Tony Vitello called out Drew Gilbert after a bad game, and Drew Gilbert responded exactly like Vols fans would expect him to
Tony Vitello and Drew Gilbert have a unique relationship, and that’s why the former Tennessee coach wasn’t afraid to call out the Giants outfielder after a bad game recently.
San Francisco Giants manager Tony Vitello knows Giants outfielder Drew Gilbert as well as anyone in baseball.
Vitello, of course, coached Gilbert for three seasons at Tennessee (some folks have suggested that Gilbert is a big reason why Vitello to the Giants happened last fall).
As a result, Vitello feels a little more comfortable having hard conversations with Gilbert than he does with some of his players that he doesn’t have the same history with.
That’s why Vitello wasn’t afraid to criticize Gilbert after the former Vol recently had a bad game.
Gilbert went 0-for-3 in a loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 30.
After the game, Vitello suggested that Gilbert could’ve played better.
“Just a personal tangent to get off my chest — I think he could’ve played better last night,” said Vitello of Gilbert the day after the game.
Vitello added that he thought Gilbert’s final at bat in the Giants’ loss to Arizona on June 29 impacted his at bats on June 30.
“With Drew, I feel like with my experience with him, I can speak differently about him and I have in the past,” said Vitello. “I’m not so sure yesterday (June 30) that he wasn’t carrying that last at bat in the ninth inning (from June 29) with him during BP and during the game.”
Gilbert didn’t start the next three games for the Giants after getting criticized by Vitello.
The former Vol, however, returned to the starting lineup on July 5 and responded in the way that Tennessee fans would expect.
Gilbert went 4-for-4 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs.
There are a lot of ups and downs in baseball over the course of the season. Every player in the sport is going to have bad games — or even bad stretches — throughout the year. Vitello, though, knew exactly what buttons to push with Gilbert after the tough game against Arizona, and it worked to perfection.