By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – The worst kept secret in northwest sports was finally made official around 10:00 Tuesday morning when the West Coast League announced that former Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate has signed on to play center field for the Port Angeles Lefties.
Lefties owner Matt Acker gave KONP the heads up last week, but we were only allowed to say it was a former Seahawk at the time.
Tate will play his first game tonight at 6:30 when the Lefties host the Bend Elks in Civic Field.
West Coast League officials say Tate is the first former NFL player to join the league. Tate is no novice to the sport. He was drafted out of high school by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007, but decided instead to play football and baseball at Notre Dame in 2008 and 2009.
Now, at the age of 33 and with two years left of college eligibility, Tate is looking to pick up where he left off and chase his dream of playing professional baseball. Before he does that, Acker says he’ll play home games only here in Port Angeles and, presumably, demonstrate to himself and the rest of the sports world that he can compete in a very competitive league of other aspiring amateurs.