Kelby Tomlinson
Kelby Aaron Tomlinson (born June 16, 1990) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played college baseball at Texas Tech and played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants, by whom he was drafted in 2011. He is 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall and weighs 180 pounds (82 kg). He bats and throws right-handed.
| Kelby Tomlinson | |
|---|---|
Tomlinson with the San Francisco Giants | |
| Utility player | |
| Born: June 16, 1990 Chickasha, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 3, 2015, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 2018, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .265 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 47 |
| Teams | |
Early career edit
Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Tomlinson attended Elgin High School in Elgin, Oklahoma.[1] Tomlinson played college baseball for two seasons at Seward County Community College (2009–10) and one season at Texas Tech (2011).[2][3] He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 12th round (387th overall) of the 2011 MLB draft.[4]
Professional career edit
San Francisco Giants edit
Minor leagues edit
In 2011, Tomlinson began his professional baseball career playing for the Augusta GreenJackets of the Class A South Atlantic League, hitting .356 in 149 at bats. In 2012, Tomlinson finished the year with a .224 average in 450 at bats. In 2013, Tomlinson started the year with the AZL Giants of the Arizona Fall League. He was then promoted to the San Jose Giants of the California League at the A-Advanced level, where he had a .276 average in 134 at bats. He was then called up to play for the Richmond Flying Squirrels of the Class AA Eastern League. He struggled, managing only a .198 average in 96 at bats. In 2014, Tomlinson was now the starting second baseman for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He eventually finished the year with a .268 average in 433 at bats, playing in 126 games.
In 2015, Tomlinson continued to play for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. He was eventually promoted to play for the Sacramento River Cats of the Pacific Coast League, at the AAA level. after hitting .324 in 253 at bats for the Flying Squirrels. He managed a .316 average in 136 at bats before being called up the Major Leagues, to play for the San Francisco Giants.
In his minor league career, Tomlinson played in 457 games and recorded 1679 at bats. He scored 253 runs and 459 hits. Tomlinson hit 8 home runs and had 160 runs batted in. He was walked 175 times and struck out 336 times. Tomlinson also stole 126 bases. In the minors, Tomlinson recorded an average of .273 and an on-base percentage of .345.[5]
Major leagues edit
Tomlinson was called up to the San Francisco Giants on August 3, 2015, to replace the injured Joe Panik. Tomlinson also made his debut that day, hitting a single and scoring a run in the 12th inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves.[6] He started his first major league game on August 5, driving in three runs in his first two at-bats.[7] Tomlinson became the first Giant to hit safely in his first three at-bats since Fred Lewis in 2006.[7] On August 27, Tomlinson hit a grand slam off James Russell of the Chicago Cubs for his first major league home run.[8] The next day, he got his first walk-off hit: a single against a drawn-in five-man infield in a 5–4 win against the St. Louis Cardinals.[9] On October 3 at AT&T Park, in a 3–2 win over the Colorado Rockies, Tomlinson hit an inside-the-park home run off Chris Rusin.[10] During his rookie season with the Giants, Tomlinson made 46 starts at second base and played in 54 games. He batted .303 while driving in 20 runs.
Following the 2015 season, in an effort to add to his versatility, he began training as an outfielder in the instructional league.[11][12][13] Tomlinson made the Giants 25-man roster in 2016 as a backup infielder. During the 2016 season, Tomlinson made starts at second base, shortstop, third base and left field for the Giants while playing in 52 games and having a .292 batting average.
During the 2017 season he appeared in 104 games with 38 starts for the Giants.
During the 2018 season he appeared in 63 games with 19 starts for the Giants. He was outrighted to Triple-A on October 22, 2018.[14] He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.
Arizona Diamondbacks edit
On November 20, 2018, Tomlinson signed a minor-league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks.[15] He was released on May 12, 2019 after playing in 30 games for the Triple-A Reno Aces.
Seattle Mariners edit
He signed a minor league deal with the Seattle Mariners on May 31, 2019 and was assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[16]
Colorado Rockies edit
On January 21, 2020, Tomlinson signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. He was released on June 27.[17] On June 1, 2021, Tomlinson re-signed with the Rockies organization on a new minor league contract.[18] He was assigned to the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes and went 3-for-16 in 8 games for the team. On July 8, Tomlinson retired from professional baseball.[19]
Post-playing career edit
Tomlinson became a certified optician and, together with his wife Tiffany, opened an eyewear shop called Squints in Liberal, Kansas in 2020.[20]
References edit
- ^ "Minors: Kelby Tomlinson". Baseball-Reference.com. 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ^ "Kelby Tomlinson Becomes First Saint to Reach Major League Baseball Ranks". SewardSaints.com. August 4, 2015.
- ^ . Texas Tech University Official Athletic Site. CBS Interactive Advanced Media. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05.
- ^ "Kelby Tomlinson". MLB.com. 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ^ "Kelby Tomlinson 37". MiLB.com. 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- ^ Haft, Chris (August 3, 2015). "Tomlinson has memorable big league debut". MLB.com. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- ^ a b Haft, Chris (August 5, 2015). "Tomlinson opens eyes in first big league start". MLB.com.
- ^ Macklin, Oliver (August 27, 2015). "Kelby Tomlinson hits grand slam for 1st homer". MLB.com.
- ^ Shea, John (August 28, 2015). "Giants beat Cardinals on Kelby Tomlinson's walk-off single". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Shea, John (October 3, 2015). "Giants' Kelby Tomlinson hits inside-the-park homer — a 1st". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Shea, John (September 30, 2015). "Giants' pregame buzz: Brandon Belt's surgery, Marlon Byrd's contract, Kelby Tomlinson's versatility". San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Bialaszek, Sean. "Kelby Tomlinson's Brightest Future Could Be as Super Utility Player". goldengatesports.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ Macklin, Oliver (September 21, 2015). "Tomlinson willing to prepare for potential OF role; Rookie second baseman wants to play when Panik returns to Giants". mlb.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- ^ "Giants make slew of roster moves before hiring new general manager". 23 October 2018.
- ^ Todd, Jeff (November 20, 2018). "Diamondbacks To Sign Kelby Tomlinson". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved November 20, 2018.
- ^ Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ Miller, George. "Rockies Release Kelby Tomlinson". MLB Trade Rumors.
- ^ "Minor MLB Transactions: 6/14/21".
- ^ "Former SF Giants infielder Kelby Tomlinson retires".
- ^ Grimm, Elly (November 11, 2020). "Squints eyewear store opens in Liberal". Leader & Times. Retrieved July 21, 2023.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)