Rocky Gale
Rocky Michael Gale is an American former professional baseball catcher. He attended the University of Portland where he was named the West Coast Conference defensive player of the year before being drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 2010 MLB draft. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 2015 for the Padres and also played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is currently a catching coordinator in the Dodgers farm system.
Early life
Gale was born in Portland, Oregon on February 22, 1988. He grew up in Yoncalla, Oregon, later moving to Keizer, Oregon where he attended junior high school. After graduating from North [Salem High School |North Salem High School] in Salem, Oregon, Gale was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in the 49 round of the 2006 [Major League Baseball draft], but did not sign. In 2006, Gale began attending the University of Portland where he played baseball with the Portland Pilots. Gale also played with the Corvallis Knights, a List of [collegiate summer baseball leagues|collegiate summer league team]. Gale batted.254 during his freshman season,.261 in his sophomore season,.194 in his junior season and.347 in his senior as a member of the Pilots. After the season, he was named to the first-team all-West Coast Conference team and was the conference's defensive player of the year. Gale was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 24 round of the 2010 Major League Baseball draft out of the University of Portland.Professional career
San Diego Padres
After being drafted by the Padres in 2010, Gale made his debut in professional baseball debut with the minor league Eugene Emeralds, a team which he grew up watching. During the season, Gale split playing time with the Emeralds other catcher, Emmanuel Quiles. Eugene manager Greg Riddoch said that Gale has a "tremendous makeup". Furthermore, Emeralds pitcher Dexter Carter commented that when working with Gale "he knows exactly what's going on". Gale's parents, who lived in the area, would drive to his games to watch him play. On the season, Gale batted.292 with 47 hits, five doubles and 16 batted in">batting average (baseball)">batted in in 43 games played. He was called up to the Portland Beavers, who were members of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, but did not play. On Labor Day 2011 Rocky hit his first Professional league home run.In 2015, Gale played for the El Paso Chihuahuas of the PCL. The Padres promoted him to the major leagues on December 8, 2015. He hit his first major league home run in a 13–7 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on September 20, 2017. He was designated for assignment on February 20, 2018. He was released on February 22, 2018.