Y’all remember Tyler Austin, right? Yeah — that Tyler Austin. A certified stud and a not-so-small part of the early heartbeat of Bleeding Yankee Blue.
Back when Bleeding Yankee Blue was building and grinding, trying to carve out a voice, guys like Tyler, Ty Hensley, CC Sabathia, Brendan Ryan and David Robertson didn’t big-time us. They showed love. They backed us. And that stuff? You don’t forget it.
We’ve always respected the hell out of those guys, and we’ll always keep tabs on them here. Loyalty matters. Especially when it was real from the jump.
So yeah — Tyler Austin is back in the news.
According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Jon Heyman of the New York Post, the Chicago Cubs just signed Austin to a one-year, $1.25 million deal. Not bad at all for a guy who took the long road and made it work.
Austin, now 34, spent the last six seasons in Japan absolutely mashing — slashing .293/.377/.568 with 85 homers and 236 RBI over 1,491 plate appearances. That’s not “hanging on.” That’s thriving.
We met Tyler and his mom, Kim, about 11 years ago when he was still climbing the ladder — minors to majors, dream very much in progress. With the Yankees, he showed legit pop, including 17 home runs in 2018, and he always felt like a guy who could’ve stuck if the breaks fell differently. Personally, I wanted him around longer. But instead of fading, he bet on himself, reinvented his game, and leveled up overseas. I respect the hell out of that.
So here’s a tip of the cap to Tyler Austin — always. Keep raking. Keep proving people wrong.
And hey Kim — hope you’re doing great.
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