Tyler Goodro: A Life Built Around Baseball

Tyler Goodro has spent most of his life behind the plate. First as a player, then as a professional, a coach, a scout, and now as someone helping the next generation of catchers figure out the position he knows so well.

We had the opportunity to meet Tyler at one of his team's away games in Long Beach back in 2024 and now we see him every year at ABCA. We're booth neighbors this year, so it should be a really good time. Tyler couldn't be a nicer guy and we're happy to share a little of his story.

His baseball journey has taken him from a state championship in Omaha to college baseball, five years in the pros, and the coaching staff at the University of Nebraska Omaha. But one of the biggest things he's built along the way has nothing to do with his own playing career. It's Field General Academy, a resource dedicated to helping catchers get better at one of the toughest positions in the game.

And if you've ever spent time around a catcher, you know there's a lot more to the position than blocking balls and throwing runners out.

It Started With a Championship

Goodro grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where he played for Creighton Prep, one of the state's top high school baseball programs. In 2004, he helped his team win a state championship at Rosenblatt Stadium, driving in the game-winning run.

For a young player, it doesn't get much better than that. Rosenblatt was home to the College World Series for decades, and Goodro got to experience a championship there himself.

His high school success opened the door to Division I baseball at the University of Arkansas. He eventually transferred to Butler Community College in Kansas, where he helped lead the team to the NJCAA World Series. From there, he finished his college career at the University of Cincinnati, earning All-Big East honorable mention honors in 2008.

Different schools, different teammates, and different coaches, but each stop gave him another opportunity to learn the game from a new perspective.

Five Years in Professional Baseball

After college, Goodro signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and began his professional career in 2009.

Like a lot of players who make it to the professional level, his journey wasn't a straight line to the big leagues. It meant putting in the work, moving between teams and leagues, and finding ways to keep getting better.

He never got the big-league call, but his time in professional baseball gave him experiences he could carry into the next chapter. He played for two managers who'd won the World Series and caught pitchers who'd go on to pitch at the highest level, including Clayton Kershaw and Jordan Zimmermann.

Those experiences matter, especially when you're teaching young catchers what it takes to handle a pitching staff, understand the game, and earn the trust of the people around you.

"I didn't learn the game by succeeding. I learned it by failing, asking why, and refusing to stop studying" - The General

Coming Home to Coach

Goodro eventually returned to Creighton Prep, this time as a coach. He'd been part of the program as a player, and now he had the chance to help shape the players coming through it.

In 2018, he was part of the coaching staff when Creighton Prep won another state championship.

There's something pretty special about returning to the place where your own baseball story started and helping the next group of players experience the same kind of moment.

But Goodro's work wasn't limited to the high school field. He also moved into scouting, working with the Minnesota Twins before joining the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Scouting gave him another way to stay involved in player development and look at the game through a different lens.

But he kept coming back to catching.

Building Something for the Next Generation

In 2016, Goodro founded Field General Academy, a business built around helping catchers improve their skills and better understand their position.

The idea is simple: catching takes specialized instruction, and players need more than a few drills to really learn the position. They need to understand the why behind what they're doing.

Through camps, instructional videos, articles, and drills, Goodro works with catchers at different stages of their development. His approach combines years of experience behind the plate with a continuing interest in the tools and technology that are changing how coaches evaluate and develop players.

He's also shared his knowledge with coaches around the country through American Baseball Coaches Association clinics and catching panels. The Athletic has featured his expertise, too.

It's a natural next step for someone who's spent so much time learning the position from every angle. He knows what it's like to be the player trying to figure it out, and he understands what coaches need to teach along the way.

Still Finding Ways to Make an Impact

Goodro returned to professional baseball in 2023 as bullpen coach for the Lincoln Saltdogs, working with catchers, helping hitters, and contributing to game planning. Later that year, he joined the University of Nebraska Omaha coaching staff as an assistant, with a focus on catchers.

It's another chapter in a career that's taken plenty of turns, but the thread running through all of it is pretty clear.

Goodro has found ways to stay in the game by sharing what he's learned, whether that's helping a college catcher prepare for a game, teaching a young player a new skill, or helping coaches better understand the position.

Not every successful baseball career ends with a big-league debut. Sometimes, the impact shows up in the players who get better because someone took the time to teach them.

For Tyler Goodro, the game has given him plenty of opportunities to play, coach, and learn. Now, he's helping make sure the next generation of catchers has the tools to do the same.

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