Chris Colabello
Chris Colabello | |||
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Colabello with the Toronto Blue Jays
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Toronto Blue Jays – No. 15 | |||
First baseman / Outfielder | |||
Born: Framingham, Massachusetts |
October 24, 1983 |||
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MLB debut | |||
May 22, 2013, for the Minnesota Twins | |||
MLB statistics (through April 17, 2016) |
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Batting average | .259 | ||
Hits | 187 | ||
Home runs | 28 | ||
Runs batted in | 111 | ||
Teams | |||
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Christopher Adrian Colabello (born October 24, 1983) is an Italian-American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins in 2013 and 2014, after playing seven seasons in independent baseball.[1]
Contents
Early life and career
Born in Framingham, Massachusetts, Colabello grew up in Rimini, Italy. His mother, Silvanna, was born in Rimini, and his father, Lou, played baseball in Italy for 7 years, later pitching in the 1984 Olympics.[2] The family moved back to Massachusetts in 1991.[3] Colabello graduated from Milford High School in Milford, Massachusetts.[4] He then attended NCAA Division II Assumption College, but was not drafted by an MLB team.[5]
Professional career
Independent baseball
Prior to joining the Twins organization in 2012, he played seven seasons in the independent Can-Am League for the Worcester Tornadoes (2005–2011) and Nashua Pride (part of 2007).[6]
Minor leagues
In 2012, his first season of affiliated baseball, Colabello batted .284 with 19 home runs and 98 runs batted in (RBI) for the New Britain Rock Cats of the Double-A Eastern League. He started the 2013 season with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League, hitting .358 with 12 home runs in 46 games before being promoted to Minnesota.[6]
Minnesota Twins
2013 season
On May 22, 2013, the Twins promoted Colabello to the major leagues and he made his debut that day.[7] He was called up after Trevor Plouffe suffered a concussion and was placed on the 7-day disabled list. Colabello went 1-for-11 and was optioned on May 29. He was called back up on May 30 after a strained left calf forced Plouffe to the 15-day disabled list.[8] Colabello was named the International League Most Valuable Player at the end of the minor league season, as well as the Rookie of the Year.[9]
After his 2013 season, Colabello garnered significant interest from several teams in the Korea Baseball Organization, including a reported $1 million contract offer from the LG Twins (with a similar $1 million buyout going to the Minnesota Twins). On December 21, Colabello announced that he would not pursue the opportunity to play overseas, saying "Going to Korea would mean giving up the dream of being a big-leaguer".[10]
Colabello played for the Italy National Team in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[11]
2014 season
In 2014, Colabello made the Twins starting lineup out of the gate, rotating between outfield, first base, and designated hitter. He had a dazzling start to the season, batting .308 with 3 home runs, and 27 RBIs through his first 23 games.
On April 26, Colabello surpassed Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett's Twins franchise record of 26 RBIs in the month of April. It was a club record that stood for 20 years.[12]
Toronto Blue Jays
2015 season
On December 8, 2014, Colabello was claimed off waivers by the Toronto Blue Jays.[13][14] They designated him for assignment on February 4, 2015,[15] and he was outrighted to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on February 11.[16] Colabello batted .337 with 5 home runs and 18 RBI in April 2015, and was named the International League Player of the Month.[17] On May 5, Colabello's contract was purchased by the Blue Jays.[18][19] In his second game with the Blue Jays, Colabello recorded his first career 4-hit game.[20] On May 29, Colabello played his first game against the Minnesota Twins. In the ninth inning, he hit a tiebreaking 2-run home run off closer Glen Perkins to help the Blue Jays win 6–4.[21] Colabello continued his excellent batting on June 7, when he helped the Blue Jays sweep the Houston Astros by hitting a walk-off two-run single. With the hit, he also extended his career-high hitting streak to 17 games.[22] He hit his first career triple on October 2.[23]
Colabello finished the 2015 regular season with career-highs in nearly every statistical category, including batting average (.321), hits (107), home runs (15), RBI (54), and on-base plus slugging (.886).[24] He hit a solo home run in Game 5 of the 2015 American League Championship Series, which helped the Blue Jays top the Kansas City Royals on October 21 and force a Game 6.[25]
2016 season
On April 22, 2016, Colabello was suspended 80 games without pay for testing positive on performance enhancing drugs on March 13. At the time of his suspension, he was hitting .069 (2-for-29) in 10 games.[26] In response to the suspension, Colabello released the following statement:
On March 13, I got one of the scariest and most definitely the least expected calls of my entire life. I was informed by the Players Association that a banned substance was found in my urine. I have spent every waking moment since that day trying to find an answer as to why or how? The only thing I know is that I would never compromise the integrity of the game of baseball. I love this game too much! I care too deeply about it. I am saddened more for the impact this will have on my teammates, the organization and the fans of the Toronto Blue Jays. I hope that before anyone passes judgement on me they can take a look at the man that I am, and everything that I have done to get to where I am in my career.[27]
References
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- ↑ Yahoo! Sports
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chris Colabello. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Chris Colabello on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
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- 1983 births
- Living people
- American people of Italian descent
- Minnesota Twins players
- Toronto Blue Jays players
- Worcester Tornadoes players
- Nashua Pride players
- New Britain Rock Cats players
- Rochester Red Wings players
- Algodoneros de Guasave players
- Toros del Este players
- Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
- 2013 World Baseball Classic players
- People from Framingham, Massachusetts
- Assumption College alumni
- Baseball players from Massachusetts
- Major League Baseball first basemen
- Major League Baseball right fielders
- International League MVP award winners
- Major League Baseball players suspended for drug offenses