Tony Vitello shares difference between 2020 roster, 2023 roster

There are some cliches that baseball coaches like Tennessee head coach Tony Vitello will repeat seemingly every year, like this year’s roster is totally different from last year’s or next year’s, etc. But Vitello specifically compared his group this year to one of his old teams during a press conference this week.

“This team is this team,” Vitello said before the start of the season. “I like the unique challenges this team has that are different from the 2020 roster. I bring that up — the 2020 roster. I don’t know where they had us. But that was the only time I’ve been a part of a team where we kind of got something that no one knows yet. For instance, Crochet a guy that goes straight to the big leagues. That team would have been deserving of a really high ranking.”

The 2020 team went 15-2 over the first 17 games of the season before COVID shut down the season. The two losses were to Wright State.

The 2023 team is off to an 0-2 start with losses to Arizona and Grand Canyon.

“I think this year — maybe because of the ’20 team and 21s an so on and so forth — this team probably has been bolstered up a little bit too much,” Vitello said. “We need to center our attention on not: do we fit in that top crop? First of all, you’re not going to know till conference play anyway. But start channeling our energy to Who are we? what do I need to do for us to be the best version of us? we’re right in the middle of that

Tony Vitello says 2023 roster has a fresh flavor to it

Tony Vitello is a real believer in the chemsitry his 2023 Tennessee team is building, saying the procession over the months has been very steady and fun to watch.

“We finally had a couple of guys arguing with each other on the field, which is healthy anytime you’ve got a, in my case, brother-sister relationship,” Vitello said. “You know, when your family spends time around one another, you’re going to have conflict, you’re going to have resolution. You’re also going to have some fun times that aren’t just, ‘Hey, the coaches are gonna play spiteball today,’ or whatever and have fun.”