{"id":2914,"date":"2026-06-24T07:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2914"},"modified":"2026-06-24T07:37:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T07:37:37","slug":"sf-giants-devers-apologizes-to-vitello-for-misunderstanding-blames-media-for-blowing-things-out-of-proportion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2914","title":{"rendered":"SF Giants’ Devers apologizes to Vitello for ‘misunderstanding’, blames media for blowing things out of proportion"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Rafael Devers said on Tuesday afternoon that he apologized to manager Tony Vitello for what he called a \u201cmisunderstanding\u201d during the Giants\u2019 game Sunday in Miami, then blamed the media for blowing the episode out of proportion.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018May god have mercy on your soul\u2019: Man sentenced in girlfriend\u2019s shooting death at Fremont hotel<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think what it is, is that the media in general \u2014 you guys \u2014 just blow everything out of proportion,\u201d Devers said through team interpreter Erwin Higueros several hours before the Giants series opener against the Athletics on Tuesday. \u201cI think it\u2019s a reflection that I really don\u2019t talk to you guys. I don\u2019t talk to the media, so because I don\u2019t talk to the media, things like this happen. So, you guys got to write everything and try to blow everything out of proportion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI respect the manager. I didn\u2019t mean to be disrespectful to him. That\u2019s why I apologized,\u201d Devers added. \u201cBut it\u2019s things that happen, and I think it\u2019s because I don\u2019t talk to the media. You guys, meaning the media, just want to write something about it and just blow everything out of proportion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devers is slated to bat fourth and play first base on Tuesday night against the Athletics.<\/p>\n

In Sunday\u2019s 2-1 loss to the Marlins, Devers began the top of the ninth by drawing a leadoff walk. Rookie Jonah Cox hopped out of the first base dugout to pinch-run for Devers, but the veteran responded by aggressively wagging his finger, signaling that he wanted to stay in the game.<\/p>\n

Giants manager Tony Vitello said before Tuesday\u2019s game that he felt no disrespect from Devers, but that an \u201cobvious\u201d conversation was \u201cneeded\u201d on their flight home.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came to me, sat next to each other on the plane, had a good conversation,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cIt was needed. We were going to have to have a conversation. It was a great talk. It was good of him to come back and we sat there and hung out for a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devers said on Tuesday that he told Vitello about \u201ca problem with my hamstring\u201d earlier during the trip and thought that ailment was the reason he was being taken out of the game.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI just thought that he was taking me out of the game because of what the problem was with my hamstring,\u201d Devers said. \u201cIf he felt that I was disrespecting him, that\u2019s why I went into his office and I apologized.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vitello, in his first season as a major league manager after a storied career as a college head coach, reiterated his stance from Sunday that Devers was merely signaling he was OK to run after earlier concerns about a sore hamstring.<\/p>\n

I went through all the stuff postgame, based on his hamstring, how well he\u2019s done for us.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs a player or the type of teammate he is and the type of competitor and how bad he wants to win, I\u2019m good to go to battle with him anytime,\u201d said Vitello, noting that Devers has been especially kind to his family and father.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Vitello then borrowed from the movie, \u201cThe Town,\u201d to explain his loyalty to Devers: \u201cIf he came over to my condo and said, \u2018I need your help, you can\u2019t ask about it, we\u2019re going to do some damage,\u2019 all I\u2019d say is, \u2018Whose car are we going to take?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Cox, who has seldom played since being called up, was visibly confused when he reached first base and unsure of how to proceed. Following an awkward standoff, Devers eventually relented and walked off the field, hiding his face in his helmet. Once Devers reached the dugout, cameras caught Devers trying to dodge a cordial pat on the backside from bench coach Jayce Tingler.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just the heat of the moment,\u201d Devers said. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing to be read on it. Just the heat of the moment. Then after that, everything was normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

President of baseball operations Buster Posey said Tuesday that the moment reminded him of when Santiago Casilla had a heated moment with manager Bruce Bochy when Bochy pulled him from a game in 2016. Posey referred to Casilla as \u201cone of my favorite people in the whole world,\u201d noting how \u201cwe\u2019re all prone to have missteps at times.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could tell he\u2019s frustrated,\u201d Posey told reporters. \u201cWith the way the season\u2019s gone, everybody\u2019s frustrated. I think that\u2019s a byproduct of frustration. I haven\u2019t spoken to Rafi directly, but I know Tony has talked to him and he can share more with you. I know they had a good conversation after the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Posey said he plans to sit down with Devers and discuss the matter.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody has missteps, like I said,\u201d Posey said. \u201cI think you can point to leaders from everywhere. Everybody has missteps. I don\u2019t think you can have an instance like that and say he\u2019s not a good teammate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devers, who entered Tuesday hitting .238 with 11 home runs and a .735 OPS, did not speak to reporters in Miami following Sunday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

Vitello, on Tuesday, sided with Devers in blaming the media for this dramatic storyline, comparing it to an early-season blowup between Matt Chapman and Casey Schmitt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like the Chappy-Schmitty thing. I get it,\u201d Vitello said. \u201cIt\u2019s something for you guys to run with and talk about from this point on. It\u2019s a non-issue. It was a good chat we had.<\/p>\n

Read more Kurtenbach: Boris Diaw 2.0? Yaxel Lendeborg is the cure for the Warriors\u2019 identity crisis<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafael Devers is slated to bat cleanup and play first base on Tuesday against the Athletics<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2913,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nSF Giants’ Devers apologizes to Vitello for ‘misunderstanding’, blames media for blowing things out of proportion - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=2914\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SF Giants’ Devers apologizes to Vitello for ‘misunderstanding’, blames media for blowing things out of proportion - 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