Veteran NFL wide receiver Golden Tate has a new team, and a new position. Tate has decided to switch to the baseball diamond and has signed with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League. He is scheduled to start in centerfield on Tuesday night as the Lefties host the Bend Elks.
The WCL announced the news on their website on Tuesday afternoon:
Today the West Coast League’s Port Angeles Lefties announced that ex-NFL wide receiver Golden Tate has signed as a Lefties player for the remainder of the 2022 season. While Jake Locker and Jordan Poyer both played for WCL teams before their NFL careers, Tate will become the first former NFL player in the league.
As the WCL pointed out, Tate is not new to the game of baseball. During his time at Notre Dame Tate played seasons on the baseball team, and was drafted by two different MLB teams:
While at Notre Dame, Tate also played baseball for two seasons. As a sophomore, he batted .329 and scored 45 runs in 55 games. He’s been drafted twice: first out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and then out of college by the San Francisco Giants; both times he declined to sign a professional baseball contract.
Tate last played in the NFL during the 2020 season for the New York Giants. That year he played in 12 games, catching 35 passes for 388 yards and a pair of touchdowns.