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William Bradford Myers (born December 10, 1990) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, and Cincinnati Reds.
Originally drafted by the Kansas City Royals, he was traded to the Rays in 2012. He won the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2013.
Myers made his debut in professional baseball in 2009, when he played catcher and batted .369 with five home runs in 84 at bats with Royals' Rookie League affiliates, the Idaho Falls Chukars and the Burlington Royals. Myers began the 2010 season playing catcher for the Burlington Bees of the Midwest League and was named to the Midwest League All Star team. On July 1, 2010, the Royals promoted Myers to the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Carolina League, a league generally considered more advanced than those in which he had previously played. Myers played catcher and finished the 2010 season batting .315 with a .429 on-base percentage overall, and totaled 14 home runs, 83 runs batted in, and 85 walks between his time in the Midwest League and Carolina League. In 2011, playing for the Double–A Northwest Arkansas Naturals, he batted .254 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs in 99 games. He played primarily outfield in 2012, and was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.
Myers won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2013, beating teammate and pitcher Chris Archer and Detroit Tigers shortstop José Iglesias. In spite of the fact he had not joined the Rays until their 70th game on June 18, Myers led AL rookies with a 53 RBIs in the 88 games he did play in. The last player to lead AL rookies in RBIs in fewer than 90 games was Hoot Evers playing for the Detroit Tigers in 1946, when he had 33 in 81 games, and also became the first-ever hitter to win the award in under 100 games.
In the post-season, Myers had two singles in 20 at bats.
Myers entered 2014 as the Rays' everyday right fielder. On May 4, Myers hit his first career inside-the-park home run. During a game against the Boston Red Sox on May 30, Myers collided with Desmond Jennings while attempting to catch a fly ball, resulting in a stress fracture in Myers' right wrist, which required a cast and significant rehab time. Myers returned to the club on August 20, initially slotted as a DH before returning to the field.
In 2014, he batted .222/.294/.320 with six home runs and 35 RBIs in 325 at bats.
Myers hit for the cycle on April 10, 2017, at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies. It was the second cycle in Padres history. On September 2, a commemorative bobblehead celebrating his accomplishment was handed out to fans at Petco Park.
For the season, Myers continued to hit for power, hitting 30 home runs, and speed, stealing 20 bases. He tied for the National League lead in power-speed number (24.0). However, his consistency declined, as the season saw him strike out 180 times, the second-highest total in the National League, with his batting average declining to .243, and him hitting just .222 with runners in scoring position. On defense, he played almost exclusively first base.
Myers was involved in a controversy in early September, when footage emerged during a live stream of teammate Carlos Asuaje playing the video game Fortnite involved Myers, chatting with Asuaje while playing, criticizing manager Andy Green. Myers apologized to Green and took responsibility for the remarks.
He ended the season batting .253 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 83 games. He played 41 games in the outfield, 36 at third base, and two at first base. In his major league career through 2018, Myers played 329 games at first base, 248 games in the outfield, and 37 games at third base.
Following the DFA of Robbie Erlin on October 31, Myers became the longest-tenured Padre.
On August 18, Myers hit a grand slam in a 6–4 road win against the Texas Rangers, which extended San Diego's grand slam streak to 2 games. Two days later, the Padres would make history as the first team in MLB history to hit a grand slam in four consecutive games.
This year also marked the first winning season and first postseason appearance for Myers in San Diego, with the Padres making the playoffs for the first time since 2006 as the division second place team in the 16-team playoff format for 2020. In six postseason games, Myers slashed .227/.346/.545 with two home runs and five RBIs; Myers hit both of his home runs in Game 2 of the 2020 National League Wild Card Series, which was the first series that the Padres won since 1998 after they beat St. Louis in three games. They lost in the 2020 National League Division Series to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-game sweep.
In 146 games, Myers regressed to a .256/.334/.434 batting line, adding 17 home runs and 68 RBIs.
On December 22, 2024, Myers announced that he had retired from professional baseball after not playing in the 2024 season.
In November 2021, Myers and Carmel Country Club in Charlotte sued each other. Carmel claims Myers owes the club $64,000 in initiation fees, and Myers is calling for more than $150,000 in damages, claiming that the club hides how difficult it is to get tee times. Sports Charlotte Observer
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