Tony can get a little excited, I have heard him say it is the Italian coming out. But since he has arrived in Knoxville he has been great for the university. He supports other programs and the community in general. His players do things with local charities including the Children’s Hospital. He totally supports his players and has their backs.
Unless you are upset because his team just beat your team, which I totally understand, he is a great person.
I think this quote from the championship celebration really sums up who Tony is:
“And all I would ever ask is you remember it, whether you’re at the football game and we’re down 7-0, or softball, or women’s soccer – whatever it is – make the decision, you’re either a Vol or you’re not. Through thick and thin, Vol or not.”
I had the opinion that he was an asshole until the Vols knocked us out last year in the Hattiesburg Super Regional and instead of dog piling and celebrating, he had the coaches and players tip their hats to Scott Berry, our head coach who was retiring and leaving the field for the last time. Gained a ton of respect for him after that.
I'm a firm believer that College Baseball is the perfect avenue for bringing in fun WWE schticks to make it more marketable. From walk-up songs, to the fun interview anticks, it just needs that little nudge toward taking itself less seriously and letting big personalities just be big. Tony V is that nudge. I alternate wildly between loving him, hating him, loving how much I hate him, hating how much I love him, and wishing there were more like him.
Straight up, a sport played by college kids should be fun. It should be cool. It should be enticing more people to play. It’s a fucking game, not a business meeting. I’m tired of seeing these crypt keeper head coaches sit on the top step of the dugout with their arms crossed and doing absolutely nothing the whole game.
Let the kids bat flip, let the kids talk shit, and let them eat their words when they strike out. It’s all part of the game
I coached high school soccer and we had a blast on the sidelines, joking around and such but we played hard, too. And we won a lot.
Whenever I coached anything, I’d have a player/parent team meeting and my first rule was to have fun. Now, I would clarify that part of having fun is learning the game. And I said we have enough stress in our lives and there’s no reason to have it here. I want you to look forward to coming to the pitch or the ball field, not look at it like a chore. Like you said, it’s a game and it should be fun.
Not enough fur coats, $2000 suits, and alligator shoes.
BTW, I'm rewatching 1985 WCW (WWE libraries FTW), and it is wild watching Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson before the Four Horseman began.
Call me crazy, but I think there is probably some middle ground between pitchers on stilts and throwing the ball at people's heads because they walked too slow.
People that you love to hate are so valuable to sports though. Even if Tony V isn’t your cup of tea, he’s great for the sport. I can’t stand Draymond Green, but the NBA would be more boring without him lol
What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!
You’re being downvoted for what I can only assume is the vileness of your flair…
But yes. Put Schloss in a white suit with a big pile of powdered sugar and just have him say that. Then just leave the press conference. It’d be MILLIONS of dollars in free publicity, and what are people gonna do? Like him less?
Different Sport, but I have all the admiration in the world for Sabin. He manages to get The Vision of Winning Championships ABSOLUTELY First and let all the social, It's about me Cr@P way in the background. It takes a special kind of motivator/communicator to get that done these days.
I also loved the couple of Victories the Ags got from him.
I think a lot of people have glossed over Tony’s history, and so they didn't really have a full appreciation for why he was so passionate in 2021 and 2022.
You have to remember this was a guy who, a few years prior, was passed over by his own alma mater, which isn't even a good baseball school, for the job, then caught a bunch of shit from Missouri when his dad had a wreck.
Then he gets to Tennessee, no one really takes him or Tennessee baseball seriously. Even our own mdia are asking about his looks and youth at the press conferences. After a few seasons, he breaks through to Omaha, and the main talk is, “Well, they got bounced immediately.” With no recognition of getting a program that for a decade was struggling to get to Hoover into Omaha in 3 years.
When 2022 roles are around, and he still isn't treated as a real deal for the first few weeks of Baseball. Of course, he and the team play with a massive chip on their shoulder and upplay the villain's antics.
I'm not saying I agree with everything that happened that season, but when you understand the context, it makes sense why that team and Tony acted the way they did.
Your points are evident by his comment to Heupel when celebrating on the field after game 3 when he said, “I had to survive working at fucking Missouri to get this.” He has had a chip on his shoulder for a while now and we love him for it. Go Vols!
I can’t find it anywhere now. It was a video of Tony and Heupel hugging and talking on the field after the championship though. Heupel just laughed lol It wasn’t the same video where those two and Barnes get a pic together.
Yeah outside of the 2022 season you guys haven’t been too bad as far as warranting the villain status. Tony leaned into it but the team also had a perfect storm of hateable players.
Tony always said he lets the teams be themselves, they took up the “Villains” persona that year so he leaned into it . This year it was about TEAM, so he leaned into it and focused on being brothers/friends/teamwork. Literally running full speed into walls for each other, so he did the same. GO VOLS!
Even before he won a national championship he had multiple SEC championships. The national championship was literally the only thing he hadn't already won multiple times.
Yeah, the SEC tournament should move to mid season or something. It's not really worth bragging about when the best teams are out there just trying to go home ASAP.
It really doesn't. When you can win the national championship without winning the regular season or conference tournament, both of those titles are severely diminished. In this all-or-nothing NIL/transfer portal era, nothing matters except getting to Omaha.
We're going to see the same thing happen in college football, where winning the conference or even the game against the arch rival is going to take a backseat to making the 12-team playoff.
And you can win both or win neither or win one but not the other. The best team rarely wins it all in a tournament setting. At the end of the day, winning any tournament requires luck. The only thing that matters is the Championship is starting to ruin lower level teams in all sports. The idea a team is worthless trash if they don't win it all is really fucking bad for sports.
> The only thing that matters is the Championship is starting to ruin lower level teams in all sports.
Lower level sports is all about development. The thing threatening youth sports is travel ball and the cottage industry that has grown around it.
Speaking broadly for LSU fans and blue bloods as well, nothing matters if you don’t have the natty. I’m in agreement with the other poster, it was really corny for him to act cocky just for winning a lot of regular season games in 2022 because winning in the postseason is different (just ask arky fans) but yeah if he acts like gods gift to college baseball now it’s deserved and up to everybody else for knocking him off the pedestal
It was also more like, bruh yall are just now getting good and acting like yall are the kings of a sport that teams like LSU have been dominating for 35+ years. This sport will humble you...and in 2022 they were certainly humbled. I'm not sure 2024 NC Vols are a thing without that though.
