Christopher Barton "Chris" Donnels (born April 21, 1966) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. He is an alumnus of

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

where he was a standout for the Lions' baseball team.

New York Mets

Donnels was drafted out of college in the first round (24th overall pick) of the

Major League Baseball Draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. He spent the next few years ascending through the Mets minor league affiliates. On May 7, , Donnels made his Major League Baseball debut for the Mets, recording an RBI of

Tim Belcher Timothy Wayne Belcher (born October 19, 1961) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 2000 for seven different teams. He was named ''The Sporting News'' Rookie Pitcher of the Year ...

in his debut. Over the course of his rookie year, he played in 37 games, compiling a .225

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

. Donnels spent only limited time with the Mets in the season. He appeared in 45 games, but struggled considerably, putting together a .174 batting average. At the conclusion of the 1992 season, the Mets failed to protect Donnels, and he was chosen by the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

as the 67th pick of the 1992 expansion draft. Only a month later, the Marlins placed Donnels on waivers.

Houston Astros

Almost immediately after being placed on waivers by Florida, Donnels was signed to a contract by the Houston Astros. It was with the Astros in the season that Donnels appeared in the most games of any season throughout his career. He appeared in 88 games, playing the primary backup to third baseman

Ken Caminiti Kenneth Gene Caminiti (April 21, 1963 – October 10, 2004) was an American third baseman who spent 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1987–1994, 1999–2000), San Diego Padres (1995–1998), Texas Rangers ( ...

. Donnels pieced together a .257 batting average and hit the first two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s of his major league career. He continued this role for the season. In , after appearing in 19 games with Houston, the Astros sent Donnels to the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

as part of a conditional deal. Astros rookie

Phil Nevin Phillip Joseph Nevin (born January 19, 1971) is an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager. He is the manager for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for 12 seasons, appearing in 1,217 gam ...

made the team, thus making Donnels expendable.

Japan

Although Donnels finished the 1995 season with the Red Sox, appearing in 40 more games, his career collapsed after the season. He was released at the season's end, and failed to draw interest from another major league club. Donnels was signed by the

Kintetsu Buffaloes The were a Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) team based in Osaka, Japan, which was in the Pacific League. In 2005 the team was merged with the Orix BlueWave to become the team now known as the Orix Buffaloes. The team played in Fujiidera Stadiu ...

for the season. He then played three seasons for the

Orix BlueWave , styled as ORIX, is a Japanese diversified financial services group headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, and Osaka, Japan. ORIX offers leasing, lending, rentals, life insurance, real estate financing and development, venture capital, investment an ...

from -.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 8, 2000, days before spring training for the 2000 season began, Donnels was invited to attend the spring camp for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. Considering he had not seen major league action in four years, Donnels had an outstanding spring, and surprised many by not being cut like many veterans in his position are every year. Although he saw limited action in 2000, only appearing in 27 games, Donnels compiled a respectable .294 batting average with four home runs. The season saw Donnels appear in 66 games for the Dodgers, continuing as one of the primary pinch hitters off the bench. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

at the end of the season.

End of career

When Donnels' contract with the Dodgers expired at the end of the 2001 season, the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

offered Donnels a contract and more money. He went on to play the season with Arizona, hitting .238 with 3 home runs in 74 games. He was traded to the Chicago Cubs at the beginning of the season, but did not see any playing time. Five weeks later, the Florida Marlins purchased Donnels' contract from the Cubs. Donnels remained in the Marlins minor league system until the end of the season when he was released. On March 8, 2004, Donnels signed a free agent contract with the Colorado Rockies. Nearing forty years of age, Donnels played out the season for the Rockies Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox, then retired. He played in his last official major league game on September 29, 2002.

Mitchell Report

On December 13, 2007, he was named in the Mitchell Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation Into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball. According to the report, Donnels purchased both human growth hormone and anabolic steroids from

Kirk Radomski Kirk J. Radomski (born 1969) is a former batboy and clubhouse employee, colloquially known by players as Murdock, for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball from 1985 to 1995. On April 27, 2007, he pleaded guilty in United States district cour ...

between 2000-2004.REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL
mlb.com. Accessed August 12, 2022.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnels, Chris Baseball players from Los Angeles Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball first basemen New York Mets players Houston Astros players Boston Red Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers players Arizona Diamondbacks players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Kintetsu Buffaloes players Orix BlueWave players Loyola Marymount Lions baseball players Columbia Mets players St. Lucie Mets players Tidewater Tides players Jackson Generals (Texas League) players Pawtucket Red Sox players Albuquerque Dukes players Las Vegas 51s players Tucson Sidewinders players Albuquerque Isotopes players Iowa Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players 1966 births Living people Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players