‘Two peas in a pod’: Two decades after college, Vitello, Tingler reunited with SF Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Tony Vitello, Jayce Tingler and the Missouri Tigers wanted one last hurrah.

Following the Tigers’ loss to Mississippi State in the 2003 NCAA Starkville Regional, Vitello, Tingler and Missouri’s baseball team returned to Columbia, Missouri and convened at Harpo’s Bar and Grill. Vitello, a volunteer coach, and Tingler, a departing senior, chatted over drinks. Vitello recalls the conversation vividly.

“I remember talking about a coach that I admire and look up to in college baseball. He said, ‘You can be better than that guy.’ I never forgot that,” Vitello recalled on Saturday morning. “I know exactly where I was sitting. I know what was going on. Obviously, I wasn’t overserved because I remember exactly what he said and it stuck with me.”

As for whether Tingler remembers the conversation?

“Most of the days at Harpo’s I do not remember,” Tingler said with a smile. “But Tony’s always been different. He has always connected with people, players. … I think it’s maybe one of his best gifts — he’s got a lot of gifts. But the way he can communicate, the way he can connect with people, he’s always been different.”

More than two decades later, Vitello and Tingler are reunited in San Francisco, their first opportunity to work together since Vitello was a coach and Tingler was a player on that 2003 Missouri team. Vitello has never spent a game in a major-league dugout, but Tingler, his bench coach, provides a lot of invaluable experience and insight.

It doesn’t hurt that the two are buddies.

“If I could get vulnerable for a second, you need co-workers and you have to lean on people, but you also need a friend,” Vitello said. “I think having somebody who’s lived out about every scenario you can in this game, it’s valuable on the work side but also on the personal side.”

There aren’t many responsibilities that the 45-year-old Tingler hasn’t had over two-plus decades in pro ball.

Tingler spent the last four seasons as the bench coach for the Minnesota Twins under Rocco Baldelli, where he had an opportunity to work with new second baseman Luis Arráez. Before his time in Minnesota, Tingler managed the San Diego Padres in 2020 and ‘21, finishing second in the 2020 NL Manager of the Year voting.

From 2007-19, Tingler took on many different roles in the Texas Rangers’ organization. That included being a coach (‘07) and manager in the Dominican Summer League (‘08-‘09); a major-league field coordinator (‘15-’16); an assistant general manager (‘17); interim bench coach (‘18); and major-league development field coordinator (‘19).

With his experience, Tingler hopes to help Vitello “cover some blind spots” during spring training and the regular season, crediting catching coach and field coordinator Alex Burg for helping with the day-to-day schedule. Along with Tingler, infield coach Ron Washington, who worked with Tingler with the Texas Rangers, will be an invaluable resource.

When it comes to getting Vitello up to speed with all the ins and outs of the rulebook, Tingler joked that the Dodgers’ field coordinator Bob Geren is the only person in baseball who knows every rule aside from the umpires. Tingler said the Giants are looking at “bizarre plays” and that the staff is constantly studying from a video list.

“There’ll be times when I’m working maybe two innings or three innings in advance and giving him ideas, but I want to make sure he’s staying present,” Tingler said. “I’m going to give him options on moves and scenarios. … We play 162 (games). The plan is to play more than that.

“We’re going to have some things come up, and between myself and the staff, our goal is to handle some things and keep as much off Tony’s desk … as possible so he can do his job.”

Before his four-year pro career, which peaked at Double-A, Tingler was a standout at Missouri. Vitello, though, didn’t think Tingler looked the part when he met him for the first time.

“Jayce, now, is physical, but back then, whatever he was, he was small,” Vitello said in December at MLB’s Winter Meetings. “And I was like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ It kinda boosted my immediate confidence. I thought, ‘Maybe I could make this team.’ It turns out he was our best player. He was also our best competitor, and he also became one of my best friends.”

In college, Vitello and Tingler eavesdropped on opposing teams’ Thursday night practices. Both were especially fond of legendary Texas coach Augie Garrido, who won five College World Series. One time, Oklahoma’s coach thought Vitello was a groundskeeper and tipped him $100.

Vitello graduated a year before Tingler but remained with the program as a volunteer coach. For the 2003 season, Vitello was ahead of Tingler in the hierarchy. They remained tight, but the dynamic had shifted.

“We about killed each other about 17 times that year,” Vitello joked.

“We would bang heads, and it was in a healthy way,” Tingler said. “If he didn’t think I was giving an effort, he was the first (to call me out). But he could do that because of the history and the relationship. I think the bottom line is, I feel accurate in saying he made me a better player.”

Tim Jamieson, who coached both players at Missouri, recalls Vitello being the more intense of the two, but noted that neither of them ever crossed the line. Jamieson raved about their collective competitiveness, recalling that there was “never a point in time where they lost the fire or threw in the towel or quit competing.”

“They’re two peas in a pod as it relates to the sport and how to go about winning, teaching, their knowledge and their passion for all that stuff,” Jamieson, currently Missouri’s director of program development, said. “They’re both extremely competitive. … They’re going to beat you. That was their mentality. They’re going to find a way to beat you.”

“He hasn’t slowed down. He wants to practice jiu jitsu on me out there in the outfield,” Vitello laughed.

When Vitello started receiving interest from MLB teams a year or two ago, Tingler recalled telling Vitello to be very picky about the organization he chooses. Tingler’s point: Teams will continue calling if he succeeds at Tennessee. Tingler didn’t want to push Vitello in any particular direction when the Giants reached out, telling him to “stay true to his heart and what his gut was telling him.”

Tingler was a fan of the bold, brash Tennessee teams led by Vitello, whose energy and intensity became his signature. In the majors, Tingler expects Vitello to continue being himself — even if that means mixing it up every now and then.

“He’s an emotional guy,” Tingler said. “I think he’s got some Italian blood in him and some Irish blood in him, so I’d be surprised if it doesn’t come out at times. But I expect him to be himself. That’s worked and I believe it’s going to work as well going forward.”

Tingler was “down the line” with several other teams this offseason but shifted gears when Vitello inquired about this position. While most bench coaches around baseball parlay their positions into managerial roles, Tingler doesn’t have his eyes on his next move.

“Maybe when I was younger, I may have had those desires to manage,” Tingler said. “I’ve managed. I’ve got two young boys who are 14 and 12. If I’m being perfectly honest with you, I’m probably one of the few bench coaches in the league that has no desire to manage in the next few years. …

“I can’t tell you that one day, my wife and I are empty nesters — and hopefully, if she does her job right, not me, and she gets both of them out of the house either to work or college — maybe that’ll come back around. But right now, I’m excited. I enjoy the bench coach aspect.”

Dating back to their time in college, Tingler and Vitello always had a feeling that they’d work together. More than 20 years after forming a friendship in Columbia, Tingler and Vitello will get that chance in San Francisco.

“They love everything they do. So, from that, you’re going to get consistently great effort,” Jamieson said. “You can’t coach that. You can’t teach that.”