Kansas City Giants Coach Emphasizes Mindset Shift

In the eyes of coach Tony Vitello, the Giants have, for most of the season, approached games as though they had everything at stake. He’s hoping for a shift in that mentality.

“I mean, it makes sense,” Vitello mentioned. “MLB is one of the proudest organizations out there. Our roster is packed with talent. But somewhere, it feels like we flipped the switch a bit late.”

At the moment, Vitello’s squad is 18 games under .500 with a record of 42-60, sitting 22 and a half games back from the Dodgers. This mindset of having nothing to lose was particularly noticeable during their last two attempts at stealing bases.

Players Bryce Eldridge and Daniel Suszak successfully accomplished what the franchise’s all-time ten stolen base leaders have done before. In July, the Giants have stolen bases in all 12 attempts across 16 games, tying their monthly record with time to spare.

While they might be too far gone to fix all issues this season, improvement is still possible—especially if it’s a foundation for the next one. Despite recent progress, the Giants have still outpaced the league’s least successful team, the Tigers, by six stolen bases. Since 2022, they’ve shown more aggression on the bases than any other team.

“We’ve been working on being more aggressive,” Vitello stated. “We wanted to create a bit more initiative around going for steals,” said Cole from the dugout.

But ironically, neither Eldridge nor Suszak are known for their speed, and their steals weren’t directed by coaches. In fact, both players rank among the slowest on the team, sitting in the bottom 40% across the league.

Still, they acted independently in their efforts.

Eldridge managed to snag his first career stolen base without even getting his uniform dirty.

“I basically just took it,” he said. “They didn’t see me coming, and honestly, I don’t blame them. Nobody’s really focused on me when I’m on base, which means I can capitalize on that. In that situation, I have nothing to lose.”

This brought a smile to Vitello’s face.

“With Bryce,” the manager joked, “it was honestly a breathtaking moment.”

Suszak, on the other hand, had a tougher time and ended up scraping his hand while sliding into second base, a mishap that sparked some light-hearted teasing from teammates.

But, let’s consider how they got there.

“The first pitch was a bit slow,” Suszak reflected, “and with about five seconds on the clock, I figured he wasn’t going to pick off, so I decided to take the chance.” He acknowledged he’s not the fastest player, but he knows when to make a move.

Once again, Vitello is urging for that mix of smart and carefree play.

“This shows he’s capable of making those kinds of plays,” Vitello said. “When we made the pitching change, we were joking about the slide. … It wasn’t ideal.”

Both steals occurred with two outs during a late inning while the Giants were trailing. However, neither led to big outcomes. What mattered was the initiative players took on their own. Suszak aimed to score for Luis Arraez, while Eldridge had Rafael Devers at bat.

Following that, Jesus Rodriguez executed a sacrifice bunt.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence, but that theme was echoed in a recent hitters’ meeting.

“Several team leaders spoke up.” On Tuesday, “we discussed in our offensive meetings that players shouldn’t hesitate to act independently, whether that’s seizing a bunting opportunity or taking initiative on the basepaths—just go for it,” Vitello shared.

The Giants can’t change their reality of a lost postseason, but they can control their mindset as they approach each game.

“Just because I may not care doesn’t mean I play like I have nothing to lose,” Vitello said. “Still, a more relaxed and easy-going approach might just help us.”