Credit Tony Vitello on brining Christian Moore from NY to Tennessee baseball | Adams

Tuesdays will always be special for Christian Moore when he reflects on his baseball career.

Tuesday was Tony Vitello Day when Moore first began hearing from baseball coaches in his eighth-grade summer in Brooklyn, New York.

“I still remember that like it was yesterday,” Tennessee’s junior second baseman told Knox News. “T for Tuesday and Tennessee.”

Vitello always called on Tuesday. Other coaches called on different days. Never mind that Moore was still in his formative years as a baseball player. His fastball mattered more than his age to college coaches.

Things are so different now for a player who was once measured by a 90-mile-per-hour fastball. He’s a hitter, not a pitcher. And the New York native feels as comfortable as he ever did in a much larger city.

East Tennessee was a foreign land when Moore first visited. He didn’t even know where it was.

Vitello sold Moore on coming to Tennessee for a visit. The landscape – highlighted by his first view of the Smokies − helped close the deal.

“Now, I love it here so much,” he said. “This is the place I call home.

“I like how people go about life here. And there’s the weather. You don’t get 65 in February in New York. You can get the city life here but if you want to be in the woods or by the lake, you’ve got that, too.”

Moore has fit into Tennessee’s lineup as well as he has the lifestyle. He batted .304 with 10 home runs as a freshman in UT’s 2022 power-packed lineup. Last season, he hit .304 with 17 homers.

He should be one of the toughest outs in another formidable UT lineup when the Vols open their season Friday against Texas Tech in Arlington, Texas. He believes he’s better equipped to handle the challenges of a sport in which ups and downs come with the territory no matter how talented you might be.

“I know what it’s like to succeed, fail and be in the middle,” he said. “Last year, I struggled a little bit. I think my confidence level has gone up a lot.”

At his highest level, Moore can carry a team. For example, take last season’s NCAA Regional. He went 7-for-10 and hit four home runs in three games.

His versatility is also an attribute. He grew up playing shortstop when he wasn’t pitching. Second base is his position now. But depending on how the competition among newcomers shakes out at shortstop, Moore could fill in there, too.

As he anticipates a new season – perhaps his final one at Tennessee – the past two seasons are still very much with him. His first Tennessee team, regarded as one of the best in college baseball history, was upset in the super regional of the NCAA Tournament. The Vols reached the College World Series last season but lost out to national champion LSU.

“It hurt a little more as a freshman,” he said. “But it hurt last year, too. We fell short. We know what that feels like to lose at Omaha. Everyone wants to finish what we started.”

The Vols will get an early test in Arlington with games against Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Baylor. Their first game at Lindsey Nelson Stadium will be Feb. 20 against UNC Asheville.

And maybe, on the first Tuesday of this season, Johnson will think back to those Tuesday calls from Vitello when he was an eighth-grade pitcher, and Tennessee was an unknown.

I asked him why Vitello made such a positive first impression.

ADAMS: Tennessee baseball outfielder Kavares Tears has downsized. His home runs haven't.

“He didn’t do anything out of the ordinary,” Moore said. “We just had a connection. I felt like he could be family. He bet on me, and I bet on him.”

They both won their bet.

John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Credit Tony Vitello on brining Christian Moore to Tennessee baseball