Tyson Gillies (born October 31, 1988) is a Canadian 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

. He was the

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 ...

' 25th round selection in the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He graduated from R. E. Mountain Secondary School in Langley, British Columbia and is a member of the

Canadian national baseball team The Canada national baseball team represents Canada in international baseball. They are overseen by Baseball Canada, the governing body of baseball in Canada. Their manager is Ernie Whitt, a former Major League Baseball catcher for the Toronto ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

He began pro career with the minor league

Peoria Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is com ...

in . He recorded a single in his first career at-bat, June 23 against the

Arizona League Angels The Arizona Complex League Angels are a professional baseball team competing as a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Tempe Diablo Stadium in Temp ...

. He recorded three stolen bases on August 6 against the

Arizona League Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, 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 compos ...

. He was transferred to the Short-Season

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is affiliated with the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seating capacity ...

on August 31, recording five hits in eight at-bats. He participated in the Mariners 2007

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

. Gillies began the season with the Class-A Advanced

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 eigh ...

. He appeared in 11 games where he only hit .200. He was then promoted to High A baseball where he hit .233 with one RBI and no home runs.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 16, 2009, he was traded by the Mariners to the Phillies along with

Phillippe Aumont Phillippe Aumont (born January 7, 1989) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was drafted by the Seattle Mariners 11th overall in the 2007 Major League Ba ...

, and J. C. Ramirez as part of a three team trade that included

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), ...

All-Stars

Cliff Lee Clifton Phifer Lee (born August 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher who played for 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Between 2002 and 2014 he played for four teams, most notably the Philadelphia Philli ...

and

Roy Halladay Harry Leroy "Roy" Halladay III (May 14, 1977 – November 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies between 1998 and 2013. His nicknam ...

. Gillies said this about the trade: Gillies was added to the team's 40-man roster on November 18, 2011. He was outrighted off the roster on June 6, 2014.

San Diego Padres

On February 27, 2015, Gillies signed a minor league contract with 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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Sugar Land Skeeters

On March 18, 2016, Gillies signed with the

Sugar Land Skeeters The Sugar Land Space Cowboys are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club. They are located in Sugar Land, Texas, part of the Greater Houston metr ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on June 27, 2016.

Ottawa Champions

On June 7, 2017, Gillies signed with the

Ottawa Champions The Ottawa Champions Baseball Club (french: link=no, Les Champions d'Ottawa) were a professional baseball team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Champions made their debut as a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseb ...

of the

Can-Am League The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...

. On February 20, 2018, Gillies was traded from the

to the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Rai ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. He was released prior to the 2018 season on May 18.

York Revolution

On June 15, 2018, Gillies signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseba ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He was released on July 3, 2018.

Québec Capitales

On January 26, 2019, Gillies signed with the

Québec Capitales The Québec Capitales (French: ''Les Capitales de Québec'') are a professional baseball team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Capitales have been members of the Frontier League since the 2020 season after a merger between the Can-Am Lea ...

of the

. He was released on July 21, 2019.

Personal life

At age four, Gillies was diagnosed with a hearing impairment that has left him with 30 percent hearing in one ear and 50 percent in the other. Thanks to the use of

hearing aid A hearing aid is a device designed to improve hearing by making sound audible to a person with hearing loss. Hearing aids are classified as medical devices in most countries, and regulated by the respective regulations. Small audio amplifiers s ...

s and an ability to read lips Gilles has little trouble overcoming his impairment. He said this about his disability: On August 20, 2010, Gillies was arrested and charged in Clearwater, Florida on felony cocaine possession. After attending a bar the night of the arrest, Gillies was offered a ride to his hotel by a police officer. Before entering the police cruiser, the officer searched Gillies for weapons and paraphernalia and did not find Gillies to be possessing anything illegal. Upon dropping Gillies off, the officer found a three-gram bag of a white powdery substance that appeared to be cocaine on the floor of the backseat of the cruiser and arrested Gillies for possession. Within hours of the arrest, Gillies underwent drug testing and showed no traces of cocaine, marijuana or opiates in his system. The state attorney's office dropped all charges against Gillies because the backseat of the cruiser was not thoroughly searched before Gillies entered the vehicle, the officer failed to find the substance during a routine search of Gillies before he entered the vehicle, and because the substance failed two on-site drug tests. Gillies said of the charges being dropped, "I’m glad that this ordeal is over, but I’m still very upset that it happened to me and that my character, which I’ve worked so hard to build, can even be questioned."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillies, Tyson 1988 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Baseball players at the 2015 Pan American Games Baseball players at the 2019 Pan American Games Baseball people from British Columbia Black Canadian baseball players Cardenales de Lara players Canadian expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Canadian expatriate baseball players in the United States Canadian disabled sportspeople Clearwater Threshers players Deaf baseball players Canadian deaf people Everett AquaSox players Florida Complex League Phillies players High Desert Mavericks players Lakewood BlueClaws players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Pan American Games medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for Canada Québec Capitales players Reading Fightin Phils players Reading Phillies players San Antonio Missions players Scottsdale Scorpions players Sportspeople from Vancouver Sugar Land Skeeters players World Baseball Classic players of Canada York Revolution players 2013 World Baseball Classic players Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Pan American Games