Chris Iannetta, Catcher, Retired


Date of Birth: 4/8/1983
Birthplace: Providence, Rhode Island
College: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Chris Iannetta, retired catcher, was first drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 2004. After almost three years in the minor leagues, he was called up to the Rockies in 2006 for 21 games. The following year, he was their backup catcher, playing in 67 games with the Rockies.

Iannetta had his best season in 2008 when he played in 104 games with the Rockies. That year, he had career highs in hits (88), doubles (22), home runs (18), RBIs (65), and batting average (.264). For the following two seasons, he was just a part-time player, playing in 93 games in 2009 and just 61 games in 2010.

In 2011, Iannetta batted .238 with 82 hits in 112 games. After the season ended, the Rockies traded him to the Los Angeles Angels. He played in just 79 games with the Angels in 2012. Despite his limited playing time with them, the Angels gave Iannetta a three-year, $15.55 million contract in October, 2012. In 2013, he batted just .225 with 73 hits in 115 games. He finished the 2014 season with 77 hits, 22 doubles, and a .252 batting average in 108 games. In the 2014 postseason, he had one hit in three games.

Iannetta had just a .188 batting average with 51 hits in 92 games in 2015. As a catcher, he made 44 assists, 624 putouts, and 3 errors in 85 games. He caught players trying to steal 25.4% of the time and he had a .996 fielding percentage.

On November 23, 2015, Iannetta signed a one-year contract with the Seattle Mariners. He played in 94 games with the Mariners in 2016. He finished the season with 62 hits, 14 doubles, and a .210 batting average. As the Mariners' catcher in 93 games, he made 42 assists, 722 putouts, and 5 errors. He had a .993 fielding percentage and he caught players trying to steal 30.8% of the time.

Iannetta became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks on January 13, 2017. He played in 89 games with the DBacks in 2017, finishing with a .254 batting average. He had 69 hits, 19 doubles, 17 home runs, 43 RBIs, and 87 strikeouts to 37 walks. Defensively, as a catcher in 78 games, he made 36 assists, 617 putouts, and 6 errors. He caught players trying to steal 24.2% of the time. In 5 at-bats in 2 games in the postseason, he had no hits and 3 strikeouts.

Iannetta elected free agency on November 2, 2017. He returned to his first team, the Rockies, on December 8, 2017. He finished the 2018 season with 67 hits, 13 doubles, 36 RBIs, 87 strikeouts to 50 walks, and a .224 batting average in 110 games. Defensively, as the Rockies' catcher in 99 games, he made 29 assists, 692 putouts, and 4 errors. He caught players trying to steal 14.3% of the time and he had a .994 fielding percentage. In the postseason, he had no hits in 9 at-bats in 4 games.

The Rockies released Iannetta on August 15, 2019. He played in 52 games with them and he had 32 hits and a .222 batting average. He spent time on the DL with a right lat strain.

Iannetta signed a minor league contract with the New York Yankees on February 3, 2020.

Iannetta retired in August, 2020.

Career batting statistics for Iannetta through 2019 include:

  • 1,197 games played
  • 820 hits
  • 181 doubles
  • 141 home runs
  • 502 RBIs
  • 1,024 strikeouts to 576 walks
  • .230 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Iannetta as a catcher through 2019 include:

  • 1,122 games played
  • 548 assists
  • 7,613 putouts
  • 44 errors
  • .243 caught stealing percentage
  • .995 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Chris Iannetta
ESPN - Chris Iannetta