Athlete Of The Week: Tyler Myatt

ORLEANS – Tyler Myatt knew the Cape Cod Baseball League is where he needed to be.

Earlier this year, Myatt hit 31 home runs and batted in 110 runs with a .484 batting average for Walters State Community College (the home runs and RBIs are a school record). Those numbers also led all division one junior colleges, and Myatt was subsequently named the junior college player of the year. Now, he’s moving up — by transferring to Tennessee. 

He knew the big adjustment, in shifting from junior college competition to the Southeastern Conference, would be pitching, and that the Cape had the best pitching to face during the summer. He asked a coach if there was any way he could go to the Cape. He was just waiting on a spot to open.

With 10 games remaining in the regular season, a spot did open in Orleans. Myatt debuted Thursday, July 24 for the Firebirds and quickly made a mark. As the designated hitter that night in an 8-1 loss against the Wareham Gatemen, Myatt recorded his first hit on the Cape with a solo home run that traveled a reported 471 feet. It was a “special moment” for him, he said.

“It’s awesome,” Myatt said last Friday, after hitting a pair of singles against Harwich. “Definitely the first hit, it's definitely relief. That's what I was going for that game. Just get my first hit, get the first couple [at-bats] out of the way and just try and settle in because I'm here to hit. That's my job.”

In four games since joining the Firebirds, Myatt has hit .333 with a .444 on-base percentage and an .800 slugging percentage. It’s a tiny sample size, but the impact has been clear. Myatt hit a grand slam for his second home run of the year last Saturday in a 8-5 win against the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox. He already had five RBIs as of Tuesday.

Getting to the Cape with only a quarter of the season to go plus the postseason, Myatt said he’s going to compete the best he can no matter what. He’s mostly slotted in as designated hitter with one game in left field for Orleans, and he rapidly ascended the batting order. Myatt hit sixth his first game, cleanup his second game and leadoff his third and fourth games for the Firebirds.

“I'm here to play for this team,” Myatt said. “Hopefully I can just go out here and do my best for them and win a couple games and maybe hit a couple more home runs.”