Shushkewich: Black heads to Brewers' spring training looking to win a job

Former Toronto Mets and Butler Prospects speedy slugger Tyler Black (Stouffville, Ont.) earned a special recognition award from Baseball Canada.

January 15, 2025

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

The 2024 season was full of firsts for Milwaukee Brewers infielder Tyler Black.

He made his major league debut on April 30, becoming the first Canadian roster player promoted during the season.

During that contest against the Tampa Bay Rays, Black (Stouffville, Ont.) got his first big-league hit out of the way in his first at-bat, a double to left-centre field and later in the game scored on a Willy Adames no-doubter to centre field to help the Brewers’ 8-2 win.

After such an eventful year for the top prospect, Black is adding another first to his trophy case: the Special Recognition Award from Baseball Canada, presented by the Major League Baseball Players Association.

“It’s always such an honour to be nominated for an award by Baseball Canada,” said Black, speaking to the Canadian Baseball Network. “This is my first banquet, so I am pretty excited to meet everyone and get to know the different faces behind the program as well as some of the great Canadian baseball players across the league.”

Starting the campaign with the triple-A Nashville Sounds, Black got off to a hot start in the minors, posting a .303/.393/.525 slash line through the first month. He also added nine extra-base hits, 17 RBIs and stole three bases while manning first base for the Sounds. This impressive start put him on the radar for a promotion.

“I was called up late the night before my debut,” said Black. “I was in my bedroom in Nashville, watching a movie, my phone was face down and when I turned it over, I had five missed calls from my manager (Rick Sweet). As soon as I picked the phone up, he called me again and I got the news that I was heading to the show.”

Broadcaster Hot Rod Black made it on the Cancun-Milwaukee shuttle to be there in time for his son’s debut and was on Milwaukee TV to call his son’s second hit. Photo: Bally Sports

Things moved quickly for Black, who had to get to the airport to make it to the stadium. His mother Nancy and father Hot Rod Black, the legendary TSN and CTV broadcaster, were in Cancun and hustled all the way from Mexico to Wisconsin in time for the game. The Black rooting section included his girlfriend, his sister Sienna, his brother Jesse, and some of Tyler’s former coaches and pals. Brother Brody was busy playing ball for Copping State University in Baltimore.

“Ironically, my flight was delayed and I arrived right when batting practice was going on, so I was able to get a few swings in before the game,” said Black. “Then shortly after, I was subbed into the game when Gary Sanchez got hurt early and it turned into such a crazy night. Fortunately for me, my family was able to be there as well and I was able to get some hits under my belt and out of the way early.”

His first foray in the big leagues lasted over a week, and Black was on the unfortunate business side of the game regarding roster numbers. Veteran Christian Yelich was coming off the injury list, and the Brewers optioned Black back to Nashville.

Black lines a double to left-centre his first hit in the majors.

“It was a dream come true, getting a taste of the big leagues was such a great experience,” said Black. “I was up and down between Milwaukee and Nashville last year and overall, I was happy to be able to make my debut and now I can look towards this season to try and continue making strides in the big leagues.”

The lefty-batter would ride the options bus a few times during the 2024 season, appearing in 18 games and accumulating 49 at-bats in the majors. He would collect 10 hits (two doubles) with two RBIs, seven walks, and three stolen bases while finishing with a .316 OBP and a .561 OPS during the small sample size.

When he wasn’t with the Brewers, Black continued to produce down in triple-A, amassing a.258/.374/.429 slash line with 14 doubles, five triples, and 14 home runs on the year.

His home run total and his .803 OPS ranked third among qualified players on the Sounds while Black also added 20 stolen bases to go along with his 61 walks. He produced a 114 wRC+ across 102 games with Nashville while holding down a .983 fielding percentage at first base, a position he will continue to work on through the winter.

“I keep things the same when I step in the batter’s box, regardless if I am in triple-A or the big leagues,” said Black. “I dial in on controlling the aspects I can dictate, swinging at good pitches and just seeing the ball as best as I can, which sounds easy but has its challenges. The biggest difference is the talent between the two levels, in the major leagues, you are facing the best of the best every night, you have to compete every day and I love that aspect.”

Heading into the new season, Black is looking to make an impact this spring as he hopes to crack the opening day roster. Milwaukee has some depth at the first base position in Rhys Hoskins but Black, who can also play the corner outfield spots because of his plus speed, knows going into spring training that the battle will be tough.

The former Toronto Met in accepting his award, acknowledged the help he received from Rob and Rich Butler (East York, Ont.) as a youngster. Rob was there to hear the compliments, a bag of baseballs in hand to get autographed from Black.

“I have the mentality going into spring that I have to win a job,” said Black. “I personally think I can play a lot of different positions and be versatile for wherever the Brewers need me and I need to put things together and stay within myself and continue to control the things I can control.

“Doing all of that, I believe in my abilities and I think I can be an everyday contributor at the big league level.”