When righthander Kirby Yates made the Yankees out of spring training, one of the first people he wanted to call was his big brother, former Mets pitcher Tyler Yates.
First, Kirby had to check the time on his phone. It was six hours earlier where Tyler lives — the island of Kauai, Hawaii, where Tyler is now a police officer.
Tyler, now 38, was the first player who went to high school on Kauai to reach the major leagues when he debuted with six shutout innings against Montreal for the Mets in 2004. Kirby, became the second when he made the majors as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2014.