A Somewhat Brief Appreciation Of Seattle Mariners Third Baseman Kyle Seager

Trivia Time! Who was a student-athlete at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was a 2014 All-Star Game player, won a Gold Glove in 2014, was named as the ninth best prospect in 2011, and led the American League with six sacrifice flies in the pandemic-shortened 2020 Major League Baseball Season? The correct answer: Kyle Seager! Mr. Seager is one of my favorite players on planet Earth because of his talent and his heart of gold.

Kyle, a Scorpio, was born on November 3, 1987, in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the oldest of three brothers, his two younger brothers are named Justin and Corey. Since Corey is employed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, I like to think that Kyle is an excellent influence on the young star. Kyle is a star himself, since he won Co-North Carolina Player of the Year honors as a high school student.

See the source image — Kyle with the love of his life, wife Julie (Credit: From The Corner Of Edgar & Dave)

In my opinion, that’s a sign of amazing things to come. I remember in my post congratulating my high school pal Codi Heuer on getting called up to the Major Leagues (which I will link below) that Codi thrived in high school, setting school records even. I am adamant that Kyle thriving in high school made him a king.

Things only got better for Kyle when he started playing baseball for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he studied sports and exercise science. He helped the university’s team make the College World Series playoffs in all three of his years at the university. That is scary good. It only gets barbarically better, though. His college statistics include a .353 Batting Average, 17 Home Runs, and 167 Runs Batted In.

Kyle Seager is one of the most talented humans to ever be a student-athlete at UNC Chapel Hill. Change my mind. It is hard to do so. He’s a magical powder blue unicorn with glittery gold hooves, diamonds in the front left hoof, rubies in the right front hoof, emeralds in the left rear hoof, rubies in the left rear hoof, and a tie dye horn.

King Kyle has still been thriving ever since. His total career stats include a .255 Batting Average, 706 Runs Batted In, 633 Runs, 52 Stolen Bases, a .325 On-Base Percentage, 281 Doubles, and 52 Triples. I am so darn proud of the man. I am very grateful he’s with the Mariners organization. I feel like he is a good role model for the younger players. I feel as if his statistics prove that he is one of the most talented people that the Mariners have ever had on their roster. I am very blessed to have seen him play in person.

Kyle with his daughter (Credit: Seattle Times)

Best of all? Kyle is a gold-hearted class act! In 2015, Kyle paired up with the Vs Cancer foundation to fund pediatric cancer research and treatment. Kyle’s friend and college teammate, Chase Jones, is a brain cancer survivor. This is a cause that is very close to me. Two of my family members are cancer survivors themselves. I am at an elevated risk of getting cancer myself because of family history and health disorders. I appreciate that he has brought awareness to this cause.

Let’s go Mariners, and Kyle Seager! Keep up the great work, King Kyle!

SOURCES:

http://www.vs-cancer.org/blog/the-power-of-fickleness-and-a-platform/

https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/seageky01.shtml

https://goheels.com/sports/baseball/roster/kyle-seager/8942

https://carolinaszn.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/meet-a-tar-heel-kyle-seager/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Seager