Ex-Pro Bowl receiver switching sports to baseball
Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate talks with the media during the first day of training camp July 28, 2016 at the Detroit Lions practice facility in Allen Park, Mich.
A well-known former NFL player is pulling a Tim Tebow of sorts.
The Port Angeles Lefties, a college summer baseball team, announced on Tuesday that they have signed ex-Pro Bowl wide receiver Golden Tate for the remainder of their 2022 season. The 34-year-old Tate becomes the first former NFL player to play in the Lefties’ West Coast League (though Jake Locker and Jordan Poyer both played in the WCL before their NFL careers).
Tate had played in the NFL since 2010, winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014. He also made the Pro Bowl the next year as a Detroit Lion. Tate was on the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad in 2021 but got released within a couple of months without appearing in a single game.
The veteran receiver Tate is actually technically switching back to baseball, having played the sport in high school, then in college at Notre Dame. Tate was even twice drafted into Major League Baseball — as a high schooler by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 and out of college by the San Francisco Giants in 2010. But he chose not to sign either time and pursued his NFL career instead.
“I am extremely thankful to the West Coast League and the Port Angeles Lefties for allowing me to join their league,” Tate said in a statement. “As some might know, I was drafted twice in baseball. As a child, my first love was baseball, so I’m excited about the opportunity to compete against some of the best young players in the league. I look forward to having a lot of fun and exploring baseball more.”
Tate was known for some spectacular catches in the NFL. Now he will get a chance to bring that same energy to center field for the Lefties. In fact, Tate is already slated to start Tuesday’s game against the visiting Bend Elks, the Lefties also announced in the release.
