By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Kyle Seager had an incredible MLB career — 1,480 games, 5,561 at-bats, 242 home runs, 807 RBIs in 11 seasons — but he’s grown accustomed to being known as Corey Seager’s brother.

Kyle, 36, isn’t offended by that. He smiles. He laughs. He’s proud of the World Series MVP, his kid brother who is 29 and has taken over as the new Mr. October.

“The guy is just incredible,” Kyle said.

Kyle saw it coming, probably before anyone else did.

The Seagers grew up in Kannapolis.

After a great career playing at Northwest Cabarrus High for coach Joe Hubbard, which included a trip to the 3A state championship series, Kyle had been expected to be solid for the University of North Carolina, but he turned out to be better than solid.

He was terrific, batting .353 during a three-year career with 17 homers and 66 doubles. Then he was a third-round draft pick by the Seattle Mariners. Eighty-one guys were picked ahead of him, but Kyle, who hadn’t been drafted at all as a high school senior, was thrilled to be No. 82. Then he started slashing hits in the minor leagues, working his way toward the majors.

The story goes that Kyle came home one off-season after a super minor league season, and was eager to show Corey all the drills he’d learned in pro ball.

What he found out was that Corey was better at every drill than he was. Kyle was a 23-year-old stud on the verge of making it to the majors, and his 16-year-old brother, a high school kid, was taller, quicker and faster and could hit the ball harder. It was humbling, but Kyle wasn’t upset. He was proud. He was confident he was going to make it, and he knew that at some point, Corey could make it even bigger.

Kyle sacrificed batting average to become a slugging third baseman for Seattle. Third basemen are expected to pound homers and third base was his best chance. He knew he didn’t have the speed to play in the middle of the diamond in the big leagues.

Kyle retired not long after belting a career-high 35 home runs in his final season in the majors in 2021. He had just turned 34. He still had something left in the tank and he had offers, including the chance to go to Texas to play with his brother.

Kyle’s wife, Julie, announced her husband’s retirement plans on Twitter just a few weeks after Corey signed a 10-year contract with the Rangers for $325 million.

Kyle hadn’t lost the love for baseball, but he had three children and he reasoned that it was time to be a full-time husband and dad. That was important than padding the bank account. He bought an estate on High Rock Lake, complete with farm animals, and began enjoying a relatively normal life.

Corey passed up college ball at South Carolina when he was a first-round draft pick by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. He was an instant millionaire.

By 2015, Corey was in the major leagues. In 2016, he was National League Rookie of the Year.

In 2020, with the Dodgers, Corey was MVP of the NLCS and the World Series.

So far, Corey hasn’t had the remarkable durability that Kyle had, but as a 29-year-old shortstop, Corey already has done a lot — 170 homers, 543 RBIs, a .292 career batting average. He’s played in four All-Star games, three more than Kyle, and now he’s a two-time World Series MVP. He smashed three homers in the recently completed World Series in which the Rangers beat Arizona four games to one.

Only four players in MLB history have won two World Series MVPs. Corey and Reggie Jackson are the only ones to win MVPs with two different teams. Corey is the only player in history who has been the World Series MVP for both an American League team and a National League team.

Kyle got to attend one of the World Series games. Corey delivered. He homered in the third inning, one of the hardest-hit balls in World Series history. The exit velocity was 114.5 mph.

“We got out there for Game 3 in Arizona, and it was awesome,” Kyle said. “Crue’s first World Series game, and Uncle Corey hits a homer.”

Crue is Kyle’s son, his oldest child. He’ll turn 10 this month. Kyle is thrilled that he has had the opportunity to coach Crue in a variety of sports, not just baseball.

“Crue is doing good — he’s a good little ballplayer,” Kyle said. “But he’s a right-handed hitter. Corey and I tried to get him lefty, but he’s a righty hitter like his Uncle Justin.”

Justin Seager, the middle of the three Seager brothers, didn’t make the majors, but it’s not like he was average.

He was a conference player of the year for the Charlotte 49ers in college ball and he was a draft pick who survived several seasons in the minor leagues.

Crue played this fall on an Extreme Performance baseball team.

Kyle was a low-key assistant coach. The team won the championship.

“It’s been nice being able to coach my son,” Kyle said. “It’s just a little travel ball team. We did well, won a few tournaments. Most of the boys probably will end up going to East Rowan. They’re getting better, but they’re also having fun. And right now, fun is the biggest thing.”

Fun can come in a lot of ways — by hitting World Series home runs or by coaching your kid.