Villains always have a knack for drawing attention and a crowd, and there is a new villain in intercollegiate athletics. Well…maybe he’s not “new,” but he is revealing himself to the masses for the first time.
His name is Tony Vitello, and he is the baseball coach at the University of Tennessee.
To his credit, he has created quite the emerging giant over in the SEC East. After taking over in 2018, Vitello led the Volunteers to a 29-27 record, and from there, the climb began.
The following season, Tennessee won 40 games. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, they started 15-2. Last season, the Vols finally arrived with a 50-win season on the way to its fifth College World Series appearance, the first since 2005.
While Tennessee may have arrived in 2021, they truly have ascended in 2022. The Volunteers are currently putting together the best season ever by an SEC team with a 41-4 record and a 19-2 SEC record. They have become the unquestioned number one team in America and have the stats to prove it. The lineup hits above .300 and for plenty of power. The pitching staff is deep and throws flames. Just ask Auburn’s Cole Foster, who saw Tennessee’s Ben Joyce throw a 105.5 mile-per-hour fastball, the second-fastest pitch in recorded baseball history.
The saying goes that to make an omelet, you have to crack some eggs. Well, Tennessee certainly has. A lot of feathers have been ruffled as Vitello has built Frankenstein’s Tennessee Orange Monster in Knoxville.
The ire against Vitello and Tennessee first started seeping out from Vitello’s former boss, Arkansas head coach Dave Van Horn. He and Vitello got in a heated yelling match after a game last May. This year, Van Horn has taken a few veiled shots at other schools in the media, mostly Tennessee, however.
Then there was the bat controversy this season. Rumors of “illegal” bats being used by Tennessee swirled. Finally, Vanderbilt decided to call Tennessee on it and had the umpires check. The bat did not have the proper test sticker, so the hitter, who had just hit a home run, was called out. Annoyed, Tennessee proceeded to eviscerate Vandy on the way to a series sweep.
A few weeks later, Tennessee pitching coach Frank Anderson was ejected in a heated moment between Tennessee and Alabama. This caused Vitello to emerge from the dugout and argue, resulting in his own ejection. Vitello did not let it stop there, however. He proceeded to awkwardly chest-bump the umpire, for which he was later suspended four games.
Finally, this past weekend, Auburn arrived in Knoxville for a ranked series. The fireworks between the two teams got rolling late in Game 2 when Bobby Pierce hit a late, go-ahead home run and flipped his bat, which took two perfect hops in front of the Tennessee dugout.
Before the bat had even come to rest, Tony Vitello was out of the dugout, picking up the bat and slinging it back toward the Auburn dugout, nearly hitting a trio of Tigers celebrating the home run.
Tempers flared further as both dugouts yelled at each other. Auburn assistants Gabe Gross and Tim Hudson looked ready to come to blows with Frank Anderson and Vitello. Once the dust settled, Auburn would go on to win.
There is no denying Vitello is a polarizing figure. He carries himself with a swagger dipped in confrontation. It permeates through his program and the fan base that supports them. It is what Tennessee baseball is now. They are college baseball’s Death Star, and Vitello is the emperor.
As the most hated team in college baseball, everyone keeps one eye on the Vols, and everyone is rooting for their downfall. There is a fine line between confident and cocky, and Tennessee has set up camp on the cocky side of that line.
If this team comes up short, the rest of the conference and several other teams around the country will be heard. They will come for their pound of flesh.
If this team wins it all and caps off arguably the greatest season any team has ever had, the whining and gnashing of teeth will be loud and heard by Tennessee’s fans, and they will bathe in their detractors’ tears.
Either way, Tony Vitello has created an evil empire, and with all the attention and intrigue that follows him, it is excellent for college baseball.
Vitello and the Vols will continue to push the envelope. He does not care about your feelings or if you think it is right or wrong. In his own words, “In between the lines, there are no rules.”