A one-time fan favorite infielder for the San Francisco Giants has found his next baseball home.
That new abode will be the Loco Beach Coconuts in Banana Ball.
The Banana Ball Draft was held on Wednesday night. It’s a chance for the Savannah Bananas and their counterparts to draft new players for their entertaining brand of baseball.
A few different ex-MLB players were among those selected, including Shane Greene and Charlie Culberson.
As well as this guy: Kelby Tomlinson, the former Giants infielder who always wore glasses.
Kelby Tomlinson Drafted in Banana Ball
Kelby Tomlinson was chosen by the Loco Beach Coconuts in the Banana Ball Draft on Wednesday night in the fifth round.
The Bananas were the original entertainment baseball brand to play their style, but they’ve added other competitors in the last few years to add full roster build-outs, more opponents and also allow for games to be played in multiple cities at the same time by having more teams.
So Tomlinson heads to the Coconuts, where he’ll get a chance to be part of the exciting style of baseball that fills stadiums across the country.
Kelby Tomlinson has washed up on the shores of Loco Beach 😎 https://t.co/Rjn9a0sJ19
— Banana Ball (@BananaBall_) October 29, 2026
Kelby Tomlinson With Giants
Kelby Tomlinson was originally a 12th-round pick in the 2011 MLB Draft out of Texas Tech by the Giants.
The middle infielder made it to the major leagues by 2015. In his debut season, he played in 54 games and hit .303 with a .762 OPS. Those would be his best marks in MLB.
Tomlinson got 52 games in 2016 and batted .292 while stealing five bases.
In 2017, Tomlinson’s average dropped to .258 in 104 games.
The Giants gave Tomlinson 63 more games in 2018 with a .207 average in what would be his final MLB season.
He concluded his MLB career with 273 games that included a .265 average, a .663 OPS, 18 doubles, seven triples, three home runs and 19 stolen bases.
Tomlinson was a strong contact hitter but didn’t have much power, and that stopped him from lasting longer in the major leagues.
He played the 2019 season in Triple-A between Reno and Tacoma. Tomlinson also came back to play for Triple-A Albuquerque in 2021.
There’s no record in Baseball Reference of Tomlinson playing professional baseball since 2021, but evidently he expressed an interest to Banana Ball and is going to get that chance.
Now 36, Tomlinson should bring strong bat-to-ball skills to Banana Ball, as well as a slick glove. It should work out nicely for him.
Ex-Giants Infielder Drafted by Coconuts in Banana Ball