Samuel Johnathan Tuivailala (born October 19, 1992) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He previosuly played in

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) for 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 (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

Career

Tuivailala attended Aragon High School in San Mateo, California. He was a pitcher and infielder for the baseball team along with being a

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

on the football team, as well as playing

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. He committed 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 p ...

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bache ...

. As a senior, he threw a no-hitter in which he struck out 17 batters. He is of Tongan and Mexican descent. He grew up a

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 ...

fan.

St. Louis Cardinals

Tuivailala was drafted by the

in the third round of the

2010 Major League Baseball Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pi ...

. He made his professional debut for the Gulf Coast Cardinals. Tuivailala played in the

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball a ...

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 wh ...

and

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 ...

during his first two seasons in the Cardinals organization. After hitting only .178/.335/.256 in 42 games in 2010 and .253/.331/.329 in 44 games in 2011, he was converted into a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

before the 2012 season. Tuivailala made his pitching debut for the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team wo ...

in 2012. He appeared in 11 games and had a 4.15

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) in 13 innings with 23

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

, but issued 13 walks. The next season, he played for the

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peor ...

where he was 0-3 with a 5.35 ERA 28 relief appearances. Tuivailala started the 2014 season with the

Palm Beach Cardinals The Palm Beach Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Rog ...

. In July, he was promoted to the

Springfield Cardinals The Springfield Cardinals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springfield, Missouri. They compete as a member of the Texas League's North Division. The Cardinals began play in 2005. The team is owned by the 11-time Major League Baseball ...

, and in August he was promoted to the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

. In 48 relief appearances between the three teams he was 2-2 with a 3.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP. He was promoted to the major leagues on September 8. He made his MLB debut on September 9, and played in two games his rookie season. Tuivailala began 2015 back with Memphis. The Cardinals recalled Tuivailala to the major leagues on May 15. On July 1, Tuivailala was named a PCL All-Star for 2015, his first recognition as an All-Star in his minor league career. In 29 relief appearances and IP, he was 3–0 with a 1.95 ERA and 23 strikeouts. He also co-led the PCL in games finished (23) and tied for third-most with 11 saves, converting all 11 opportunities. PCL

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and

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rated Tuivailala the league's best reliever for 2015. He pitched in 12 games for the Cardinals in 2016, going 0-0 with a 6.00 ERA, as in 9 innings he gave up 12 hits, walked 6, and struck out 7. He was optioned to Triple-A Memphis to start the 2017 season. He spent 2017 between Memphis and St. Louis; with the Cardinals, he pitched to a 3-3 record, a 2.55 ERA, and 34 strikeouts in 42.1 innings pitched. Tuivailala made the Cardinals' 2018 Opening Day roster.

Seattle Mariners

On July 27, 2018, Tuivailala was traded to the

in exchange for

Seth Elledge Seth Wayne Elledge (born May 20, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth rou ...

. Tuivailala pitched to a 1.69 ERA in five games with the Mariners in 2018. In 2019, he worked to a 2.35 ERA over 23 games with the team. Tuivailala was placed on release waivers by the Mariners organization on March 20, 2020.

Awards

* '' Baseball America'' Pacific Coast League Best Reliever (2015) * ''Baseball America'' St. Louis Cardinals' organization Best Fastball (2015) * Pacific Coast League All-Star (2015)

References

External links