Tag: Chris Okey

Former Tiger makes MLB debut

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 …

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 

Congratulations! You did it! You graduated! Now is the time to preserve your diploma in a custom frame. Here at Clemson Variety & Frame, we build all our frames in-house – from the frame to the mats and etchings to the installation – to guarantee the quality. You worked hard for your degree. Trust us to show your diploma in the best light possible.

Another Tiger makes it to The Show

Congrats to this former Tiger on making it to the majors.

Another former Tiger has risen to the professional ranks this season. Catcher Chris Okey was called up to the majors on Friday following Cincinnati Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson being moved to the 10-day injured list following a fractured thumb in Thursday’s loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

With his contract officially being selected by the Reds, Okey would be the 8th player from Clemson to make an appearance in a major league game in 2022. Okey will serve as the secondary option at catcher for Cincinnati behind Aramis Garcia while Stephenson is away.

In his time at Clemson, Okey was a career .301 hitter with a .504 slugging percentage and a .392 on-base percentage. The two-time, first-team All-American had 41 doubles, four triples, 31 homers, 172 RBIs, 138 runs, 100 walks, and 10 steals over 186 games and three seasons.

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Reds catcher Chris Okey had a priceless reaction to being promoted after 6 years in the minors

This was so cool.

Life in the minor leagues isn’t for the faint of heart. The less-than-ideal travel and housing accommodations are only tolerated by those who either have a severe love of baseball or, more likely, have a dream of eventually getting called to The Show.

Catcher Chris Okey became one of the few minor leaguers to have that dream come true Friday when the Cincinnati Reds promoted him from their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville. And cameras were there to catch the moment he found out.

You can almost see the relief come over the 27-year-old Okey, who has bounced around the team’s minor league system for six years since being selected in the second round of the 2016 draft.

“If I had the mic, I would drop it. Because Oke, you’re going to the big leagues,” the team’s skipper said, drawing a huge celebration.

Because of the grind of the minors and how long it can take some players to reach the bigs, moments like this – and when Orioles prospect Adley Rutschman was called up – are always fun to see, because the emotions are so genuine.

But while Rutschman was almost a guarantee to get the call, Okey wasn’t. That makes his moment all the more special. He’ll replace Tyler Stephenson on the Reds roster after the catcher placed on the 10-day injured list with a broken thumb.

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Former Tiger reportedly headed to the big leagues

A former Clemson standout is reportedly headed to the big leagues for the first time. The Cincinnati Reds will call up former Tiger catcher Chris Okey on Friday, with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson set to go on the injured list, according to C. Trent …

A former Clemson standout is reportedly headed to the big leagues for the first time.

The Cincinnati Reds will call up former Tiger catcher Chris Okey on Friday, with Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson set to go on the injured list, according to C. Trent Rosecrans, who covers the Reds for The Athletic.

Okey owns a .265/.324/.441 slash line with seven extra-base hits, 12 runs scored, nine RBIs and six walks across 24 games this season for the Louisville Bats, the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A Affiliate.

Okey became just the seventh player in Triple-A Louisville history to hit for the cycle when he accomplished the feat in the Bats’ 11-3 victory over the Gwinnett Stripers on Saturday, June 4 at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga.

Okey was drafted in the second round (No. 43 overall pick) by the Cincinnati Reds and signed in June 2016 following his junior season at Clemson during which he was a Johnny Bench Award semifinalist as well as a first-team All-American by NCBWA, second-team All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game and third-team All-American by College Sports Madness and D1Baseball.

At Clemson from 2014-16, Okey was a career .301 hitter with a .504 slugging percentage and .392 on-base percentage in 186 games (186 starts) over three seasons. He had 41 doubles, four triples, 31 homers, 172 RBIs, 138 runs, 100 walks, 12 hit-by-pitches and 10 steals, and he started 143 consecutive games at catcher to end his career.

Okey was a two-time Johnny Bench Award semifinalist, two-time, first-team All-American and two-time, First-Team All-ACC selection.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

Congratulations! You did it! You graduated! Now is the time to preserve your diploma in a custom frame. Here at Clemson Variety & Frame, we build all our frames in-house – from the frame to the mats and etchings to the installation – to guarantee the quality. You worked hard for your degree. Trust us to show your diploma in the best light possible.

Former Tiger makes history on memorable night

A former Clemson standout made history on a memorable night at the ballpark Saturday. Former Tiger catcher Chris Okey, who is a member of the Louisville Bats – the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A Affiliate – hit for the cycle in the Bats’ 11-3 victory …

A former Clemson standout made history on a memorable night at the ballpark Saturday.

Former Tiger catcher Chris Okey, who is a member of the Louisville Bats — the Cincinnati Reds’ Triple-A Affiliate — hit for the cycle in the Bats’ 11-3 victory over the Gwinnett Stripers on Saturday night at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga.

Okey became just the seventh player in Triple-A Louisville history to hit for the cycle after he reached on an infield single in the second inning, hit a triple in the sixth inning, bashed a three-run home run over the left-field wall an inning later and then completed the feat by knocking a double in the ninth frame.

Okey finished with the four hits in Saturday’s contest and drove in five runs. He now owns a .242/.309/.435 slash line with seven extra-base hits, 10 runs scored, nine RBIs and six walks across 22 games this season.

Okey was drafted in the second round (No. 43 overall pick) by the Cincinnati Reds and signed in June 2016 following his junior season at Clemson during which he was a Johnny Bench Award semifinalist as well as a first-team All-American by NCBWA, second-team All-American by Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball and Perfect Game and third-team All-American by College Sports Madness and D1Baseball.

At Clemson from 2014-16, Okey was a career .301 hitter with a .504 slugging percentage and .392 on-base percentage in 186 games (186 starts) over three seasons. He had 41 doubles, four triples, 31 homers, 172 RBIs, 138 runs, 100 walks, 12 hit-by-pitches and 10 steals, and he started 143 consecutive games at catcher to end his career.

Okey was a two-time Johnny Bench Award semifinalist, two-time, first-team All-American and two-time, First-Team All-ACC selection.

–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images 

Congratulations! You did it! You graduated! Now is the time to preserve your diploma in a custom frame. Here at Clemson Variety & Frame, we build all our frames in-house – from the frame to the mats and etchings to the installation – to guarantee the quality. You worked hard for your degree. Trust us to show your diploma in the best light possible.