My Take
Kirby Yates is the kind of guy who makes you appreciate the unsung art of closing out a game — this kid from Līhuʻe, Hawaii clawed his way up from a junior college in Arizona, bounced around half the league before finally landing his breakout moment, and then in 2019 he absolutely cooked: led the entire National League in saves and earned his first All-Star nod at 32 years old. That trajectory is genuinely inspiring. Most closers get one shot and flame out; Kirby kept reinventing himself, resurfacing with the Braves, the Rangers, the Dodgers, proving again and again that pure grit and a nasty splitter can outlast any skeptic. A Hawaii-grown workhorse who never got famous but always got outs — that's a career worth respecting.
Overview
Kirby Kali Yates (born March 25, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Yates made his MLB debut in 2014, and was an All-Star in 2019, when he led the National League in saves.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Kirby Yates
- Name (Japanese)
- カービー・イエーツ
- Reading
- かーびー・いえーつ
- Born
- March 25, 1987 (age 39)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Aries / Rabbit
- Origin
- Līhuʻe, Hawaii, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- baseball player
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Kauai High School
- University
- Yavapai College
Awards & achievements
- 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.