It’s been nearly 18 months since Golden Tate set foot on an NFL gridiron, but the longtime wide receiver has now found a new outlet for his athletic tools: baseball.
Tate, who turns 34 in August, has signed with the Port Angeles Lefties of the West Coast League, the league announced on Tuesday. The move does not quite come out of left field, as Tate was a member of Notre Dame’s baseball team during his college years and was actually selected twice in the MLB draft in 2007 and ’10.
“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.”
As a freshman in 2008, Tate appeared in 18 games for the Irish, batting .262 with three doubles, four RBI and three stolen bases. He was taken in the 42nd round out of high school by the Diamondbacks in ’07, then in the 50th round in ’10 by the Giants.
Tate moved away from baseball after emerging as a star wideout for Notre Dame’s football team. He totaled 151 receptions for 2,576 yards and 25 touchdowns across the ’08 and ’09 seasons, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top wide receiver as a junior.
Tate’s last season in the NFL was in 2020, when he appeared in 12 games for the Giants. He made 35 catches for 388 yards and two scores.
