Black has earned his way to the big leagues
Unrivaled work ethic has helped longtime sportscaster’s son make his way up through the ranks
No one thought Stouffville’s Tyler Black would be a big-leaguer.
Black, an infielder with speed and power, was plagued in high school by minor injuries he always played through, according to Rich Leitch, the director of baseball operations for the Toronto Mets, where Black played.
Leitch had seen Mississauga brothers Josh and Bo Naylor long before they made it to the majors with the Cleveland Guardians. “That guy’s a big leaguer,” Leitch would say of each brother.
And Black? “I don’t think anyone would say, ‘That guy’s a big leaguer,’ ” Leitch recalled.
But he is now. Black, ranked the No. 46 prospect in baseball by MLB.com entering this season, was called up by the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday, coming off the bench early and going 2-for-4. The son of longtime sportscaster Rod Black, Tyler Black went from being a nonscholarship player at a lesserknown U.S. college program to a first-round pick and a big-leaguer.
In high school, Black would hit early in the morning and late at night. “My only complaint about him is that sometimes he would forget to turn the lights off when he left,” Leitch said.
When he went to Wright State University, a smaller program whose alumni include Atlanta Braves catcher Sean Murphy and former Blue Jays reliever Joe Smith, head coach Alex Sogard entertained the possibility of redshirting him in his first season.
Then he watched Black play second base and realized he had to play him. Black battled with another player until opening day and didn’t know he was starting until he saw the lineup posted before batting practice, teammate Konner Piotto said. His work ethic continued to manifest itself.
“We’re in the weight room in the morning, then he’s going back there at night after class, like an insane person,” said Piotto, a Mississauga native now in the Texas system. “But look where it’s got him.”
Black was the Horizon League freshman of the year in 2019 and, after a shortened 2020 season where he struggled with a shoulder injury, he hit .383 with 14 doubles and 13 home runs in 2021.
Black was taken 33rd in the 2021 draft by the Brewers. He hit .284 with 18 home runs and 55 stolen bases in 123 games at Double-A and Triple-A last year, and started this season in Triple-A even better. He hit two home runs Sunday to bring his average to .303 and his on-baseplus-slugging percentage to .919.
His work ethic hasn’t changed. When Piotto went to visit Black in Toronto three weeks after last season ended, the pair decided to hit in the cages.
“Rod’s there in 20 minutes and (Tyler’s) hitting and it’s like midseason form in frickin’ October,” Piotto said. “It’s like, ‘Ty, what the hell are you doing, man? The season is over! Like, take a f-ing break, dude!’ But that’s what he does, man. A lot of people call him crazy for it.”
Former teammate Damon Dues said Black has figured out ways to separate baseball from his outside life, more than he did at Wright State where he was all baseball all the time. But “the main thing is baseball” still.
“He loves it more than probably anything,” Piotto said. “I mean, you have to, to be that crazy about it, right?”