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This is not just any kind of managerial moment for the Giants because the Dodgers are not just any kind of rival — they’re the archenemy, the empire, and prime tormentor.

The Dodgers can make you quit or they can force you to realize you have to commit every iota of energy and creativity available to try to track them down. You need a moonshot or two, basically.

Obviously, Buster Posey is very aware of all this. Posey, maybe more than anybody because of his position as president of baseball operations and his life as a competitor, is living all of this.

And his risky/bold/clever/perilous hiring of Tony Vitello on Wednesday to replace Bob Melvin as manager is a clear manifestation of this reality and this true jeopardy for the Giants.

Could hiring a manager with a massive personality but no previous major-league experience lead to utter failure? Of course it could. That might even be the way to bet on this one.

But unless they take big risks, how else are the Giants going to make up the ground the Dodgers have seized? What are Posey and general manager Zack Minasian supposed to do — act like a normal manager with a normal roster can somehow do anything except finish around .500, like the Giants have done for four consecutive seasons (coincidentally, the exact time frame since Posey ended his Hall of Fame playing career after the 2021 season)?

No, we’re discovering that Posey is not about the cautious executive life. We’re learning that even though he was quite buttoned-down as a player, he’s a born gambler as a decision-maker.

First came the mega deal to sign Willy Adames last offseason. Followed by the epic trade for Rafael Devers a few months ago. Then the firing of Melvin when there were many reasons to keep him, including the 2026 salary Posey guaranteed in July.

And now, the hiring of Vitello, whose fiery and funny personality seems polar opposite to Posey. But when you think about it, Vitello’s huge presence fits this moment and Posey’s imperative just about perfectly.

You can’t beat the Dodgers by being a lesser, cheaper, quieter version of them. You have to be different. You have to try things. You have to put yourself and the franchise out there on the edge of the envelope. The Giants also need more good players, no doubt, but they need to gain in all areas, starting with the manager.

Vitello is going to be different. He’s going to be outside the borders of known MLB things. He’s probably going to get into some arguments and create some controversies — just like he did while pushing the University of Tennessee team to higher levels.

That’s the whole point of hiring Vitello. And I think that’s all the stuff that Posey could not resist once he started looking into this choice.

Posey seems like a traditionalist, and I think in many ways he is. Posey has a ton of credibility with Giants fans and his fellow owners partly because he’s known to be such a level-headed guy who is so invested in the Giants’ culture and brand.

But he also has credibility because he’s a winner. At least, he was as a player. And that’s what Posey is leaning into now and why he couldn’t stand by and let this mediocre era continue without doing something. Without doing everything.

That’s my first thought on this fascinating hiring, here are four others …

No, this is not an exact match. Stanford football was in a far lower place at that time than the Giants are now. All the Stanford administration wanted was relevancy. But Harbaugh wanted more than that, announced it, then dragged the program to amazing places.

That’s where I see the parallel to Vitello and the Giants now. You’ve got the Dodgers right there, the same way Harbaugh was looking up at the USC dynasty.

It took all of Harbaugh’s audacity and swagger to convince Stanford it could take on USC. It will take that kind of approach to go after the Dodgers.

Let’s see if Vitello can do it. I know he won’t be shy about it.

I don’t think it’s crazy to suggest that if this trade never happens, Gilbert never shows up in the Giants’ dugout, and Posey never sees the energy boost that followed … the Giants might have a different manager right now.

Gilbert, perhaps the signature player of Vitello’s Tennessee tenure, changed things for the Giants after being brought up in August. I’m not sure how this all happened, but you could tell just watching his teammates react to Gilbert.

It’s not like the Giants immediately started winning when Gilbert arrived. It was mostly the opposite, at least early on. But it felt different and lighter with Gilbert around — it was goofy and entertaining in an authentic way. And if Gilbert is vouching for Vitello, which I’m sure he is, then the clubhouse isn’t starting from scratch with the new boss.

Back in November 2019, when the Giants held a tense presser to announce the controversial managerial choice of Gabe Kapler, Posey was a notable attendee, took in every word (I was standing right next to him), then answered several questions afterward (opens in new tab).

He was making a symbolic point by being there. Then he made some literal points. I asked Posey back then: Could Kapler’s strong personality work with a team that just experienced so much success with somebody as calm as Bruce Bochy?

“I guess to answer your question, I think strong personalities always play well here in San Francisco,” Posey said then. “They have from my experience here. Ultimately, it’s about winning baseball games. If you don’t win baseball games, your strong personality doesn’t work. But if you are able to win, (and it) seems like he’s adamant about ingraining himself in the community, I think fans will ultimately come to have an appreciation for that.”

I don’t think Kapler would’ve necessarily been Posey’s first choice at that point. And I’d guess that he was part of a management faction that encouraged Zaidi to move on from Kapler after the 2023 season.

But even in 2019, Posey very clearly understood what guys like Tim Lincecum, Madison Bumgarner, and Pablo Sandoval meant to Giants fans — and to winning. Posey wasn’t one of those huge personalities, but I think he always appreciated what they meant to a team when everything was channeled correctly.

The benefit of bold decisions is that you’re doing things almost nobody else would do and can take advantage of things almost nobody else can envision.

Maybe in three or four years, this hiring will seem like the advent of a new managerial era. Maybe everybody will be looking for the next Vitello and other teams will be trying to hire him away.

But what if Vitello runs aground? I don’t think Posey will ever be fired, but what’s his next move? Go for an even bolder choice? Take the managerial reins himself? No, I think this is Posey’s leap of faith.

He’s got his guy. He and Minasian will have every motivation to build a roster that can win. And it’ll be up to Vitello to prove that Posey was right about this and everything else.