Chadwick Hudson Pinder (born March 29, 1992) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

. He played in

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) ...

(MLB) for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

from 2016 to 2022.

Amateur career

Pinder attended Poquoson High School in Virginia. He and teammate Kyle Crockett led their high school baseball team to state championships in 2009 and 2010. Pinder played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

for the Hokies from 2011 to 2013. He played in 150 games, hitting .322/.389/.509 with 18

home runs 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 is ...

. In 2012, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operate ...

with the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thous ...

Professional career

Oakland Athletics

The

selected Pinder in the second round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He made his professional debut for the

Vermont Lake Monsters The Vermont Lake Monsters are a collegiate summer baseball team located in Burlington, Vermont. From 1994 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL). They play their home games at Centennial Field, ...

that year and spent the whole season there, batting .200 with three home runs and eight RBIs in 42 games. In 2014, he played in 94 games with the

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at ...

, hitting .288 with 13 home runs and 55 RBIs. In 2015, he played for the

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, whi ...

where he slashed .317/.361/.486 with 15 home runs and 86 RBIs in 117 games. Pinder won the

Texas League Player of the Year Award The Texas League Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual award given to the best player in Minor League Baseball's Texas League based on their regular-season performance as voted on by league managers. League broadcasters, Minor League Base ...

that season. After the season, he played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fi ...

. He began the 2016, season with the

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the city's association with the music industry, ...

. Pinder was promoted to the Athletics on August 17, 2016. Prior to his promotion, he was batting .258 with 14 home runs and 51 RBIs in 107 games for the Sounds. He made his major league debut on August 20. Pinder spent the remainder of 2016 with Oakland after his promotion, batting .235 with one home run in 22 games. In 2017, he began the season with Nashville, but was recalled on April 16 for the rest of the season. In 87 games for the Athletics, he slashed .238/.292/.457 with 15 home runs and 42 RBIs. In 2019, Pinder hit .240 with 13 home runs and 47 RBI in 124 games. In 2020 for the Athletics, Pinder slashed .232/.295/.393 with 2 home runs in only 61 plate appearances. In 2021, he slashed .243/.300/.411 with 6 home runs and 27 RBIs in 75 games. On July 12, 2022, Pinder hit a grand slam off of Texas Rangers reliever

Kolby Allard Kolby Kenneth Allard (born August 13, 1997) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Braves and Texas Rangers. He was selected by the Braves with the 14th ove ...

as part of an 8-run 12th inning in the 14-7 victory. Two weeks later, on July 26, Pinder hit another grand slam, this time off of

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

starter Luís García, that helped propel the A's to a 5-3 victory. In 2022, he slashed .235/.263/.385 with 12 home runs and 42 RBIs in 111 games. He became a free agent following the season.

Cincinnati Reds

On January 30, 2023, Pinder signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

organization that included an invitation to spring training. Pinder hit .103/.167/.154 in 42 plate appearances in spring training before he was released on March 24.

Washington Nationals

On March 27, 2023, Pinder signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

organization. He played in 16 games for the Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in do ...

, batting .218/.307/.309 with one home run and four RBI. On May 5, Pinder was released by the Nationals.

Atlanta Braves

On May 9, 2023, Pinder signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

organization. In 7 games for Gwinnett, he hit .323/.344/.548 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI. On May 27, Pinder announced he would retire from professional baseball following that night's game against the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened i ...

Personal life

Pinder's brother, Chase, played college baseball for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) ...

and was selected in the seventh round of the

2017 Major League Baseball draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on ...

by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

and currently plays in their organization.

References

External links

Virginia Tech Hokies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinder, Chad 1992 births Living people Baseball players from Richmond, Virginia Chatham Anglers players Gwinnett Stripers players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball second basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Midland RockHounds players Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Rochester Red Wings players Stockton Ports players Vermont Lake Monsters players Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players