Tyler Joseph Fitzgerald (born September 15, 1997) 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

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 Yor ...

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 played college baseball at the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

. He was selected by the Giants in the fourth round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Early life

Fitzgerald was born in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, and attended Rochester High School in

Rochester, Illinois Rochester is a village and suburb of Springfield in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,689 at the 2010 census, and 3,713 at a 2018 estimate. The village was settled in 1819, and is located in Rochester Township. Roche ...

. As a senior in 2016, he batted .500 with nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s, 31 RBIs, and 37

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s. He was drafted by 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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in the 30th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

, but did not sign and instead enrolled at the

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 ...

. Fitzgerald appeared in 48 games for Louisville as a freshman in 2017, slashing .208/.303/.272 over 125

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s. As a sophomore, he batted .264/.344/.378 with 57 runs (8th in the conference), three home runs, 24 RBIs, 23 stolen bases (4th in the conference) in 24 attempts, 9

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, and ...

s (2nd), and 17 doubles (8th) over 246 at bats over 64 games. In 2017 and 2018, Fitzgerald played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the c ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. As a junior in 2019, he hit .315/.391/.483 with 64 runs (5th in the conference), three triples (6th), eight home runs, 65 RBIs (7th), 18 stolen bases (6th), and seven sacrifice flies (second) in 267 at bats over 66 games. He was selected by the

in the fourth round of the

. He signed for $497,500.

Professional career

In 2019, Fitzgerald spent his first professional season with the

Arizona League Giants Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Four C ...

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes The Salem-Keizer Volcanoes are a baseball team located in Keizer, Oregon, who are charter members of the Mavericks Independent Baseball League, a four-team league entirely based in the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area and playing all their home ...

, and

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previous ...

, batting .276/.359/.395 with one home run, six stolen bases in seven attempts, and 30 RBIs over 48 games. He did not play in 2020, during the pandemic. He played the 2021 season with the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their ...

, tied for the league lead with 28 doubles and 139 strikeouts and slashing .262/.342/.495 with 71 runs (2nd in the league), 19 home runs (2nd), and 65 RBIs (3rd) in 382 at-bats over 103 games, playing shortstop exclusively. He was a 2021 NWL post-season All Star, and an MiLB Organization All Star. He was assigned to the

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 ...

for the 2022 season. Over 125 games, Fitzgerald slashed .229/.310/.424 with 74 runs (2nd in the league), 21 home runs, 58 RBIs, 19 hit by pitch (3rd), 171 strikeouts (2nd), and 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He played 87 games at shortstop, 30 at second base, eight at third base, and two as a designated hitter. He returned to Richmond to open the 2023 season. After 19 games for Richmond in which he batted .324/.410/.588 in 68 at bats, Fitzgerald was promoted to 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 affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 yea ...

, where he played in 102 games and hit .287/.358/.499 with 72 runs, 20 home runs, 69 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases (7th in the PCL) in 415 at bats. On September 21, 2023, Fitzgerald was selected to the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

and promoted to the major leagues for the first time.

Personal life

Fitzgerald's father,

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

, was drafted in the first round in the 1984 MLB draft by 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 hav ...

and played 13 games in the majors as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

; in the minors, in 1987 he led the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

with 108 RBIs, as he was fourth in the league in home runs with 27.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerlald, Tyler 1997 births Living people Baseball players from Springfield, Illinois Major League Baseball infielders San Francisco Giants players Louisville Cardinals baseball players Bourne Braves players Arizona League Giants players Salem-Keizer Volcanoes players Augusta GreenJackets players Eugene Emeralds players Richmond Flying Squirrels players Sacramento River Cats players