Felton native Tyler Gilbert at home in the bigs
GILBERT ON REACHING GOAL: ‘IT’S STILL A LITTLE SURREAL’
Felton native Tyler Gilbert attended San Francisco Giants games often during his childhood. His aunt, longtime Giants employee Cindy Hernandez, would hook her family up with tickets for club level seating, a cherished spot in the picturesque stadium.
Gilbert remembers he often relocated to the bleachers in left field during batting practice and pleaded with Barry Bonds and other players to throw him a baseball.
Now 27 and one week removed from his MLB debut, the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 6-foot-3, lefthanded pitcher enjoyed the role reversal Tuesday. He shifted between centerfield and left field and tossed souvenirs to screaming fans. He smiled and chuckled often as he relaxed with teammates ahead of his team’s game against the host Giants at
Oracle Park.
“I just paused and took it all in,” he said of his new vantage point. “I had control of my emotions. Coming here, I knew I was gonna do it, but it was still a little surreal.”
Nearly two decades earlier in those cherished club level seats, Gilbert told his father, Greg, that he was going to play in the big leagues. It wasn’t just a dream, it was an expectation, he said. Despite a couple of setbacks, there wasn’t much of a detour in accomplishing his goal.
Gilbert broke his pitching hand while batting his senior year at San Lorenzo Valley High which hurt his cause as he attempted to draw interest from NCAA Division I programs.
With no offers on the table, SLV baseball coach Shane Sutcliffe reached out to Santa Barbara City College coach Jeff Walker and Walker offered Gilbert a spot on the team, if he wanted it.
“He’s had the makeup from the get-go.”
— Shane Sutcliffe, Gilbert’s former high school coach
Yearning for a change of scenery, Gilbert jumped at the chance.
“I didn’t mind going to a junior college,” Gilbert said. “I think it was the best decision I could’ve made. I needed to grow more.”
He did just that, both physically and mentally. And as a dominant Vaqueros sophomore, the velocity finally came around. And with it, so did college recruiters — from nearly every major program on the West Coast. He chose USC.
After one successful season with the Trojans, Gilbert was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies in the sixth round of the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the 2020 minor-league campaign — which was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic — and acquired by the Diamondbacks in the Triple-A phase of the Rule 5 draft this past offseason.
At the outset of this season, Gilbert talked about pitching so well that he had to force the Diamondbacks’ hand. He he did just that. On Aug. 3, he was promoted to the bigs and he made his MLB debut later that evening. Gilbert came on in relief of Madison Bumgarner and threw a scoreless frame as the Diamondbacks knocked off the NL West Division leading Giants 3-1 in Arizona.
Gilbert stood tall and confident on the mound. He remained composed and focused throughout his appearance, which include a five-minute delay as Giants manager Gabe Kapler argued with officials. Gilbert retired the side in order in the eighth inning, recording a pair of strikeouts and deep flyout from Kris Bryant. Closer Tyler Clippard sealed the win.
“Wow, way to step up,” Torey Lovullo told Gilbert after the game, which included a post-game interview featuring Gilbert on Bally Sports, followed by a beer shower from teammates.
Gilbert found a way to keep his nerves in check, he said.
“I told myself that the mound is no different that it is in Triple-A, it’s still 60 feet from home plate,” Gilbert said. “The game didn’t change.”
The amount of eyes watching him did, though.
Gilbert has made two other appearances since his debut. He was tagged with the loss Thursday against the Giants despite not allowing an earned run in two-thirds an inning. And he threw two shutout innings of relief in front of a packed house in San Diego on Saturday. He’s proving his stuff is big-league worthy.
“He’s had the makeup from the get-go,” said Sutcliffe, who promoted Gilbert to varsity as a sophomore.
Sutcliffe remembers the first time he saw Gilbert throw a bullpen session: the ball was moving late and hitting the target put out by the catcher with a loud pop.
“Oh, this is going to be special,’ ” Sutcliffe said.
And it has been ever since. After shining in three years of college ball, Gilbert did the more of the same as a pro. He posted a 3.37 lifetime ERA in the minor leagues.
“Everywhere he’s gone, he’s done well,” Sutcliffe said. “He’s got the numbers.”
Gilbert was expecting to make a relief appearance in his return to the Bay Area, but that won’t happen now. He received some more good news ahead of Tuesday’s game: Lovullo wants to give Gilbert a shot in the starting rotation. Gilbert is slated to go against San Diego in Phoenix on Saturday night.
“It’s a good thing,” Gilbert said of the starting role. He’s usually sore after outings and he enjoys giving his arm proper rest.
The news also meant that Gilbert didn’t have to focus on a pitching game plan Tuesday, which would’ve had him in a different, more serious mindset. Now, he could fully enjoy his return home.
Gilbert heard the pleads each time he fielded a ball. Time after time, he turned, made eye contact with a fan and heaved a ball with the easiest of motions. They were ecstatic and Gilbert turned away, smiling himself.
“It felt normal,” Gilbert said of his return to Oracle Park. “I told my parents I was going to play here some day. I made it happen.” signing former Raiders’ defensive linemen is reminiscent of something the Warriors did during their first season at Chase Center. It was never officially declared in a press conference or post-game huddle, but the Warriors, in the post-Kevin Durant era, looked to take advantage of the worst teams in basketball at the time — the Suns and the Timberwolves.
The Dubs signed Marquese Chriss because they were sure his original team, the Suns, had no idea how to develop him at 19 years old. Chris had two solid seasons for the Dubs.
Later, the Warriors traded for Andrew Wiggins and what turned out to be the No. 7 pick last month’s NBA draft because they bet the Timberwolves weren’t competent enough to maximize Wiggins’ talent or avoid a bad season. They were right on both counts.
The Niners are doing the same thing with the Raiders here. They’re betting on talent.
They’re also betting on something I’m sure most Raiders fans will echo: the Raiders defensive coaches didn’t know what they were doing with that talent.
The Niners feel vindicated in their bets at this early juncture of the season. Both Hurst and Key signed one-year, $1,045,000 contracts — a pittance for solid depth at the teams’ most important positions.
The only question now is how much return the Niners can get on those investments and if that profit can buy them a trip to
Los Angeles in February.