A college baseball head coach with no pro experience getting a shot as a Major League Baseball manager sounds strange because it doesn’t happen, but if ever there were a college coach perfectly suited to make that jump, it would be …

I’m not sure, actually. But if someone did the research and ranked all of today’s prominent college coaches in terms of MLB fit, Tony Vitello would have a strong case for last place.

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Tony Vitello — Tennessee’s intense, eccentric, hilarious national championship coach — to the San Francisco Giants? College baseball wasn’t sure how to take this guy a few years ago when his teams started beating everybody in their path — all while taunting bat-inspecting umpires, wearing fur coats and running the bases with middle fingers extended.

Vols baseball was like Happy Gilmore, luring chest painters to pro golf events and offending traditionalists.

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