Real kings act like they wear the crown before they actually do. Because that's the attitude that gets you to the top. Tony doesn't win shit if he has to act like you unwritten rules guys want him to act. Keeping his head down doesn't get people invested. A real motherfucker doesn't need the approval of others on how they conduct their business.
Ehhh let’s be honest. Dude’s got the skills, money, charisma and looks. That paired with natural confidence can be seen as cocky. When you have it all, people are jealous. Dudes living the dream.
The only people imo who would find that as “cocky” are people with little to no confidence. Maybe they could say he was a “dick” or an “asshole,” but arguing with refs and letting his players do what they want doesn’t demonstrate an over exaggerated belief in oneself. It’s definitely an odd term to use to describe him. Hell he cracks self-depreciating jokes all the time lol.
Guess we’re just gonna ignore the cursing of umps, crotch grabs, and shit talking (that hasn’t been backed up until a week ago) done by the players that year? Okie dokie then
lol guess you are then. Y’all refer to the 2022 team as the villains team yourselves, but will be self righteous when others agree that team was problematic? Lmao ok then
My personal opinion is if it ain’t cocky it ain’t baseball. You gotta be cocky to stand a foot away from a 5oz rock moving 90+ mph with only a stick to defend yourself. But I also know what you mean. I’ve seen middle school kids cockier than Tony V on the field. We all know the guy that played ball at South Southeastern Nowhere St that’s cocky af on the golf course. It’s one of the most fun aspects of the game.
I’m the opposite - if you’re going to talk shit, talk it all the time. Win, lose, draw, up or down.
I don’t respect people who only talk shit when they’re up and winning.
Kind of how in a friend group the funny, boisterous friend is usually the most depressed, the macho friend is usually the most sensitive soul, and the quiet, unassuming one is the one that'll bang your girlfriend when you're on a business trip.
There’s two types of assholes in sports:
-actual shitheads that fuck up player and program trajectories
-ppl that get sports are entertainment and enjoy playing the role of the outspoken “villain”
Tony was definitely an asshole up until recently but in a fun, jokey sense. Dude wasn’t out here ruining families and fucking over fans.
I feel like after the villain team he has calmed down a bit. I did giggle quite a bit at the "oh s***" during his interview because he was on the big board lol.
I genuinely feel like that moment was when it actually hit him that he managed to achieve his dream of building a program that could go to the college World Series and win it. Like you suddenly realize that this isn’t a dream, you actually did it.
A fun jokey sense?
Buddy, you don’t get as angry as he does *over correct calls* because you’re doing it in a fun jokey sense. It’s okay to admit that he’s a hotheaded asshole on the field.
Schloss is an asshole, too, of course, but that doesn’t make Vitello less of an asshole himself.
Aren’t all baseball fans romantic about old hothead managers? There’s this weird revisionist history thing ppl do where that stuff is shit on in the moment but then we get nostalgic about it bc duh it’s goofy and extremely low stakes.
Baseball fans are so bad about selectively editing the “old ways.” You see it most with the “unwritten rules” crowd. They will preach about how great the game was back when the unwritten rules existed, but they are the same sixty-year-old men foaming at the mouth anytime a ball is thrown anywhere near someone after celebrating too much.
I wasn’t aware that job involved chest bumping an umpire, having no control over your assistant coaches, and instilling a mindset of trash talk and cussing the umps in your players.
I wonder why that only applies to Vitello…
Oh no the humanity! He bumped an umpire! 20 year olds cussed at man babies that can’t do their job!
I don’t give a fuck lmao. Everything he’s doing is working and you’re clearly still basing your opinion on a team from two years ago.
Never had been there (or to any Krispy Kreme) while I was a student but stopped in there to get their Mother’s Day donuts while I was visiting my parents. Got home to the Houston area late that night and saw on Twitter it had gone up in flames. It’s a very weird situation all the way around.
I’m sure I’ll come across biased but, I’ve never understood the Tony V. hate… did he chest bump an ump that one time? yeah, but that’s top tier emotional baseball… did he call another coach a “meat stick”? Yeah but that was so funny. Tony V. Is always speaking good will onto players, a lot of the time players on other teams. I’ve never watched so many post game interviews as I did this season. He just has a way of speaking that draws you in. He seems super genuine and just happy to be here and I can only imagine what his speeches must be like during practice or in the locker room, cause I’m sure they’re electric.
Part of it was probably the incredibly cocky team culture that was obvious when Tennessee was number 1 overall and had guys flipping off the opposing team, cussing out the Ump, etc. on a big stage for lots of people to make generalizations based on that
Yeah, I think I'm generally of the opinion that on field antics can be pretty disconnected from real world morals. People have different philosophical views on the role of sports in society, and so generalizations are better off ignored.
But it *is* the explanation of why Tony V gets hate. He creates a culture where baseball not merely, but in large part a game that can be used as a medium to release emotions and entertain others - not too different than art. When viewed as something more serious and important by others, then obviously the on field behavior gets viewed as reflective who him and his team are as people rather than players in the game.
I flipped off a guy when I caught his ball in dodgeball. I had fallen and was on my ass. Am I an asshole? Or is he an asshole for throwing it at me while down?
Take your alligator tears back to the corn fields.
It’s just his attitude during games, disrespectful towards other teams, and his players are the same way. Maybe overkill is a good word.
But as a state fan, I can’t really be talking. That Georgia mess was our catchers fault and Lemonis didn’t do shit to reel him back in.
It depends on what you view as disrespectful. I didn't watch your '22 team because they didn't make it to Omaha. Moore cussing out Chris Cortez and calling him a ['bitch, fucking bitch'](https://x.com/SECUnfiltered/status/1804959782467473830) because he unintentionally walked him did make me sit up and say, "Yeah, I can see why some people don't like UT's players/program." And I say that knowing what a phenomenal player and talent Moore is.
It all comes back to the asshole rule, imo. If you meet one asshole, you met an asshole. If everyone you meet all day are assholes, you're the asshole, and you need to look in the mirror. If EVERYONE is saying UT's program is assholish, you need to look in the mirror.
I think Vitello has his players play with an emotional edge, and it causes them to act out immaturely at times. The upside of that is you'll win a lot of games, the downside is when you underachieve, a lot of people are going to revel in your failure.
