Ron Wotus gave Tony Vitello a pretty clear reminder on Saturday: if you’re going to manage in this league, you can’t treat the umpires like they’re part of the furniture.
The SF Giants were already coming off a rough night from the crew on Friday, when home plate umpire Alan Porter ejected Vitello for arguing a ball that was ruled foul. Porter had a miserable game behind the plate, with multiple challenges stretching the night and one analysis saying he missed 21 balls-and-strikes calls. The crew’s night was so messy that Logan Webb got tossed even though he wasn’t pitching.
Then came Saturday, before the first game of a split doubleheader. Wotus, carrying the lineup card to the umpires, started talking with Porter and was tossed almost right away. Wotus kept arguing, and in the process made the lesson plain: umpires are not your friends.
That’s not exactly breaking news in baseball, of course. Managers and umpires have been at each other forever, and the sport’s old rhythm still runs on that friction. If you saw a skipper and an umpire laughing it up together, it would feel out of place.
For Vitello, the message matters because he came into the season already carrying some hesitation about how hard to go after umpires and even his own veterans. Baseball is a “pay your dues” kind of place, and plenty in MLB likely view him as someone who arrived from the college game without going through the usual route.
But backing down is not the answer, either. Vitello did a better job of getting his money’s worth on Friday, and Wotus’ exchange on Saturday served as a reminder that the edge has to stay there. The Giants hired Vitello for his energy and fire, and maybe that means he should lean into it more, not less, with a month left in the year.
Players notice that stuff. Blade Tidwell said he liked seeing both Vitello and Webb have his back, and that kind of support can help build trust in the clubhouse.
Having Wotus in the dugout is clearly useful for Vitello as he learns the big-league ropes, and on Saturday he led by example. The umpires have a way of acting like they can push people around. Vitello, at least going forward, may want to make sure they know that won’t be easy.
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Giants Umpire Tension Just Turned Another Routine Moment Into Drama
A pregame lineup card exchange is supposed to be one of the quietest parts of a baseball day, but it turned into another flashpoint for the Giants before their doubleheader against the Diamondbacks. San Francisco special assistant Ron Wotus was ejected by umpire Alan Porter before the first pitch, keeping the club in the middle of the same kind of tension that has shadowed recent games.
The moment came on the heels of another contentious night, when manager Tony Vitello was also tossed after arguing a call. Vitello has now been ejected five times this season, a run that has made the relationship between him and the umpiring crew a storyline of its own and added a little more edge to even the most routine exchanges around the team. [Read more 🡒]
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Giants Just Gave Jeff Kent One Of The Teams Highest Honors
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Kent became the 15th player to have his number retired by the Giants, a distinction that speaks to how the team still values its past even in the middle of a current homestand. He also handled the ceremonial first pitch, a fitting touch for a day that was equal parts celebration and reminder of how many important chapters in this franchises story still live at Oracle Park. [Read more 🡒]