Kyle “Higgy” Harris Higashioka (born April 20, 1990) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He also played for the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

Amateur career

Higashioka attended Edison High School in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. He played for the school's baseball team and committed to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

California Golden Bears The California Golden Bears are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Berkeley. Referred to in athletic competition as ''California'' or ''Cal'', the university fields 30 varsity athletic programs and various club te ...

Professional career

Minor leagues (2008–2017)

The

selected him in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB draft. He signed with the Yankees, receiving a $500,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

, rather than attending college. Higashioka played in 2012 for the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

of the High–A

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

and Trenton Thunder, batting .170/.228/.327 in 147 at–bats combined. During the 2013 and 2014 seasons he played in only 13 games combined, due to

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

and a broken thumb. He played with the Tampa Yankees in 2015, and became a minor league

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

after the 2015 season. He re–signed with the Yankees during the offseason. Higashioka started the 2016 season with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

of the Double–A Eastern League, and won the Player of the Week Award. He was promoted to the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders, are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the Triple–A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

during the season. He finished the 2016 season with a .276

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, 21

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s, and 81

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

, and the Yankees added him to their 40 man roster. The Yankees

optioned In the film industry, an option agreement is a contract that "rents" the rights to a source material to a potential film producer. It grants the film producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to the source material if they live up to the te ...

Higashioka to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the start of the 2017 season.

New York Yankees (2017–2023)

After playing in one game for the RailRiders in 2017, the Yankees promoted Higashioka to the major leagues, following an injury to

Gary Sánchez Gary Sánchez Herrera (born December 2, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball catcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, San D ...

. Higashioka made his major league debut as a defensive replacement on April 10. He batted 0-for-18 in nine games for the Yankees, and was

back to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on May 5, when Sánchez was activated from the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. The Yankees promoted Higashioka back to the major leagues on June 16. After returning to the minors he suffered a knee injury and played in eight minor league games during August and September. Higashioka began the 2018 season with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in 2018, he batted .202/.276/.346 in 188 at bats. He was called up to the majors on June 27, following an injury to Sánchez. After starting his major league career 0-for-22, the longest hitless streak to start a Yankee career of any position player ever, he had his first major league hit, a home run, on July 1 against David Price of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. His next two hits, on July 3 and 4 against the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, were also home runs, making him the ninth MLB player since 1920 whose first three major league hits were home runs. With the Yankees in 2018, he batted .167/.241/.319 in 72 at bats. In 2019, Higashioka batted .214 with three home runs and 11 RBIs in 18 games with the Yankees. On September 16, 2020, Higashioka hit three home runs in a game against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

. He became the 24th Yankee to have a three home run game and the first to do so while batting ninth in the batting order. On May 19, 2021, Higashioka caught

Corey Kluber Corey Scott Kluber (born April 10, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. He made his MLB ...

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

against the Texas Rangers. On June 12, 2022, Higashioka hit a home run on a pitch off of first baseman

Frank Schwindel Frank Joseph Schwindel (born June 29, 1992), nicknamed "Frank The Tank", is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican League. He has previously played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas Cit ...

who came in to pitch in the eighth inning. It was the slowest pitch hit for a home run since the debut of

Statcast Statcast is an automated tool developed to analyze player movements and athletic abilities in Major League Baseball (MLB). Statcast was introduced to all thirty MLB stadiums in 2015. The Statcast brand is also licensed to ESPN, which uses it to ...

in 2015. He batted .227 in 83 games in the 2022 season. Higashioka played for the

in the

. On June 28, 2023, Higashioka caught

Domingo Germán's perfect game On June 28, 2023, the Dominican professional baseball pitcher Domingo Germán of the New York Yankees threw the 24th perfect game in Major League Baseball history, and the fourth in Yankees franchise history. Germán pitched it during an 11–0 ...

. On September 10, 2023, Higashioka had his first career walkoff hit in the 13th inning.

San Diego Padres

On December 6, 2023, the Yankees traded Higashioka, Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Randy Vásquez, and Jhony Brito, to the

for

Juan Soto Juan José Soto Pacheco (born October 25, 1998) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, and New York Y ...

and

Trent Grisham Trenton Marcus Grisham (''né'' Clark; born November 1, 1996) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Pad ...

. On April 3, 2024, Higashioka recorded his first hit with the Padres, a home run, in

Petco Park Petco Park is a ballpark in San Diego, California. It is the home of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). The ballpark is located in the East Village neighborhood of downtown San Diego, adjacent to the Gaslamp Quarter. Petco Par ...

against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

. In 84 games for San Diego, he slashed .220/.263/.476 with career–highs in home runs (17) and RBI (45).

Texas Rangers

On December 2, 2024, Higashioka signed a two-year contract with the Texas Rangers that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season.

Personal life

Kyle Higashioka is married to Alyse Higashioka. His father, Ted, is a third-generation

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian Americans, Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 United States census, 2000 census, they have declined in ...

. Kyle learned Japanese to connect with his heritage and better communicate with former teammate

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. From ...

. Higashioka's ancestry is one-half Japanese. Higashioka also studied Spanish in high school and uses it to communicate with Latin American teammates. Higashioka promised his mother, Diane, that he would earn a college degree; as of 2017, he was taking classes in mechanical engineering at

Orange Coast College Orange Coast College (OCC) is a Public college, public community college in Costa Mesa, California, Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was founded in 1947, with its first classes opening in the fall of 1948. It provides Associate of Ar ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Higashioka, Kyle 1990 births Living people American baseball players of Japanese descent Baseball players from Huntington Beach, California Charleston RiverDogs players Edison High School (Huntington Beach, California) alumni Gulf Coast Yankees players Major League Baseball catchers New York Yankees players Pulaski Yankees players Round Rock Express players San Diego Padres players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Texas Rangers players Trenton Thunder players 2023 World Baseball Classic players World Baseball Classic players of the United States