Biography

BIOGRAPHY

Kyle Higashioka was born April 20, 1990, in Huntington Beach, California. He is a catcher in the MLB.

The New York Yankees selected him in the seventh round of the 2008 MLB draft. He signed with the Yankees, receiving a $500,000 signing bonus, rather than attend college.

He had his first major league hit, a home run, on July 1 against David Price of the Boston Red Sox. His next two hits, on July 3 and July 4 against the Atlanta Braves, were also home runs, making him the ninth MLB player since 1920 to have three home runs as his first three hits.

On September 16, 2020, Higashioka hit three home runs in a game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He became the 24th Yankee to have a three-home run game and the first to do so while batting ninth in the batting order.

On May 19, 2021, Higashioka caught Corey Kluber's no-hitter against the Texas Rangers. In doing so, he became the first Yankees catcher to catch a no-hitter since Joe Girardi caught David Cone's perfect game in 1999.

On June 12, 2022, Higashioka made MLB history during an 18–4 victory over the Chicago Cubs when he homered a 35.1 MPH pitch off of first baseman Frank Schwindel who came in to pitch in the eighth inning. It was the slowest pitch hit for a home run in the Statcast era since 2015.

Higashioka was traded to the Padres for Juan Soto during the 2023 offseason.