Mets' Tyler Zuber 'found my love for baseball again' during stint with Long Island Ducks
Former Duck Tyler Zuber said, "I’m going to love this game no matter what, through the highs and lows. Whatever it is, I’m going to love it. I never took another day last year for granted.” Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Tyler Zuber, new Mets reliever, is an easy-going, sweeper-throwing country boy from an Arkansas town tiny enough that the entire population would fill just one out of every eight seats at Citi Field.
Less than a year ago, when he was on the brink of quitting baseball altogether, he rediscovered his passion for the game — and revived his career — in an unlikely place: Long Island.
He spent a couple of weeks in Central Islip, playing for the Ducks of the independent Atlantic League, where the pay isn’t great and the glamor factor is low.
“That’s actually where I found my love for baseball again,” Zuber told Newsday. “There was something about me that was missing the love. Some of the conversations I had with some of the guys there, just asking them why are you doing this? Why are you doing this? ‘Because I love it.’ That’s why I did this when I was a kid. That’s why I’m doing it now.”
Zuber, 29, is in the crowded bullpen picture, a candidate to contribute in relief this year, even if he doesn’t make the Opening Day roster. He throws a signature sweeping slider plus a recently developed changeup that “we really love,” pitching coach Jeremy Hefner said, as part of his four-pitch mix.
This would have been difficult to envision last April. The Guardians had just released Zuber, who hadn’t reached the majors since an unremarkable season with the Royals in 2021. He had endured major shoulder surgery since. Suddenly a free agent, Zuber fielded light interest from major-league clubs and scouts from Japan, but nothing happened.
That left him with a choice.
“You either gotta do indy ball,” Zuber said, “or you gotta retire.”
In that case, quack quack.
Zuber and his wife, Ashton, took it as a sign from the universe that it was the Ducks who had a spot for him. Ashton “loves waterfowl,” Zuber said, and in 2022 they “adopted” a duckling that lived in their hotel for a couple of weeks before they brought it to an animal sanctuary.
Mets reliever Tyler Zuber adopted this duck in 2022. He took it as a sign when it was the LI Ducks, of all teams, who had a spot for him in 2024. Credit: Tyler Zuber
“We thought it was a full-circle moment,” Zuber said, fondly recalling his time with “Lil Bit” the duck. “That day that I signed, my wife bought a duck hat. Not a Long Island Ducks hat. Just a duck hat.”
With Long Island, Zuber pitched well, posting a 1.59 ERA and striking out 10 (and walking one) in 5 2/3 innings. More noteworthy, though, were his interactions with teammates.
During their one-week spring training, a bunch of Ducks were chatting among themselves in the clubhouse when in walked Jackie Bradley Jr., an 11-year big-leaguer who was an All-Star, Gold Glover and World Series champion. Career earnings: $55 million.
“Why is playing indy ball?” Zuber said. “Then we asked. He’s like, ‘I’m trying to make it to the big leagues, I’m trying to make it back. I’m not satisfied with my career.’ OK.”
Message received.
Another day early in his stay, Zuber found himself in a group of pitchers who were comparing notes on their pay. One guy was making a pittance — “You can barely afford to eat,” Zuber said — but further conversation revealed he was a local, living with his parents. This was his first shot at pro ball after college. Maybe his only shot.
“He’s down there praying that he gets to pitch in front of his parents,” Zuber said. “Here I am, selfishly upset that I got released, oh my stuff is good and all that. Meanwhile, this kid loves the game and is praying his parents can watch him pitch.
“And it’s like, man, that’s why I came to love it. That’s why I started playing. Then it was like, you know what, I’m going to love this game no matter what, through the highs and lows. Whatever it is, I’m going to love it. I never took another day last year for granted.”
So Zuber got back to loving baseball. Within days, the Rays called. He headed to Triple-A in mid-May, dominated, got called up to the majors for the first time in three years in July and at the trade deadline got shipped to the Mets.
“I like his competitiveness. I like the fact that he’s had a journey,” Hefner said. “I tend to gravitate toward those guys, because I had a journey as well. And everyone has had a journey, but he’s had to earn literally everything he’s got.”
Notes & quotes: Brett Baty hit his first home run of camp in the Mets’ 8-5 loss to the Astros in West Palm Beach. “There’s a lot to like right now from Brett,” Carlos Mendoza said . . . Although feedback regarding Kodai Senga’s health/buildup continues to be positive, he won't pitch in Grapefruit League games yet. He is due to make a couple more simulated outings in live BP-type settings, including Wednesday. "A more controlled environment,” Mendoza said.
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
More New York Sports
