Tony Vitello's trip to Dominican Republic shows he means business with SF Giants

When the SF Giants hired Tony Vitello as their next manager, a lot was made of his inexperience. Particularly, some pointed out his inexperience with Spanish-speaking players from Latin countries, but he seems to be rectifying that.

Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports that Vitello and Jayce Tingler, who will be on Vitello's coaching staff in 2026, will travel to the Dominican Republic in the offseason to get a better sense of the culture and try and pick up a little Spanish.

New SF Giants manager and assistant coach to head to Dominican Republic

Now, maybe this could just be an excuse for a boys' trip to the D.R. to get away from the winter cold. No one could blame the new manager for trying to soak up some sun before heading to chilly San Francisco for half the year.

But in all seriousness, this is a very smart move by Vitello as he tries to get up to speed with the game at the major league level. Doing something like this speaks to the humility Vitello has brought to the role, admitting he does not know everything and there are things he can pick up on and learn more about.

While what he did at the University of Tennessee was impressive, the players he coached were primarily from the United States and spoke English as their first language. Now he will inherit a roster with players from predominantly Spanish-speaking countries and South Korea in the case of Jung Hoo Lee.

Vitello is going to have to manage players from all over the world which is surely going to be an adjustment. But the fact that he is willing to make a trip and try to learn and get better acclimated to a different culture shows that he is willing to go that extra mile, literally, and is willing to extend an olive branch to players from different backgrounds.

We will see if this trip ends up paying dividends, but a lot of eyes will be on Vitello in his first season as a big league manager. Many will be eager to see if he can successfully make the transition directly from the college ranks to MLB.

Some think he will do great like NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, while others like former manager Joe Maddon may be a bit more skeptical.

No one knows for sure how this unorthodox hire will pan out, but the fact that Vitello is willing to listen and learn coming into a new role is a positive early sign.