Vitello flames out in San Francisco so he can come back and coach at Tennessee again.

But Vitello raises a good point that there is no major league team in Tennessee right now. That could change if commissioner Rob Manfred's realignment and expansion plans come to fruition and Nashville gets a club, but for now the state is in a bit of a dead zone when it comes to professional baseball.

While it may take time, if the Giants end up being good under Vitello and make the playoffs you can bet that a lot of Vols fans will be cheering for San Francisco. It would be sort of like how Giants fans were pulling for Bruce Bochy's Texas Rangers when they won a World Series in 2023.

We'll see if Vitello's prediction will come true, but for now he is simply trying to set the tone and get acclimated with his players in Scottsdale. He is taking grounders and showing off the energy and charisma that many hope will change the vibes in San Francisco.

The Los Angeles Dodgers might have the entire country of Japan pulling for them, but if the Giants can get the state of Tennessee on their side at least that's something.