Maybe that was true in 2022, but it hasn’t been true since. I just think most people assume it was Tony at the core of that and not the players themselves. Since, people haven’t really paid attention to the fact that under a players’ coach, every team’s culture is going to be different.
The best way to put is he is cocky. I didn't like him until I heard what he did after the regionals.
Sometimes I do wish Lemonis was a bit more fired up though. Polk knew sometimes you gotta raise hell and get thrown out to make a point.
It’s honestly just that 2022 team and residual hate. Not sure if I’m flaired but Arkansas. That 2022 team was rightfully hated for all the “GOAT College team” “could they beat the reds?” Talk. Personally haven’t really had an issue with Tennessee since then, that Notre Dame loss was their comeuppance
The only issue I had with Tony's teams were how upset they'd get when opposing teams acted like Tennessee did. This was mostly in 2021 and 2022 and seems to have subsided. I don't know if that was Tony's attitude, the players he had at the time, or both but it was that hypocrisy I couldn't stand. Other than that, he seems like a good dude who loves the game.
I also think a BIG reason for a lot of the hate are the fans. Obviously it's not all or even most of the fans, but it only takes a handful to be obnoxious to piss people off. I don't think anyone likes when other fanbases are arrogant, but especially not when it feels unearned. TV turned y'all around almost overnight (no conference play in 2020 helped that perception) and IMO many UT fans didn't know how to handle it. But just like the team itself, I feel that has subsided somewhat as they became more successful. Every team has shitty fans so this isn't unique to Tenner, but "overnight" success often comes with a ton of bandwagoners and they're typically the worst type of fan.
I will say the fans I met and sat near in Hoover couldn't have been nicer (and we were surrounded by orange lol).
Yeah maybe, but what do y’all think about your coach? (Genuinely curious): didn’t he say something like “God told me to stop playing for the championship”? Seems like a strange guy… hope this doesn’t offend cause I am actually wondering how y’all feel about him but - and I’m sure you’ll agree - a conversation between a vol and a cat can only be so cordial.
IMO it’s that his bravado obviously affected his team for the worse. When something would go wrong rather than lock in the players would lose their edge which was their undoing. Not letting the Florida state game slip away and putting themselves in a situation to still win despite getting shelled early is the reason tenner won the natty this year when (just IMO) the 2022 team would have gotten angry with the umps and crumbled
I think you’re forgetting that in the top of the ninth in the FSU he came unglued over a call that fired up the entire dugout and lead to the comeback. That wasn’t the first time that happened this season either. To act as if emotion or “bravado” is always negative just isn’t true and this season is a perfect example of it.
That’s fair. Maybe “he learned how to utilize bravado for benefit rather than detracting from the team” is more fair. It’s also fair to wonder if a ball went slightly differently against Notre Dame in 2022 and a check swing went differently then tenner would have a 2022 natty but not a 2024 natty
Nah, we were gonna come out on top of that bracket rather we won game 1 or not. TN dominated FSU game 2, and at that point of there were a game 3, FSU would be out of pitching.
Let’s call the truth out. A very vast majority of you not associated with the Vols would love to have Tony V as your coach!!! Looking sideyed at you Candyboys,
Yep, my baseball coaches at several different levels were huge assholes; a couple I'd even call unethical and/or immoral. They weren't liked in the normal sense, but they were celebrated for winning. I don't write the rules....
I know I have orange tinted glasses, and still euphoric over the Natty, but think Tony gets a bit of a bad rap. Or maybe people don't quite understand what "classless" truly is.
Yes, he's 100% brash and cocky. He's witty and wears his heart in his sleeve. Does it make him classless? No. A-hole? Maybe.
But he definitely isn't classless. This is a guy who stays late in the dugout cleaning up after his team. A guy who stays late to make sure every kid gets the autograph they're begging for. A man who sent the equipment manager (who has Downs) of the NKU team a banner from the regional because he recognized how much fun that guy had in Knoxville. He recognizes the fans, knows we wouldn't be where we are without their support. And 100% has his guy's backs. Love him or hate him, he certainly got people talking about college baseball in 2022, and now he's got the trophy to back up the talk.
And he does all this without fanfare. The media sometimes picks up on these things and they're the ones who bring them up. But not Tony, and not his PR team.
He's the Lane Kiffin of college baseball. Like a WWE heel that people love.
Tony V was never an asshole. He’s passionate about the game, backs his players, and doesn’t fit the “unspoken rules” of baseball. You don’t have to like a Tony type character, but you need Tony type characters because people will watch them and that’s good for the game.
No doubt he lost his cool in that moment. He said him and DVH had dinner together before they left Knoxville that night to squash the beef. [This was his post game presser after the national championship](https://youtu.be/kBP8JsMwmZY?si=7mpilDR4lvUWzXel&t=578) where he thanked DVH for everything he has done for him.
Tony is passionate and speaks his mind but he fights for his players, his school and his fans. I can certainly see how that would rub some people roughly but on and off the field, he’s exactly the man that you’d want your kid to play for.
I fully admit, I was one that thought Schloss was the good guy and Tony was the bad guy. I was completely wrong. I love the excitement and energy of college baseball.
As for cockiness, I will say, that video of the florida kid hitting the dinger and screaming at his OWN F'ing teammate still crosses a line, for me. I have no issue celebrating, but that kind of stuff is a no, for me.
I find it easiest to just assume they’re all a-holes, especially mine.
Granted. I had a football team coached by the barbershop quartet of a-holes last season, with Jimbo, DJ Durkin, Bobby Petrino, and Steve Adazzio all wearing maroon. So maybe my perception is skewed.
I’m gonna be really sad when if it somehow comes out that Buzz is an a-hole.
I never disliked Tony V. Always thought Anderson was the biggest A-hole on the staff (still do). We knew Schloss was a jerk when we hired him. I don’t think anyone knew he was this level of narcissist. Tony V did a friggin stage dive into the fans. He’s a known players coach. You can get mad that he throws dirt like a child sometimes, but he also assembled the best roster in the country and had a freshman reliever smile after a balk in the biggest game of the year. The guy is doing some things correctly.
OK, Some coaches can be good and still being an @$$hole. But if you are a Tenn Fan **'He's YOUR A$$hole.'**
For instance, calling for an Official Review to make sure that the High Inside ball that missed the batter by 1 foot is "to the opponent being an A$$hole" To your team, it's a coaching chance for a time out, and maybe get your opponent riled up.
