When the Giants landed in St. Louis after another rough trip through San Diego, Tony Vitello stepped into a city that didn’t feel unfamiliar at all. For a first-year manager trying to make sense of a long big-league season, this stop came with the kind of comfort only a true homecoming can bring.
Busch Stadium delivered the first wave of memories. In the manager’s office, Vitello spotted a picture of Whitey Herzog, the Hall of Fame skipper who guided the Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title.
Then, once inside the ballpark, the Gateway Arch came into view. That was enough to send him back to the days when he was a St.
Louis kid and a Cardinals fan, drawn to the brand of baseball Herzog made famous: “Whiteyball”.
Vitello knows this city because he grew up in it. He attended De Smet Jesuit in Creve Coeur, Missouri, where his father, Greg Vitello, coached both baseball and soccer.
Greg, a Missouri Sports Hall of Famer, spent 46 years coaching at the high-school level, and Tony was right there soaking it in. At home, they would break down games and practices together, and Tony became his dad’s unofficial assistant.
Later, after three seasons playing infield at the University of Missouri, Tony returned in 2003 as a volunteer assistant, then moved into a full-time assistant and recruiting coordinator role in 2004 while also working as pitching coach.
That background meant the rookie manager wasn’t wandering around like a tourist this week. He knew the city.
He knew the stadium. He knew where he was going.
"All year long I've been the dummy that doesn't know where to get into the stadium, and where we're staying," he said pregame. "It was nice to have some familiarity."
The memories in St. Louis run deep for Vitello, especially at the old Busch Stadium, where he spent part of his childhood.
He remembers being in the right-field bleachers in 1988 when Will Clark ran through the Cardinals’ second baseman and benches cleared. The next year, he was in the park again when Kevin Mitchell made a remarkable bare-handed catch in the left corner.
Nearly a decade after that, he was apparently just yards away when Mark McGwire launched his 62nd home run of the season, breaking the single-season record at the time. McGwire would finish with 70, and that mark held until Barry Bonds hit 73 in 2001.
Vitello laughed when asked whether he had been close enough to catch that ball.
"Probably 20 yards, but close enough," he joked. "Maybe I should have just grabbed a ball from a bucket and say I caught the darn thing and sell it on eBay."
But the first flashback that hit him as he came out early to run before the game had nothing to do with a famous homer or a classic brawl. It was a simpler memory: a high school friend scooping up leftover nachos that fans in the row ahead of them had slid under their seats.
The trip also brought family and friends into the picture. Vitello said plenty of them would be around during the three-game series, and he sounded a little amused by how they all managed to handle their own tickets.
"Everybody's been pretty good to me about tickets," he said with a smile. "I think people have ponied up or paid their own way, so I guess I say I appreciate that. Maybe they think I'm cheap."
There’s still more time to catch up once the season is over, and that end is now less than two weeks away. Even with the injuries and controversies that have surrounded the Giants, Vitello said he’s bummed the finish line is so close.
He’s enjoyed watching the young players and seeing them have fun every day, and he’s also appreciated Rafael Devers growing into a leader in the clubhouse. Vitello called Devers being placed on the 60-day IL "a night of mourning", though he’s already looking ahead to next season and what Devers can bring.
"He needed to get done what he needed to get done, and I'm happy for him that way, I'm excited how much he's pumped up about next year," Vitello said about Devers.
With only a few games left, Vitello wants his club to keep sharpening the small details. He wants improvement at the margins.
The big picture, though, has been brutal. After a 2-1 loss to the Cardinals in the series opener, the Giants dropped to 15-27 in one-run games.
The defeat was also their 50th road loss, making this just the sixth time in the San Francisco era - since 1958 - that the Giants have lost at least 50 games away from home.
Still, for Vitello, this stop meant something different. Back in grade school, he and his classmates used to count down the days until Opening Day. Now he’s counting down the final days of his first season in the majors, a job he never imagined reaching, even in his boldest moments.
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