Tyler Kali Yates (born August 7, 1977) is an American police officer and former 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

. He played in

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 ...

for the

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

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 ...

, and

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Career

Oakland Athletics

Yates attended the

University of Hawaii at Hilo A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

before being drafted by the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in the 23rd round, with the 675th overall selection, of the 1998 Major League Baseball draft. He spent his first professional season with the rookie-level

Arizona League Athletics The Arizona Complex League Athletics are a Minor League Baseball team based in Mesa, Arizona, which plays as a Rookie-level team in the Arizona Complex League and has served as a farm team for the Athletics organization since 1988. They play thei ...

and Low-A Southern Oregon Timberjacks. Yates spent the 1999 season with the High-A

Visalia Oaks Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-most populous city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 38th most populous in California, and 183 ...

, logging a 2-5 record and 5.47 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 4 saves across 47 contests. He split 2000 between the High-A

Modesto A's Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is located ...

and Double-A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, which ope ...

, accumulating a 5-3 record and 3.90 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 83 innings pitched across 52 relief appearances. Yates spent the 2001 season with Midland and the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. In 60 appearances split between the two affiliates, he compiled a 5-6 record and 3.97 ERA with 64 strikeouts and 18 saves across 68 innings of work.

New York Mets

Yates pitched in the Athletics organization until being traded to the

with Mark Guthrie on December 1, 2001, for

David Justice David Christopher Justice (born April 14, 1966) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He won the World Series with the Atlanta Braves and the New York Ya ...

. His 2002 season was limited by

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, ...

. Yates split the 2003 season between three minor league teams. He participated in spring training the next year, and debuted against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

on April 9, 2004. Ten days later, Yates earned his first major league victory in another appearance against Montreal. By May, Yates had returned to the minor leagues to pitch as a reliever. Yates underwent

rotator cuff The rotator cuff (SITS muscles) is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles a ...

surgery and did not pitch during the 2005 season.

Atlanta Braves

Yates was released by the Mets at the conclusion of the 2005 season, and joined the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

before the 2006 season, participating in spring training as a non-roster invitee. He was subsequently released from the Orioles, and signed with the

on May 3, 2006. Yates recorded the first save of his career on July 14, 2006, in a 15–12 extra-inning win over the

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 made the Braves'

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent year ...

roster in 2007, and agreed to terms with the team prior to the start of the 2008 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Yates was traded to the

on March 26, 2008, in exchange for minor league pitcher Todd Redmond. He made 72 appearances for Pittsburgh during the 2008 campaign, registering a 6-3 record and 4.66 ERA with 63 strikeouts across innings pitched. Yates pitched in 15 games for the Pirates in 2009, struggling to an 0-2 record and 7.50 ERA with 9 strikeouts over 12 innings of work. On July 16, 2009, it was announced that Yates would miss the remainder of the season after having a second Tommy John procedure, performed by James Andrews. On October 27, Yates was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

, but rejected the assignment and elected free agency. On January 4, 2010, Yates re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league contract. but not expected to pitch until May or June. He did not appear for the organization and elected free agency following the season on November 6. On December 16, 2010, Yates once more re-signed with the Pirates organization on a minor league contract and participated in spring training. He was cut from major league camp in March, and did not pitch for the organization during the 2011 campaign. Yates elected free agency following the season on November 2, 2011.

Personal

Tyler is the eldest of three brothers, including Spencer and Kirby Yates. Tyler and Kirby were the second pair of brothers from Hawaii to play Major League Baseball, after Bronson and

Dane Sardinha Dane Kealoha A. A. Sardinha (born April 8, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, and Philadelphia Phillies between 2003 and 2011. Amateur care ...

. Since retiring from baseball, Tyler became a police officer in Kauai. Tyler dated Liesel throughout his professional baseball career. The two later married and had two children.

References

External links

"Yates to Speak at UH-Hilo Fundraiser"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yates, Tyler Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Atlanta Braves players Pittsburgh Pirates players Arizona League Athletics players Southern Oregon Timberjacks players Visalia Oaks players Modesto A's players Midland RockHounds players Sacramento River Cats players Norfolk Tides players St. Lucie Mets players Binghamton Mets players Richmond Braves players Hawaii–Hilo Vulcans baseball players Baseball players from Hawaii Sportspeople from Kauai County, Hawaii 1977 births Living people American police officers