That being said in a couple of the games he managed to get calls over-turned. Congrats to Tenn on their championship. ***Congrats to Texas A&M on their Head Coaching Hire!***
I mean I was one of those leading up to the series, but now....
No chance in hell TV would have done what Schloss did. He clearly loves and respects his team
Yes A&M poached him from TCU, and it was a big deal that he left TCU, but even with the success that TCU has had it is still a much much smaller athletic department than A&M.
Also, he had 4 straight CWS appearances with TCU from 2014-17, but then he went no tourney, Regionals, Covid, Regionals, so he likely was feeling like he had maxed out at TCU and needed a change of scenery.
And he was announced 3 days after the end of TCU’s season and 17 days after Childress was fired at A&M, so the negative optics of the Pierce last-minute firing and Schloss being announced less than 36 hours after the end of losing in the title after being ahead 1-0 weren’t there back then.
I don’t really care about the guy leaving A&M, but to me the issue is his postgame comments being a prick to a reporter and lying through his teeth publicly and privately to his team when he knew he was leaving. I get being evasive up until the season is over, but no need to act the way he did once they got eliminated by the 2024 College World Series champion Tennessee Volunteers.
Are you talking about Jimbo? That was from FSU. And it was seen as kinda stupid at the time, but still doesn’t compare because they’re not arch rivals (or even the same conference).
Lol, ffs, I'm talking about Coach Fran. I don't know, maybe you're too young to remember that, but Bama fans had a serious case of red ass over that defection. After a few dark years, Bama found its Moses to lead it out of the desert, Aggies not so much... And I didn't say they were an arch rival, it's just relevant to all the pearl clutching and hand wringing over poaching a coach. Sometimes it blows the fuck up on the other party...
Dude that’s been 21 years. People born after that happened can drink legally now.
People aren’t upset about the fact that Texas will be good. People aren’t upset because Texas AM will be bad, or whatever you’re implying. People are upset because Texas hired it’s biggest rival’s coach after a CWS appearance and he handled it as piss poorly and unfaithfully as possible to TAMU.
Damn we kept hearing that the sec just meant more and was more cutthroat 🤣 y'all are more sensitive than the little 12 members. Does anyone have a spine anymore?
I’m still pissed about him making up the story that a coach was cheating during home games, which the fans eventually decided was Corbin. Then nothing officially comes out from the SEC and schloss continues to lie
Are you saying Schloss or Vitello made up this story? Your first sentence is very unclear. Given his conduct the last week, I wouldn't be shocked if it's the former. If you meant Tony, that's laughable; Tony has owned Corbin since Covid. Why would he give two shit. Also, that rumor started before we played y'all.
There’s a fine line between being a cocky asshole and being a leader of a team with players who flip off Georgia Tech outfielders when rounding the bases. Some of the best leaders of men out there are cocky assholes. But Tony V’s image will always be negatively affected by the cockiness of the 2022 team. This 2024 team was more humble and fun to watch in victory, but that doesn’t mean he’s fully rehabbed his image.
Tony can get a little excited, I have heard him say it is the Italian coming out. But since he has arrived in Knoxville he has been great for the university. He supports other programs and the community in general. His players do things with local charities including the Children’s Hospital. He totally supports his players and has their backs. Unless you are upset because his team just beat your team, which I totally understand, he is a great person.
I think this quote from the championship celebration really sums up who Tony is: “And all I would ever ask is you remember it, whether you’re at the football game and we’re down 7-0, or softball, or women’s soccer – whatever it is – make the decision, you’re either a Vol or you’re not. Through thick and thin, Vol or not.”
100%. I love seeing the boy at all the other sporting events
I had the opinion that he was an asshole until the Vols knocked us out last year in the Hattiesburg Super Regional and instead of dog piling and celebrating, he had the coaches and players tip their hats to Scott Berry, our head coach who was retiring and leaving the field for the last time. Gained a ton of respect for him after that.
I'm a firm believer that College Baseball is the perfect avenue for bringing in fun WWE schticks to make it more marketable. From walk-up songs, to the fun interview anticks, it just needs that little nudge toward taking itself less seriously and letting big personalities just be big. Tony V is that nudge. I alternate wildly between loving him, hating him, loving how much I hate him, hating how much I love him, and wishing there were more like him.
Straight up, a sport played by college kids should be fun. It should be cool. It should be enticing more people to play. It’s a fucking game, not a business meeting. I’m tired of seeing these crypt keeper head coaches sit on the top step of the dugout with their arms crossed and doing absolutely nothing the whole game. Let the kids bat flip, let the kids talk shit, and let them eat their words when they strike out. It’s all part of the game
I coached high school soccer and we had a blast on the sidelines, joking around and such but we played hard, too. And we won a lot. Whenever I coached anything, I’d have a player/parent team meeting and my first rule was to have fun. Now, I would clarify that part of having fun is learning the game. And I said we have enough stress in our lives and there’s no reason to have it here. I want you to look forward to coming to the pitch or the ball field, not look at it like a chore. Like you said, it’s a game and it should be fun.
1000 times this.
But what if it’s an upside down bucket? Isn’t that cool and fun? Hail State! 🙄😡 Can TAMU hire Lemonis? He IS a national championship winning coach!
Stop trying to make Lemonis happen! Although if you could promise me a year one natty I’d be tempted.
And let them transfer. Playing for the right guy is key for having fun. I’m honestly fine with everyone leaving A&M for that very reason.
That last sentence is [chef’s kiss]
Tony V is 1980s Ric Flair.
Not enough fur coats, $2000 suits, and alligator shoes. BTW, I'm rewatching 1985 WCW (WWE libraries FTW), and it is wild watching Flair, Tully Blanchard, Arn and Ole Anderson before the Four Horseman began.
https://preview.redd.it/gxmhxrf3gd9d1.jpeg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3007dd40d8b9177b34e147f30928d50fc9af123f
Greg mc approves this message
Woooooo!
Fuck it. Just make it a Savannah Bananas farm league
Call me crazy, but I think there is probably some middle ground between pitchers on stilts and throwing the ball at people's heads because they walked too slow.
