Tyler Moore follows father, adds power to MHCC line-up

By Christina Hammett

Tyler Moore learned the game of baseball at an early age. His father played baseball for the Saints as a catcher and third-baseman in the 1970s, and taught his son how to play the infield at the ripe old age of 3. A former minor leaguer in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Moore’s father passed down his trade to the young second baseman and baseball began carving a niche in the toddler’s mind.

By six years old, Moore was playing on organized teams and eventually made his way to high school ball where he roamed the infield for the David Douglas Scots. Once he reached the college level, he had the Clackamas Cougars and MHCC to opt between, but chose the latter due to his father’s extensive baseball history at MHCC.

Moore also decided on MHCC because of head coach Gabe Sandy’s recruiting ideals and the strong success of Saints baseball in recent years — this season being among them.During the regular season, the team had a record of 36-9 and hit .345 as a club.

Moore’s batted .359 for the season and the second baseman also led the Saints in home runs with nine. He had 33 RBIs (runs batted in) for the regular season, second behind team leader Matt Hibbitts. Moore’s main goal prior to the NWAACC tournament (which began Thursday in Longview, Wash.) was, “to win it all,” but accomplish this feat by “playing good defense, getting our pitching right and batting like we have all season.”

As part of a strong sophomore-oriented team last season, Moore spent plenty of time on the bench, proving himself capable of playing first-string this year.
“Last year I didn’t play as much because I had a sophomore who played in front of me, but that season gave me a lot of mental toughness because I had never played second behind anyone before,” Moore said.

At MHCC, the 20-year-old sophomore majors in general studies but hopes to move into law enforcement within the next year. Aside from becoming a cop, Moore has every intention of joining the S.W.A.T. team later in life. “I want to play baseball as long as I possibly can but after that I want to be a cop,” he said. “I think being in law enforcement would be a lot of fun but I don’t want to be a traffic cop forever. (Eventually) I want to be a part of the S.W.A.T. team.”

Apart from baseball and school, Moore enjoys spending time with his family, friends and girlfriend Rachel Hill, a member of the Saints softball team. In past summers, he spent his time playing on league teams, mainly playing for the American Legion during his high school years. This year he may play infield for the Portland City League.