UNC Baseball: Kyle Seager reflects on personal MLB milestone

Former UNC baseball standout  Kyle Seager has recently reached a pretty significant Major League Baseball milestone.

In the modern sports era, it is very difficult to find athletes who not only have had long-term success, but have spent their entire professional career with one franchise.

The days of Cal Ripken Jr. and Derek Jeter appear to be in the past. There are some rare occasions where players defy the odds, but it’s not often that we see the same loyalty that was showcased many times in the past.

Of course, there’s always an exception to the rule, and former UNC baseball standout Kyle Seager is a great representation of that.

Seager has reached a significant milestone, as he officially accrued 10 years of Major League Baseball service time. The 33-year-old becomes the 14th player this season to accomplish the feat, and just the fourth player to reach the milestone with one franchise.

Service time is very significant throughout the sport of baseball. It accounts for how many days a player spends on his team’s active roster or injured list, and is used to ultimately determine when players are eligible for arbitration and free agency.

For players, reaching the 10 years of service time milestone is a rather big deal. Once a player accomplishes the feat, they become fully vested in Major League Baseball’s pension program, which is significant in itself.

The 33-year-old had some time to reflect on reaching this milestone. He believes that taking care of himself has allowed him to be the dependable player he strives to be:

"“You have to take care of yourself. You have to kind of do things right, and I’ve been proud of myself that I’ve been able to be somebody that they would put in the lineup every single day.And that’s kind of always been the goal. That’s part of that whole being a professional, and then also, you want to be somebody that they can depend on. You almost want to be taken for granted in that sense, that, ‘You’re going to put me out there and I’m going to hit these certain areas, and let’s go,’ and that you’re going to be one you don’t have to worry about. So that’s definitely one of the one things over these 10 years I’m definitely most proud of.”"

Over his time in the big leagues, Seager has played in 1,401 career games. As a former All-Star and Gold Glove Award winner, the former Tar Heel has accumulated 1,330 hits, 220 home runs and 750 runs batted in. He has put together a respectable .253/.323/.440 slash line.

Although he is in the later half of his career, Seager believes that he has plenty more to offer at the big league level. His teammate, shortstop J.P. Crawford, seems to think the same:

"“How he works his butt off each day, day in and day out, it’s incredible to see that routine he has. How he goes about each day and he remains so humble about it — it’s insane. He’s one of the greatest human beings ever.”"

Although Seager would probably like to spend his entire career in Seattle, his future past this year seems a bit uncertain. The Mariners hold a $15 million dollar club option on Seager for the 2022 season, and given the franchise is in the middle of a rebuilding stage, it seems rather unlikely that his option will be picked up.

Seager is well-aware of how the business works, and knows that his career may take him elsewhere. As his brother, Corey, has played in the postseason with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Kyle knows that he ultimately wants a chance to experience that stage before he calls it quits.

For now, Seager can focus on the present, and enjoy this tremendous milestone in his career. Based on his career so far, wherever the future takes him, you know that he will continue being an ultimate professional, going about his everyday business to be the best player and teammate that he could be.

Continue to follow the Keeping It Heel team for all the latest news and updates on Kyle Seager and the UNC baseball program.