“Tennessee fans will never care about baseball.”

Words spoken by a long-time scribe who loved baseball himself, but firmly believed that his beloved alma mater would never share his passion. I wish that he had lived to see this past weekend at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. He would have shed a tear.

In the Vols’ opening three-game set against Georgia Southern, in less-than-desirable weather conditions (high Friday 42, Saturday 48, Sunday 54) a record-13,566 fans came out to Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

That’s more than any three-game series in program history.

That’s not an opening weekend record. It was the most heavily-attended three-game set in the HISTORY of Tennessee Baseball.

In the case of Tennessee Baseball, it wasn’t because of facilities. Yes, there are new bleachers down the left field line and more porches in left field, increasing capacity, but Lindsey Nelson Stadium is the same. There was no ribbon-cutting on Friday christening a new park. No Vol fan came to see “new and shiny” at this nearly 30-year-old facility.

They came in record numbers to see Tennessee annihilate Georgia Southern three times. They came in the cold and wind and watched baseball in February in Knoxville, Tennessee. They came because Tony Vitello has built “it”.

“It” is a program. A program of success. A program with an actual identity led by a head coach who’s simply made people care about baseball in a way they never have before. And it starts with Vitello. The guy oozes confidence. He will fight for his players and he relishes a good rowdy day at the ball yard.

His attitude is contagious and the students have caught the fever.

Tennessee’s student section is entertaining. They heckle. They get under the opponents skin and Vitello has embraced them. And credit the entire administration for not trying to reign them in. Credit the students for living right on the edge but never taking it to point they have to be dealt with. Vitello embraces them, interacts with them, and credits them. Tennessee students are a part of Tennessee Baseball and they know it.

Vitello has genuinely worked relationships with donors and they have invested---both financially and with their time and support. Those donors have largely made the packed porches in left field social events. It is a cool place to see and be seen and there is nothing wrong with that.

Vitello has sold his program in an unassuming way with all of his media work, too. He allows plenty of access to his program. He also uses other sports on campus to help sell his program. He was interviewed during the Ole Miss football game on ESPN. He shoots t-shirts into the crowd at Thompson Boling Arena. Vitello will get his hands dirty in grass-roots marketing campaigns.

Bottom line is no matter who you are, if you bleed orange, Vitello has tried every way possible to embrace you.

Tony Vitello may well be the modern-day Ray Mears.

I’m serious. Over 13,500 fans watched baseball on Presidents’ Day Weekend. In Knoxville. In the cold. At nearly-ancient Lindsey Nelson Stadium.

Mears would have been impressed with that.

And like Mears, Vitello has won. And he’s won with good baseball to watch. Vitello’s plan — play hard, score runs, throw strikes, and win. Then do it again, and again and again.

With the three-game sweep to open the 2022 campaign, Vitello is now 137-68 in his 4+ years at the helm. He is 108-41 over the last 3+ years and the last 2+ seasons he’s 68-20.

I get it: if you win, they will come. But this past weekend was more than just a program that has won. A lot more. Tennessee Baseball has it own brand and Tennessee fans love it.

Tony Vitello has shown UTAD the way, just like Ray Mears did in the 1960’s.

He has made Tennessee fans care about baseball. To many, including the wise man mentioned at the top of this piece, that proves that ANYTHING is possible.