Isiah Kiner-Falefa (born March 23, 1995) is a Major League Baseball shortstop who currently plays for the New York Yankees (MLB).
He formerly played for the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball.
Yes, Isiah Kiner-Falefa is related to Ralph Kiner and the two have been revealed to be distant cousins. But Kiner Falefa has admitted that although he and baseball Ralph legend share a similar background, the two are nothing alike.
Kiner-Falefa studied at Honolulu’s Mid-Pacific Institute. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft by the Texas Rangers.
He began his professional career with the Arizona League Rangers, where he spent the entire 2013 season, batting.322 with 11 RBIs and 12 steals in 41 games.
On April 10, 2018, Kiner-Falefa made his Major League debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He hit his first career home run on April 14 against the Houston Astros.
Kiner-Falefa played catcher, third base, shortstop, and second base in 111 games during his rookie season of 2018, hitting.261/.325/.357/.682 with four home runs and 34 RBI.
Texas transferred Kiner-Falefa and pitcher Ronny Henriquez to the Minnesota Twins for Mitch Garver on March 12, 2022. Kiner-Falefa, along with Ben Rortvedt and Josh Donaldson, was traded to the New York Yankees for Gary Sánchez and Gio Urshela a day later.