Former Tennessee coach Tony Vitello made his first very unconventional move in the big leagues in a win against the New York Mets

There are a lot of eyes on former Tennessee Vols baseball coach Tony Vitello this spring as he settles into his new role as the manager of the San Francisco Giants.

Vitello had no previous MLB or minor league experience before getting hired by the Giants last October.

As a result, there’s a lot of intrigue when it comes to Vitello’s style as a manager. Will he be unconventional and make moves that are more common in college than the big leagues? Or will he manage in a more traditional style?

The truth is that it’s going to be a mix. Vitello is the type of guy who never feels like he’s the smartest guy in the room. He’s always looking for a new way to gain an edge or to learn something new. But he will also lean on many of the things he learned from his time as the head coach at Tennessee.

Tony Vitello makes unconventional pitching move in win against the Mets

Vitello made an odd move on Thursday night in the Giants’ 7-2 win over the New York Mets.

With the Giants leading 6-2 in the top of the sixth inning, Vitello brought in relief pitcher Ryan Walker, who typically serves as the team’s closer.

Vitello reasoned that bringing in Walker gave the Mets a drastically different look than they received from Giants left-handed starter Robbie Ray. He also noted that it was an important “leverage” moment in the game.

Vitello brought Walker, a righty, in to face two right-handed hitters in the middle of the Mets’ lineup — Luis Robert Jr and Mark Vientos, who homered earlier in the game.

Essentially, Vitello saw that moment in the game as a chance for the Mets to get back into the game. Bringing in Walker shut down the potential threat, which then allowed Vitello to hand the ball to former Vols pitcher Blade Tidwell, who pitched the final three innings to earn his first career save (Tidwell, coincidentally, was traded by the Mets to the Giants).

You almost never see an MLB manager bring a closer into the sixth inning of an early April game, but Vitello isn’t most MLB managers.

Ultimately, the move worked to perfection. And as baseball fans often like to point out, wins in April technically mean just as much as wins in September.