Former Tiger catcher Chris Okey (Mount Dora, Fla.) made his major league debut with the Cincinnati Reds as a defensive replacement at the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday night. Okey became the fifth former Tiger to play in an MLB game with the Reds and first since 2021 (Mike Freeman).
Okey became the 67th former Tiger overall to play in a major league game and eighth in 2022. He also became the first former Tiger to make his MLB debut in 2022.
Okey, who played at Clemson from 2014-16, was a two-time, first-team All-American and also earned First-Team All-ACC honors twice. He was a career .301 hitter with 41 doubles, 31 homers and 172 RBIs in 186 games at Clemson.
He had his best season as a junior in 2016, when he hit .339 with 15 homers, 74 RBIs, a .611 slugging percentage and .465 on-base percentage in 64 games. After the season, he was drafted in the second round (No. 43 overall pick) by the Reds.
Okey played at every level of the Reds organization in the minor leagues from 2016-22, with the exception of 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season. In 383 games in the minors, he has totaled 256 hits, 29 homers and 139 RBIs.
Every Tiger team from 1974 to 2020 had at least one future major leaguer on its roster.
–Press release courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications\
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
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