Stephen Nicholas Tarpley (born February 17, 1993) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

for the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "part ...

of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2018 for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

and has also played for the

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fra ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

Career

Amateur career

Tarpley attended Gilbert High School in

Gilbert, Arizona Gilbert is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, located southeast of Phoenix within the city's metropolitan area. Incorporated on July 6, 1920, Gilbert was once known as the "Hay Shipping Capital of the World". It is the fifth-l ...

. The

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...

selected him in the eighth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. He did not sign with the Indians and enrolled at the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(USC) to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

. After one year at USC, he transferred to

Scottsdale Community College Scottsdale Community College is a public community college in Scottsdale, Arizona. It is on the eastern boundary of the city on 160 acres (650,000 m2) of land belonging to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The lease was taken out ...

. In 2013, his sophomore and lone year at Scottsdale, he went 3–2 with a 2.35 ERA in 16 games (15 starts).

Baltimore Orioles

The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

selected Tarpley in the third round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He signed with the Orioles, receiving a $525,000

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 ...

, and spent 2013 with the

Gulf Coast Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home ...

where he went 0–1 with a 2.14 ERA in seven starts. He spent 2014 with the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of ...

and compiled a 3–5 record and 3.66 ERA in 13 games (12 starts)

Pittsburgh Pirates

On January 27, 2015, the Orioles traded Tarpley along with a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

to the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

for Travis Snider. Pittsburgh assigned him to the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

and he spent the whole season there, pitching to an 11–4 record, 2.48 ERA, and 1.15 WHIP in 20 starts. He began 2016 with the

Bradenton Marauders The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

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 follow ...

(FSL) and posted a 6–4 record and 4.32 ERA in 20 games started.

New York Yankees

On August 30, 2016, the Pirates traded Tarpley and Tito Polo to the

as the players to be named later in the August 1 trade for Iván Nova. New York assigned him to the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city'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 seat of Hillsborough Coun ...

of the FSL, and he pitched in one game for them, giving up five runs in five innings. He spent 2017 with both Tampa and 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 Double ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League, going a combined 7–0 with an 0.88 ERA and 0.88 WHIP in 18 total relief appearances between the two clubs. In 2018, Tarpley pitched for Trenton and

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 affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

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 level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

. The Yankees promoted him to the major leagues on September 1, and he made his major league debut the next day. Tarpley pitched in 10 regular season games for the Yankees during his September call up and impressed the Yankees enough to be placed on their post-season roster. During the playoffs he pitched one inning in game three of the 2018 American League Division Series against the Red Sox. On June 9, 2019, Tarpley recorded his first career save in an extra-innings win against the

. Tarpley logged a 6.93 ERA in 21 appearances on the year. On January 11, 2020, the Yankees

designated Designation (from Latin ''designatio'') is the process of determining an incumbent's successor. A candidate that won an election for example, is the ''designated'' holder of the office the candidate has been elected to, up until the candidate's i ...

Tarpley for assignment.

Miami Marlins

He was traded four days later to the

for James Nelson. On August 5, 2020, Tarpley earned his first Marlins save. In 12 games with Miami, Tarpley recorded a 2–2 record 9.00 ERA. On January 3, 2021, the Marlins designated Tarpley for assignment.

New York Mets

On January 8, 2021, Tarpley was claimed off waivers by the

. Tarpley struggled to a 15.58 ERA in 9 appearances for the Triple-A

Syracuse Mets The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which opened in 1997 and has ...

, and allowed 1 run in his only appearance with the Mets without recording an out. He was designated for assignment on July 11. Tarpley was released by the Mets on July 16.

Long Island Ducks

On April 22, 2022, Tarpley signed with the

of the

. He appeared in 20 games, making 16 starts and going 4-7 with a 4.64 ERA and 92 strikeouts in innings pitched. On July 9, 2022, Tarpley’s contract was purchased by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization and he was assigned to the Double-A

Richmond Flying Squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels are a Minor League Baseball team based in Richmond, Virginia. The team, which is a part of the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants major league club, and plays at The Diamond. Th ...

. However, Tarpley did not appear in a game for the Giants organization and re-signed with the Ducks on July 14.https://www.milb.com/player/stephen-tarpley-605501

References

External links

USC Trojans bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarpley, Stephen 1993 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players African-American baseball players Baseball players from Los Angeles Bradenton Marauders players Gulf Coast Orioles players Major League Baseball pitchers Long Island Ducks players Miami Marlins players New York Mets players New York Yankees players Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes baseball players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players USC Trojans baseball players West Virginia Power players Syracuse Mets players 21st-century African-American sportspeople