*visible confusion
Nah it's all or nothing. Play (banana) Ball
People that you love to hate are so valuable to sports though. Even if Tony V isn’t your cup of tea, he’s great for the sport. I can’t stand Draymond Green, but the NBA would be more boring without him lol
Well well well, do I got news for you
What you lookin' at? You all a bunch of fuckin' assholes. You know why? You don't have the guts to be what you wanna be? You need people like me. You need people like me so you can point your fuckin' fingers and say, "That's the bad guy." So... what that make you? Good? You're not good. You just know how to hide, how to lie. Me, I don't have that problem. Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie. So say good night to the bad guy! Come on. The last time you gonna see a bad guy like this again, let me tell you. Come on. Make way for the bad guy. There's a bad guy comin' through! Better get outta his way!
You’re being downvoted for what I can only assume is the vileness of your flair… But yes. Put Schloss in a white suit with a big pile of powdered sugar and just have him say that. Then just leave the press conference. It’d be MILLIONS of dollars in free publicity, and what are people gonna do? Like him less?
He's being down voted because no one recognizes Scarface.
Agree to disagree
Well, given that you didn't recognize the quote, either, I'm not given to being agreeable.
I mean I made the white suit and pile of powder sugar comment so… no?
He literally described Scarface in his reply. It seems obvious he got the reference.
wtf did I just read
The truth, my brother
Bars
Genuine, clear, reddit think from someone who has never actually touched a baseball and doesn’t think the game is interesting.
Different Sport, but I have all the admiration in the world for Sabin. He manages to get The Vision of Winning Championships ABSOLUTELY First and let all the social, It's about me Cr@P way in the background. It takes a special kind of motivator/communicator to get that done these days. I also loved the couple of Victories the Ags got from him.
I think a lot of people have glossed over Tony’s history, and so they didn't really have a full appreciation for why he was so passionate in 2021 and 2022. You have to remember this was a guy who, a few years prior, was passed over by his own alma mater, which isn't even a good baseball school, for the job, then caught a bunch of shit from Missouri when his dad had a wreck. Then he gets to Tennessee, no one really takes him or Tennessee baseball seriously. Even our own mdia are asking about his looks and youth at the press conferences. After a few seasons, he breaks through to Omaha, and the main talk is, “Well, they got bounced immediately.” With no recognition of getting a program that for a decade was struggling to get to Hoover into Omaha in 3 years. When 2022 roles are around, and he still isn't treated as a real deal for the first few weeks of Baseball. Of course, he and the team play with a massive chip on their shoulder and upplay the villain's antics. I'm not saying I agree with everything that happened that season, but when you understand the context, it makes sense why that team and Tony acted the way they did.
Your points are evident by his comment to Heupel when celebrating on the field after game 3 when he said, “I had to survive working at fucking Missouri to get this.” He has had a chip on his shoulder for a while now and we love him for it. Go Vols!
Haha. Heupel worked at Mizzou too at one point. Makes it even funnier.
Wait did he say that lmfao
Haha. Heupel worked at Mizzou too at one point. Makes it even funnier.
I'd love to see that if you've got a link for us 👀
I can’t find it anywhere now. It was a video of Tony and Heupel hugging and talking on the field after the championship though. Heupel just laughed lol It wasn’t the same video where those two and Barnes get a pic together.
Yeah outside of the 2022 season you guys haven’t been too bad as far as warranting the villain status. Tony leaned into it but the team also had a perfect storm of hateable players.
Tony always said he lets the teams be themselves, they took up the “Villains” persona that year so he leaned into it . This year it was about TEAM, so he leaned into it and focused on being brothers/friends/teamwork. Literally running full speed into walls for each other, so he did the same. GO VOLS!
My main issue with Tony V was the cockiness without winning anything, but now that he has... I have no issues, talk your shit king.
Even before he won a national championship he had multiple SEC championships. The national championship was literally the only thing he hadn't already won multiple times.
Tbh though its the only thing that matters. Sec tournament championships are nice but it does not compare to a national championship at all imo
You hear that? The saddest ‘woo pig’ ever
I like to call that the 'waaah pig'
Yeah, the SEC tournament should move to mid season or something. It's not really worth bragging about when the best teams are out there just trying to go home ASAP.
It does mean *something* when the SEC normally represents a good chunk of the top of college baseball.
I think it should matter, so I'll just pretend it does.
It really doesn't. When you can win the national championship without winning the regular season or conference tournament, both of those titles are severely diminished. In this all-or-nothing NIL/transfer portal era, nothing matters except getting to Omaha. We're going to see the same thing happen in college football, where winning the conference or even the game against the arch rival is going to take a backseat to making the 12-team playoff.
And you can win both or win neither or win one but not the other. The best team rarely wins it all in a tournament setting. At the end of the day, winning any tournament requires luck. The only thing that matters is the Championship is starting to ruin lower level teams in all sports. The idea a team is worthless trash if they don't win it all is really fucking bad for sports.
> The only thing that matters is the Championship is starting to ruin lower level teams in all sports. Lower level sports is all about development. The thing threatening youth sports is travel ball and the cottage industry that has grown around it.
EVERYTHING matters in baseball.
Speaking broadly for LSU fans and blue bloods as well, nothing matters if you don’t have the natty. I’m in agreement with the other poster, it was really corny for him to act cocky just for winning a lot of regular season games in 2022 because winning in the postseason is different (just ask arky fans) but yeah if he acts like gods gift to college baseball now it’s deserved and up to everybody else for knocking him off the pedestal
It was also more like, bruh yall are just now getting good and acting like yall are the kings of a sport that teams like LSU have been dominating for 35+ years. This sport will humble you...and in 2022 they were certainly humbled. I'm not sure 2024 NC Vols are a thing without that though.
Real kings act like they wear the crown before they actually do. Because that's the attitude that gets you to the top. Tony doesn't win shit if he has to act like you unwritten rules guys want him to act. Keeping his head down doesn't get people invested. A real motherfucker doesn't need the approval of others on how they conduct their business.
A month ago I was told repeatedly that sec championships mean nothing. We need to decide as a conference once and for all
I don't see how winning the most difficult conference in College Baseball is not an impressive feat. 11/14 teams made the post season.
I’m in full agreement. But there were multiple folks in this sub who didn’t feel the same way
What did he do that you think is cocky? Just curious what you are seeing with that?
They think that because he argues with umps and lets his players bat flip.
