Final: Tennessee - 0 Baseball - 1.
“If you can vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe, and enthusiastically act upon a goal, it will come to pass.” - Skip Bertman
SEC!!! SEC!!! SEC!!! Not so fast my friend. The refrain typically heard from fans in the SEC, usually at the end of a victorious postseason competition, is perhaps the biggest thing that gets under the skin of those poor fans from the weaker conferences. In preparation for the Knoxville Super Regional between the Volunteers and Fighting Irish, with the winner heading to the promised land that is Omaha, I knew one thing for sure - there would be no SEC, SEC, SEC coming from this mouth. This breach of SEC rooting protocol caused a sense of discomfort, exacerbated by the fact that in rooting against the Volunteers meant I was, in fact, rooting for the Fighting Irish, with their cool shirts about being Catholics.
I was able to push through this discomfort, and when the final out was recorded in Game 3, it was the Fighting Irish dogpiling on the crappy artificial turf mound in Lindsey Nelson stadium. Order was restored, and I could hear the collective sigh of relief from the entire college baseball world. As the dust settled (that’s just a cliche, because there is no dust from a carpet - artificial turf fields should be outlawed in the SEC - for crying out loud, we have the best grass growing climates in the country), and I had some time to reflect, I started to question why I was feeling more relief in the loss than the victory for the Irish. Were the baseball gods sending the BaseVols a signal, or perhaps it was karma, or maybe both?
Disclaimer - I graduated from LSU many moons ago and have been an avid baseball fan for the duration. I have watched Hold the Rope more times than I can count, unable to turn away even during the rain delays on the SEC Network, which would make it rain in my house - well mist as least. My love for college baseball was cemented during the 5 in 10 run in the 90s - less about the wins, more about the way the game was played, with Skipper at the helm.
As I started to analyze the CWS field, and if I was going to take a rooting interest, I couldn’t let go of the fact that I didn’t see Tennessee on any CWS bracket, and this was GOOD for college baseball. But why? Shouldn’t I feel some discomfort in shunning one of our own? OK - let me check. I started at the end - pulled up the postgame press conference with Tony Vitello and a couple BaseVols - fully expecting to hear a contrite coach asking for forgiveness from the baseball gods. WRONG! First, CTV violated perhaps the Skipper’s biggest No No - there is no room for TOB in baseball.
“The first is what the head baseball coach at Louisiana State University, Skip Bertman, calls TOB--transfer of blame. It’s simply people pointing their fingers--coaches blaming players, players blaming umpires, parents blaming coaches, etc.” - Los Angeles Times
Coach Vitello painted his players as victims, having to endure accusations of bat tampering, flipping people off, and general poor behavior. As if that wasn’t enough, he went on the explain why the umpires had to talk to both coaches multiple times during the weekend. Paraphrasing, coach Vitello said that if you did something on the field very well, you had the right to talk trash about it. Enough said.
Remember my reference to the cool Catholic shirts? My immediate reaction was that some Notre Dame fans were trying to make money rehashing the Catholics versus Convicts from the 1988 football game with the Hurricanes. Wrong again - the shirts were made by Tennessee fans, obviously embracing the Busch League narrative about the BaseVols.
Feeling some comfort that I was on the right side of this, I took to the message boards to see what others thought. WOW - it was probably the 1st time that every thread on the 1st page of the board had to do with the Knoxville Super Regional. And I must say that I felt sorry for the handful of Vols fans - it reminded me of the movie 300 - they were able to hold for a while, but there’s strength in numbers. There were three recurring themes from the CTV apologists - jealousy, hypocrisy, and something about being a snowflake. Jealousy? You mean jealousy as in LSU fans hating to see Bama win or the Saints fans hating to see the Niners win back in the day? No one likes to see a dynasty win every year - oh, by the way, someone needs to tell Tony Vitello that he must win something before throwing that word around. Some said LSU fans were hypocrites, citing the swagger from the Tigers during that 5 in 10 run in the 90s. Nice try - there is a big difference between respectful confidence and whatever that is that the BaseVols have going on. As far as being a snowflake, this Boomer can only say “act like you’ve been there before”.
Now that it is obvious which direction this is going, I will attempt to explain why I feel the baseball gods got this one right. There were many instances during the season that rubbed me the wrong way, but I will keep it to just a few that really stood out. The incidents stood out in my mind as they seemed to happen outside the parameters of typical incidents with other teams in other seasons. Baseball is a game played by humans, scored by humans, and officiated by humans - as such, there are times where human nature gets the best of people, and things happen. This doesn’t seem to be the case with this Volunteer team - as a matter of fact, each incident seemed to elicit a visceral reaction, with me always thinking WTF!
You’re not my boy, BLUE!
Let me set the scene for you. The Vols were in the 1st inning of Game 2 at home against the Crimson Tide, having lost their 1st SEC game the previous night, bringing their overall record to 31-3 , 12-1 in the SEC. This record, by the way, had the Vols solidly with the #1 ranking in the nation, with no one even close. Good times in Knoxville, right? Having retired the 1 and 2 hole hitters in the Top of the 1st, Chase Dollander delivered a pitch, which was lined back off his elbow, careening directly to the 1st baseman - side retired. The Vols started to run off the field, save for Dollander, who was on the ground grabbing his elbow - not a good time for pitching coach Frank Anderson. Anderson bolts from the dugout, ostensibly to check on his ace, but after 15 seconds, he is ejected from the game. Dazed by it all, coach Vitello makes a beeline for the 3rd base umpire. Within another 15 seconds, he is tossed, after which he decides to bump the very umpire that just tossed him - not a chest bump, mind you, a stomach bump. I never could understand how bumping another man’s stomach was a sign of virility or dominance - always looked pretty silly to me. Anyway, upon hearing about this incident, I immediately thought who gets tossed in the 1st inning of a game, especially when your team is 31-3? Well, according to a Vols beat writer, the pitching coach was upset about how the game was called the night before, with the new 3rd base ump being the previous night’s offender. And the head coach was upset about the way the Crimson Tide celebrated after Game 1. WHAT! The Tennessee Volunteer baseball team had a problem with team celebrations? I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt - perhaps one of the Tide players grabbed the fur coat and ran around the field with it. Is it just me, but every time I see that fur coat after a homerun, I utter to myself
I'm gonna pop some tags *(on some bats)*
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I'm, I'm, I'm hunting, looking for a come up
This is fucking awesome.
