Look for VFL Drew Gilbert on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 on Friday, folks.
The former Tennessee legend has the baseball world buzzing on Thursday when he robbed a home run ball from Brewers pinch-hitting first baseman Andrew Vaughn in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Gilbert dashed out to the wall in right-center field, leapt up on the warning track, and made a reaching snag to prevent the ball from going over the fence. Gilbert flexed on the home crowd in Milwaukee as he held up the ball for all to see.
Drew Gilbert HOME RUN ROBBERY! 😱 pic.twitter.com/sRSW3iWhnt
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2026
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While the replay cameras didn’t show it, there’s no way that the play didn’t fire up Giants manager Tony Vitello in the dugout. The two spent three years together with the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville and are now reunited for the first time since Rocky Top this season in San Francisco.
Gilbert played at Tennessee from 2020-22. A two-way player to start his career, he settled in as a big bat in the heart of the Vols’ order and as the starting center fielder. In his final season, he hit at a .362 clip with 11 home runs. He was a First-Team All-American and SEC Tournament MVP that year.
He was selected 28th overall by the Houston Astros in the following MLB draft. However, Gilbert was traded to the Mets, then the Giants, before making his MLB debut with San Francisco in August of 2025. In that first season, he hit .190 with three home runs in 39 appearances and 100 at-bats.
In 44 games this season, the 5-foot-9 pitbull of an outfielder is hitting .236 with three home runs, 29 hits, and 12 RBIs.
The Giants were up 12-5 on the Brewers when Gilbert made his robbery of a catch, and finished the game with a 12-9 win. San Francisco is now 25-38 in Tony Vitello’s first year as the Giants’ manager after the win on Thursday.