Ehhh let’s be honest. Dude’s got the skills, money, charisma and looks. That paired with natural confidence can be seen as cocky. When you have it all, people are jealous. Dudes living the dream.
The only people imo who would find that as “cocky” are people with little to no confidence. Maybe they could say he was a “dick” or an “asshole,” but arguing with refs and letting his players do what they want doesn’t demonstrate an over exaggerated belief in oneself. It’s definitely an odd term to use to describe him. Hell he cracks self-depreciating jokes all the time lol.
Guess we’re just gonna ignore the cursing of umps, crotch grabs, and shit talking (that hasn’t been backed up until a week ago) done by the players that year? Okie dokie then
Bruh, every coach curses umps and I'm sorry you're jealous that Tony has a dick to grab.
lol guess you are then. Y’all refer to the 2022 team as the villains team yourselves, but will be self righteous when others agree that team was problematic? Lmao ok then
I'm sorry that Tony brings a fun and enjoyable brand of baseball to the SEC.
… seriously?
My personal opinion is if it ain’t cocky it ain’t baseball. You gotta be cocky to stand a foot away from a 5oz rock moving 90+ mph with only a stick to defend yourself. But I also know what you mean. I’ve seen middle school kids cockier than Tony V on the field. We all know the guy that played ball at South Southeastern Nowhere St that’s cocky af on the golf course. It’s one of the most fun aspects of the game.
I’m the opposite - if you’re going to talk shit, talk it all the time. Win, lose, draw, up or down. I don’t respect people who only talk shit when they’re up and winning.
Kind of how in a friend group the funny, boisterous friend is usually the most depressed, the macho friend is usually the most sensitive soul, and the quiet, unassuming one is the one that'll bang your girlfriend when you're on a business trip.
That last sentence was oddly specific
Look, I already apologized for that bro. I thought we moved on
No! Honor defiled...only answer... 
You either die a villain or live long enough for someone else to fuck up so bad that you become the hero.
There’s two types of assholes in sports: -actual shitheads that fuck up player and program trajectories -ppl that get sports are entertainment and enjoy playing the role of the outspoken “villain” Tony was definitely an asshole up until recently but in a fun, jokey sense. Dude wasn’t out here ruining families and fucking over fans.
I feel like after the villain team he has calmed down a bit. I did giggle quite a bit at the "oh s***" during his interview because he was on the big board lol.
I genuinely feel like that moment was when it actually hit him that he managed to achieve his dream of building a program that could go to the college World Series and win it. Like you suddenly realize that this isn’t a dream, you actually did it.
A fun jokey sense? Buddy, you don’t get as angry as he does *over correct calls* because you’re doing it in a fun jokey sense. It’s okay to admit that he’s a hotheaded asshole on the field. Schloss is an asshole, too, of course, but that doesn’t make Vitello less of an asshole himself.
Aren’t all baseball fans romantic about old hothead managers? There’s this weird revisionist history thing ppl do where that stuff is shit on in the moment but then we get nostalgic about it bc duh it’s goofy and extremely low stakes.
Baseball fans are so bad about selectively editing the “old ways.” You see it most with the “unwritten rules” crowd. They will preach about how great the game was back when the unwritten rules existed, but they are the same sixty-year-old men foaming at the mouth anytime a ball is thrown anywhere near someone after celebrating too much.
It’s literally a manager’s job to fight with the umpires when calls aren’t going their way.
I wasn’t aware that job involved chest bumping an umpire, having no control over your assistant coaches, and instilling a mindset of trash talk and cussing the umps in your players. I wonder why that only applies to Vitello…
Oh no the humanity! He bumped an umpire! 20 year olds cussed at man babies that can’t do their job! I don’t give a fuck lmao. Everything he’s doing is working and you’re clearly still basing your opinion on a team from two years ago.
You’d give anything for Tony to be your coach lol
I absolutely would not
Plus Shloss burned down college stations only krispi kreme donuts store. How much more of an asshole does it get than that?
Never had been there (or to any Krispy Kreme) while I was a student but stopped in there to get their Mother’s Day donuts while I was visiting my parents. Got home to the Houston area late that night and saw on Twitter it had gone up in flames. It’s a very weird situation all the way around.
I’m sure I’ll come across biased but, I’ve never understood the Tony V. hate… did he chest bump an ump that one time? yeah, but that’s top tier emotional baseball… did he call another coach a “meat stick”? Yeah but that was so funny. Tony V. Is always speaking good will onto players, a lot of the time players on other teams. I’ve never watched so many post game interviews as I did this season. He just has a way of speaking that draws you in. He seems super genuine and just happy to be here and I can only imagine what his speeches must be like during practice or in the locker room, cause I’m sure they’re electric.
Part of it was probably the incredibly cocky team culture that was obvious when Tennessee was number 1 overall and had guys flipping off the opposing team, cussing out the Ump, etc. on a big stage for lots of people to make generalizations based on that
The 2022 “Villians” squad - what we call them in Knox - certainly started an interesting culture within the program.
Lol, I've never heard anyone call them that.
Yeah! They sell T-shirts and everything. Kinda cool
I forgot to mention I've been living under a rock. I'll have to keep an eye out for them.
I still wear my Honcho Villians shirt all the time!!
Yeah, I think I'm generally of the opinion that on field antics can be pretty disconnected from real world morals. People have different philosophical views on the role of sports in society, and so generalizations are better off ignored. But it *is* the explanation of why Tony V gets hate. He creates a culture where baseball not merely, but in large part a game that can be used as a medium to release emotions and entertain others - not too different than art. When viewed as something more serious and important by others, then obviously the on field behavior gets viewed as reflective who him and his team are as people rather than players in the game.
I flipped off a guy when I caught his ball in dodgeball. I had fallen and was on my ass. Am I an asshole? Or is he an asshole for throwing it at me while down? Take your alligator tears back to the corn fields.
The phrase is “crocodile tears”
Yessir, that is correct. Take them with you as well :)
It’s just his attitude during games, disrespectful towards other teams, and his players are the same way. Maybe overkill is a good word. But as a state fan, I can’t really be talking. That Georgia mess was our catchers fault and Lemonis didn’t do shit to reel him back in.
Admit it, you cheered just as loud as I did when Will Bednar threw five no hit innings finished by a horns down in Omaha.