What struck me the most about this incident is that nothing that happened in Game 2 caused the meltdown from the coaching staff. It was the events some 24 hours earlier. If anyone reading this has access to Tony Vitello, I have a suggestion for the next time he finds himself in this position - a heartwarming Disney movie. Perhaps Frozen - he may learn to just Let It Geaux!
Not talking about a bat FLIP.
Fast forward to the postseason, where the Vols are seeded #1, allowing them to host a Regional in their quaint little stadium. The Vols found themselves down 1 run in the 9th inning of a game with Georgia Tech, with a loss forcing a winner-take-all game for the right to move on. Jordan Beck ropes an RBI double over the outstretched glove of the Tech center fielder, tying the game, which the Vols would go on to win. Such an exciting play in the game of baseball - player comes through for his team in the clutch to send them to victory. So why was Jordan Beck more concerned about showing up the opponent versus celebrating for his team? Hmmm.
To add insult to injury, Jordan Beck, after knowing that this question would come up in the postgame presser, followed with
“I was super excited. I had a little bit of a blackout moment. I was just happy I hit a flush barrel. I didn’t know if it was getting over the guy’s head or not.”
Maybe he’s a visual learner?
As if flipping the bird during the Regional wasn’t enough, the Vols continued to show their asses on an even bigger stage. And this was a head scratcher as well. During the 5th inning of Game 1, the Vols came to the plate trailing by 6 runs. Leadoff batter draws a walk, and Drew Gilbert comes to the plate. The 1-0 offering is called a strike, after which Mr. Gilbert had some choice words for the home plate umpire, leading to his ejection as well as the Vols’ pitching coach. What doesn’t add up here? It wasn’t like he was rung up on the pitch - it was strike 1, for God’s sake. It even elicited a full-throated defense from Kyle Peterson, but as with the BaseVols, there’s more to the story. Following the game, the umpiring crew felt the need to address the double ejection. Apparently, Drew Gilbert did not like the ump’s strike zone in the 1st inning, an AB which ended in a ground out. He apparently stewed about it while Notre Dame put up another run in the 2nd, and after the side was retired, he complained to the umpires while leaving the field. The umpires calmly went to the Vols dugout and explained the unwritten rule that involves balls and strikes. Gilbert should have written it down, as he obviously forgot about it several innings later. Or perhaps Mr. Gilbert felt some sort of entitlement - that those stupid rules didn’t apply to him. Who knows?
Starts at the top
As with most baseball teams, the players take on the persona of the coach, in this case Tony Vitello. Looking at his behavior since leaving Arkansas and taking over the reigns at Tennessee, it is easy to understand how these things happened. The Big Guy let them happen - for all we know, he encouraged them.
Back in 2018, Tony Vitello was in his first year as the Vols baseball coach. He received a two game suspension for his behavior during a weekend series against Kentucky. Rather than show contrition, he celebrated it by running a lemonade stand outside Lindsey Nelson stadium.
Last year, when going head to head with his old coach, Vitello couldn’t help himself, even after “cooling” down for several minutes after a series loss to Arkansas.
“Coach Van Horn is a mentor for me, and he’s also a gracious winner, and he just wanted to say good job, and I didn’t want to chat. He was frustrated I didn’t, so he made a point to say it. That’s when I said something that really should be handled away from the field. So his reaction, I don’t think was out of line, and that’s what kind of stirred the attention.
Then I said the hell with it, might as well try and sort it out here while the emotions are going, but that’s not a good idea because, again, there’s emotions going.” - Tony Vitello
“Tony is a really good guy, and he is a really good coach. It could have been something that was going on during game. It could have been about recruiting. It could be about a lot of things. You could probably pick one of (those) or all three. That is between me and Tony.” - Dave Van Horn
Perhaps it would have been better for college baseball had these two kept it between them and not in front of a packed baseball stadium.
All is not lost
I mean that in the bigger picture, not in the sense that all is not lost for the Vols this season - because it is. The baseball gods, however, are a forgiving lot - merely make amends, turn the page, and all will be in the rearview mirror. Enough with the Little Man syndrome, start worrying about winning the game and not the fight after the game. Have respect for the game, and it will respect you.
Since I don’t know Tony Vitello, I cannot recommend the specific path forward. However, there was a time when the great Michael Jordan seemed to be struggling, and a quick sit down with Stuart Smalley seemed to do the trick!
Tony, repeat after me - I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me! Probably couldn’t hurt.
Time to go - need to get ready for the CWS - SEC!!! SEC!!! SEC!!!
Tell your girlfriend Partha to join in on this debate please.
Look at Oklahoma. I told all of you they were
hot and the most dangerous team left. Their pitching is a bit suspect though. Would not be surprised to see them win it all though. The only good pitching team left is Notre Dame.