Isiah Kiner-Falefa (born March 23, 1995), often abbreviated as IKF, is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

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) Amer ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Texas Rangers from 2018 to 2021. Kiner-Falefa was born in raised in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

where he attended

Mid-Pacific Institute Mid-Pacific Institute is a private, co-educational college preparatory school for grades preschool through twelve with an approximate enrollment of 1,538 students, the majority of whom are from Hawaii (although many also come from other states and ...

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

. Out of high school, he was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the fourth 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 ...

. After spending five seasons in the Rangers

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, Kiner-Falefa made his major league debut in April 2018. In 2020, he won the American League

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

at third base. In 2020 and 2021, he led the Rangers in several statistical batting categories. Prior to the 2022 season, Kiner-Falefa was sent to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

but was flipped to the Yankees the following day as part of a multi-player trade.

Professional career

Minor leagues

Kiner-Falefa attended

. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the fourth 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 made his professional debut with the

Arizona League Rangers The Arizona Complex League Rangers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Texas Rangers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compose ...

and spent all of 2013 there, batting .322 with 11 RBIs and 12 stolen bases in 41 games. In 2014, he played for the AZL Rangers,

Hickory Crawdads The Hickory Crawdads are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Hickory, North Carolina, and play their home games at L. P. Frans Stadium, which opened i ...

, and

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

where he batted .246 with 16 RBIs in 79 games, and in 2015, he played with Hickory and the

High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks were an American Minor League Baseball team in Adelanto, California, that played their home games at Heritage Field at Stater Bros. Stadium. They played in the Class A-Advanced California League. The franchise had eight ...

, where he batted .296 with 40 RBIs in 98 games. Kiner-Falefa spent 2016 with the

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Frisco, Texas, and are nam ...

where he compiled a .256 batting average with 27 RBIs in 108 games. Kiner-Falefa played numerous positions in the Rangers organization, including

, second base,

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He played in 2017 with Frisco where he batted .288 with five home runs and 48 RBIs in 129 games. The Rangers added him to their 40-man roster after the 2017 season. He opened the 2018 season with the

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

, appearing in five games before being recalled to the major leagues for the rest of the season.

Texas Rangers

Kiner-Falefa made his Major League debut against the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

on April 10, 2018. On April 14, against the Houston Astros, he hit his first career home run. Kiner-Falefa appeared in 111 games during his rookie season of 2018, hitting .261/.325/.357/.682 with 4 home runs and 34 RBI, while playing games at

, and second base. He opened the 2019 season with Rangers in a catching tandem with veteran

Jeff Mathis Jeffrey Stephen Mathis (born March 31, 1983) is an American professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondba ...

. Kiner-Falefa was placed on 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 ...

on June 7, and recalled on August 2 in the role of utility infielder and third string catcher. He finished 2019 hitting .238/.299/.322 with one home run and 21 RBI. In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Kiner-Falefa hit .280/.329/.370 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI in 58 games. He was awarded the AL Gold Glove Award for third basemen. Over 158 games in 2021, he hit .271/.312/.357/.670 with 8 home runs, 53 RBI, and 20 stolen bases. He led the major leagues with 136 singles. Defensively, he moved to shortstop and led his position with 436 assists and 98 double plays.

New York Yankees

On March 12, 2022, Texas traded Kiner-Falefa, along with pitcher Ronny Henríquez, to the

for

Mitch Garver Mitchell Lynn Garver (born January 15, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins. Early life Garver was born on January 15, 19 ...

. One day later, Minnesota traded Kiner-Falefa, along with Ben Rortvedt and

Josh Donaldson Joshua Adam Donaldson (born December 8, 1985) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Indians, Atla ...

, to the

for Gary Sánchez and

Gio Urshela Giovanny Urshela Salcedo (born October 11, 1991) is a Colombian professional baseball third baseman for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, New Yor ...

. Kiner-Falefa finished the 2022 season batting .261 with four home runs and 48 RBIs in 142 games.

Personal

Kiner-Falefa is of Samoan, Hawaiian,

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

descent. He is the second cousin twice removed of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer

Ralph Kiner Ralph McPherran Kiner (October 27, 1922 – February 6, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball player and broadcaster. An outfielder, Kiner played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs, and Cleveland Indians from 1946 through 1955. Follow ...

on his mother's side. His great-great-grandmother was from

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kiner-Falefa, Isiah 1995 births Living people American baseball players of Japanese descent American people of Native Hawaiian descent American sportspeople of Samoan descent Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players from Honolulu Frisco RoughRiders players Gold Glove Award winners Hawaii people of Japanese descent Hickory Crawdads players High Desert Mavericks players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players Round Rock Express players Spokane Indians players Surprise Saguaros players Texas Rangers players