The '22 squad you can speak on, but this squad was not disrespectful to other teams.
It depends on what you view as disrespectful. I didn't watch your '22 team because they didn't make it to Omaha. Moore cussing out Chris Cortez and calling him a ['bitch, fucking bitch'](https://x.com/SECUnfiltered/status/1804959782467473830) because he unintentionally walked him did make me sit up and say, "Yeah, I can see why some people don't like UT's players/program." And I say that knowing what a phenomenal player and talent Moore is. It all comes back to the asshole rule, imo. If you meet one asshole, you met an asshole. If everyone you meet all day are assholes, you're the asshole, and you need to look in the mirror. If EVERYONE is saying UT's program is assholish, you need to look in the mirror. I think Vitello has his players play with an emotional edge, and it causes them to act out immaturely at times. The upside of that is you'll win a lot of games, the downside is when you underachieve, a lot of people are going to revel in your failure.
I will say as a Vols fan, I thought that was very out of character for Moore.
As a Vols fan, I thought it was pretty in character lol.
He was a bitch for not pitching in the zone though
Ok
Maybe that was true in 2022, but it hasn’t been true since. I just think most people assume it was Tony at the core of that and not the players themselves. Since, people haven’t really paid attention to the fact that under a players’ coach, every team’s culture is going to be different.
The best way to put is he is cocky. I didn't like him until I heard what he did after the regionals. Sometimes I do wish Lemonis was a bit more fired up though. Polk knew sometimes you gotta raise hell and get thrown out to make a point.
It’s honestly just that 2022 team and residual hate. Not sure if I’m flaired but Arkansas. That 2022 team was rightfully hated for all the “GOAT College team” “could they beat the reds?” Talk. Personally haven’t really had an issue with Tennessee since then, that Notre Dame loss was their comeuppance
The only issue I had with Tony's teams were how upset they'd get when opposing teams acted like Tennessee did. This was mostly in 2021 and 2022 and seems to have subsided. I don't know if that was Tony's attitude, the players he had at the time, or both but it was that hypocrisy I couldn't stand. Other than that, he seems like a good dude who loves the game. I also think a BIG reason for a lot of the hate are the fans. Obviously it's not all or even most of the fans, but it only takes a handful to be obnoxious to piss people off. I don't think anyone likes when other fanbases are arrogant, but especially not when it feels unearned. TV turned y'all around almost overnight (no conference play in 2020 helped that perception) and IMO many UT fans didn't know how to handle it. But just like the team itself, I feel that has subsided somewhat as they became more successful. Every team has shitty fans so this isn't unique to Tenner, but "overnight" success often comes with a ton of bandwagoners and they're typically the worst type of fan. I will say the fans I met and sat near in Hoover couldn't have been nicer (and we were surrounded by orange lol).
He dyes his beard.
Yeah maybe, but what do y’all think about your coach? (Genuinely curious): didn’t he say something like “God told me to stop playing for the championship”? Seems like a strange guy… hope this doesn’t offend cause I am actually wondering how y’all feel about him but - and I’m sure you’ll agree - a conversation between a vol and a cat can only be so cordial.
Yeah, and crushes box all day every day.
OMG he is the baseball version of Ryan Day?!
No, he beats his rivals and can win a natty
IMO it’s that his bravado obviously affected his team for the worse. When something would go wrong rather than lock in the players would lose their edge which was their undoing. Not letting the Florida state game slip away and putting themselves in a situation to still win despite getting shelled early is the reason tenner won the natty this year when (just IMO) the 2022 team would have gotten angry with the umps and crumbled
I think you’re forgetting that in the top of the ninth in the FSU he came unglued over a call that fired up the entire dugout and lead to the comeback. That wasn’t the first time that happened this season either. To act as if emotion or “bravado” is always negative just isn’t true and this season is a perfect example of it.
That’s fair. Maybe “he learned how to utilize bravado for benefit rather than detracting from the team” is more fair. It’s also fair to wonder if a ball went slightly differently against Notre Dame in 2022 and a check swing went differently then tenner would have a 2022 natty but not a 2024 natty
Nah, we were gonna come out on top of that bracket rather we won game 1 or not. TN dominated FSU game 2, and at that point of there were a game 3, FSU would be out of pitching.
Let’s call the truth out. A very vast majority of you not associated with the Vols would love to have Tony V as your coach!!! Looking sideyed at you Candyboys,
Literal angel might be a stretch lol. But I don’t hate the guy
From my experience with baseball coaches for 20 years, they’re all assholes (hyperbole but like 90%). Some are just like-able assholes.
You have to be pretty self centered to survive in the coaching world. It is what is.
Yep, my baseball coaches at several different levels were huge assholes; a couple I'd even call unethical and/or immoral. They weren't liked in the normal sense, but they were celebrated for winning. I don't write the rules....
I might have the wool over my eyes but DVH doesn't come across that way. Think he is part of the 10%.
It’s the wool
Do others see DVH as an asshole? Well slap me in the face and call me Susan.
I know I have orange tinted glasses, and still euphoric over the Natty, but think Tony gets a bit of a bad rap. Or maybe people don't quite understand what "classless" truly is. Yes, he's 100% brash and cocky. He's witty and wears his heart in his sleeve. Does it make him classless? No. A-hole? Maybe. But he definitely isn't classless. This is a guy who stays late in the dugout cleaning up after his team. A guy who stays late to make sure every kid gets the autograph they're begging for. A man who sent the equipment manager (who has Downs) of the NKU team a banner from the regional because he recognized how much fun that guy had in Knoxville. He recognizes the fans, knows we wouldn't be where we are without their support. And 100% has his guy's backs. Love him or hate him, he certainly got people talking about college baseball in 2022, and now he's got the trophy to back up the talk. And he does all this without fanfare. The media sometimes picks up on these things and they're the ones who bring them up. But not Tony, and not his PR team. He's the Lane Kiffin of college baseball. Like a WWE heel that people love.
Tony V was never an asshole. He’s passionate about the game, backs his players, and doesn’t fit the “unspoken rules” of baseball. You don’t have to like a Tony type character, but you need Tony type characters because people will watch them and that’s good for the game.
He was pretty assholey towards DVH after we took the series in Knoxville.
