Drew Gilbert, a fiery 5-foot-9 rookie outfielder, went 4-for-4 with a homer off former college teammate Chase Dollander and celebrated with a wild dugout routine. The celebration ended with third baseman Matt Chapman briefly choking Gilbert, a gesture that earned broadcaster Javier Lopez's "Next level right there" and a Giants social post captioned "Chill, lowkey dugout celly." Teammates call the choking an "over-the-top hype ritual" performed before games, and Willy Adames said it would sound "over the line" but affirmed Gilbert's humor. Gilbert was acquired from the Mets, began at Triple-A, was called up in early August, and initially struggled, going 3-for-31 in his first 14 games, but produced meme-able celebrations and helped spark a turnaround as the Giants recovered from a midseason collapse.
The fiery 5-foot-9 outfielder took center stage during Monday's win over the Colorado Rockies, going 4-for-4 with a homer off of his former college teammate Chase Dollander. But Gilbert went viral in the Giants circles for a wild home run celebration in the dugout, which ended with Giants third baseman Matt Chapman briefly choking Gilbert. The celebration earned an immediate exclamation from Giants broadcaster Javier Lopez, who quipped, "Next level right there." The Giants' social media team didn't really know how to react to the clip and images but posted one shot of it anyway with the caption, "Chill, lowkey dugout celly."
As the Athletic's beat reporter Andrew Baggarly wrote, the choking is part of an "over-the-top hype ritual" before each game. Teammates were reluctant to share the full details with Baggarly, and Willy Adames said it would sound "over the line, way, way over the line. But he is definitely funny." (A photo shared by the Giants from the Aug. 28 game shows Chapman doing the same choking gesture to Gilbert in the dugout pregame.)
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