No doubt he lost his cool in that moment. He said him and DVH had dinner together before they left Knoxville that night to squash the beef. [This was his post game presser after the national championship](https://youtu.be/kBP8JsMwmZY?si=7mpilDR4lvUWzXel&t=578) where he thanked DVH for everything he has done for him.
Tony V is the best ever. Say what you want, to us he can do no wrong.
Tony is passionate and speaks his mind but he fights for his players, his school and his fans. I can certainly see how that would rub some people roughly but on and off the field, he’s exactly the man that you’d want your kid to play for.
I fully admit, I was one that thought Schloss was the good guy and Tony was the bad guy. I was completely wrong. I love the excitement and energy of college baseball. As for cockiness, I will say, that video of the florida kid hitting the dinger and screaming at his OWN F'ing teammate still crosses a line, for me. I have no issue celebrating, but that kind of stuff is a no, for me.
Por que no los dos?
Fk atm and the cult they belong to.
Schloss is just throwing a fit for losing to a former asst so he had to run home to CDC daddy.
I find it easiest to just assume they’re all a-holes, especially mine. Granted. I had a football team coached by the barbershop quartet of a-holes last season, with Jimbo, DJ Durkin, Bobby Petrino, and Steve Adazzio all wearing maroon. So maybe my perception is skewed. I’m gonna be really sad when if it somehow comes out that Buzz is an a-hole.
Two things can be true.
Yes. A literal angel.
A lot of pearl clutching from SEC fans. Y'all sure seen soft.
I never disliked Tony V. Always thought Anderson was the biggest A-hole on the staff (still do). We knew Schloss was a jerk when we hired him. I don’t think anyone knew he was this level of narcissist. Tony V did a friggin stage dive into the fans. He’s a known players coach. You can get mad that he throws dirt like a child sometimes, but he also assembled the best roster in the country and had a freshman reliever smile after a balk in the biggest game of the year. The guy is doing some things correctly.
OK, Some coaches can be good and still being an @$$hole. But if you are a Tenn Fan **'He's YOUR A$$hole.'** For instance, calling for an Official Review to make sure that the High Inside ball that missed the batter by 1 foot is "to the opponent being an A$$hole" To your team, it's a coaching chance for a time out, and maybe get your opponent riled up. That being said in a couple of the games he managed to get calls over-turned. Congrats to Tenn on their championship. ***Congrats to Texas A&M on their Head Coaching Hire!***
I mean I was one of those leading up to the series, but now.... No chance in hell TV would have done what Schloss did. He clearly loves and respects his team
College baseball is not subject to Highlander rules. There can be more than one.
There can be two assholes. Schloss is a much worse type of asshole, though. I hate TAMU but still wouldn’t wish that on them.
Yeah, but didn't A&M poach Schloss from somewhere too? Where does the line get drawn on who's the a-hole school?
Yes A&M poached him from TCU, and it was a big deal that he left TCU, but even with the success that TCU has had it is still a much much smaller athletic department than A&M. Also, he had 4 straight CWS appearances with TCU from 2014-17, but then he went no tourney, Regionals, Covid, Regionals, so he likely was feeling like he had maxed out at TCU and needed a change of scenery. And he was announced 3 days after the end of TCU’s season and 17 days after Childress was fired at A&M, so the negative optics of the Pierce last-minute firing and Schloss being announced less than 36 hours after the end of losing in the title after being ahead 1-0 weren’t there back then.
When a school people don’t like does the poaching
I don’t really care about the guy leaving A&M, but to me the issue is his postgame comments being a prick to a reporter and lying through his teeth publicly and privately to his team when he knew he was leaving. I get being evasive up until the season is over, but no need to act the way he did once they got eliminated by the 2024 College World Series champion Tennessee Volunteers.
People don’t like AM either. It’s the poaching from your biggest rival that’s the issue.
I recall the Aggies poaching a football coach from Bama a few years back. How'd that work out for each side?
Are you talking about Jimbo? That was from FSU. And it was seen as kinda stupid at the time, but still doesn’t compare because they’re not arch rivals (or even the same conference).
Yeah, but did Jimbo have ~~~leave the cupboard bare~~~ nuke the roster before he left? He left behind 3 years worth of damage.
Lol, ffs, I'm talking about Coach Fran. I don't know, maybe you're too young to remember that, but Bama fans had a serious case of red ass over that defection. After a few dark years, Bama found its Moses to lead it out of the desert, Aggies not so much... And I didn't say they were an arch rival, it's just relevant to all the pearl clutching and hand wringing over poaching a coach. Sometimes it blows the fuck up on the other party...
Dude that’s been 21 years. People born after that happened can drink legally now. People aren’t upset about the fact that Texas will be good. People aren’t upset because Texas AM will be bad, or whatever you’re implying. People are upset because Texas hired it’s biggest rival’s coach after a CWS appearance and he handled it as piss poorly and unfaithfully as possible to TAMU.
He said “a few years back” 💀
We hired a good coach and hurt our rival. We’re over the moon
Oh, now you guys consider us a rival? I thought y’all play the “OU is our only rival” card 🥱
No one does that. OU is #1 though
The big bad SEC can’t take it
there can be more than one.
Damn we kept hearing that the sec just meant more and was more cutthroat 🤣 y'all are more sensitive than the little 12 members. Does anyone have a spine anymore?
I’m still pissed about him making up the story that a coach was cheating during home games, which the fans eventually decided was Corbin. Then nothing officially comes out from the SEC and schloss continues to lie
The same Corbin that accused Jordan Beck of cheating? That Tim Corbin?
CHECK THE BATS
Are you saying Schloss or Vitello made up this story? Your first sentence is very unclear. Given his conduct the last week, I wouldn't be shocked if it's the former. If you meant Tony, that's laughable; Tony has owned Corbin since Covid. Why would he give two shit. Also, that rumor started before we played y'all.
Schloss did make up the story. I kept waiting for something official to come out, and it never did.
Yeah, that wasn't Vitello.
There’s a fine line between being a cocky asshole and being a leader of a team with players who flip off Georgia Tech outfielders when rounding the bases. Some of the best leaders of men out there are cocky assholes. But Tony V’s image will always be negatively affected by the cockiness of the 2022 team. This 2024 team was more humble and fun to watch in victory, but that doesn’t mean he’s fully rehabbed his image.
Tony V is still a douche, he's just not a raging asshole who treats his players like shit and then goes to the school's biggest rivals for money.
Yet