Christopher Michael Bando (born February 4, 1956) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) in the 1980s, spending most of his career with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

before playing for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He managed the

Texas AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

Career

As player

Born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Bando attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Arizona State Sun Devils baseball The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Big 12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Divi ...

team. He hit the game winning

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

in the championship game of the

1977 College World Series The 1977 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1977 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Series ...

(CWS). He was chosen as the best

in the CWS during the 1970s. In the

1978 MLB draft The 1978 Major League Baseball draft was held June 6–8, 1978, consisting of 48 rounds, during which a total of 779 players were selected by 26 Major League Baseball (MLB) organizations. The first overall selection was Bob Horner, drafted by t ...

, Bando was selected by the Cleveland Indians as their second round pick. He began his minor league career that year with the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

, batting .228 with four

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 ...

and 21

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) in 76 games. Bando also spent the following two seasons with the Lookouts, Cleveland's AA affiliate. In 1979, he played in only 21 games, posting a .242

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 ...

and driving in seven runs. His number of appearances jumped by a hundred the next year, as he saw action in 121 games for Chattanooga in 1980. His batting average also rose significantly, as he hit .349 for the season, while homering 12 times and collecting 73 RBIs. In 1981, Bando played in 96 games for Cleveland's triple-A team, the

Charleston Charlies The Charleston Charlies were a Triple-A minor league baseball team located in Charleston, West Virginia. Two separate Charlies franchises played in the International League from 1971 to 1983. The first team was the relocated Columbus Jets. In 197 ...

. He batted .306, connected for 11 home runs and drove in 45 runners. Bando saw his first Major League action that fall. In 21 games for Cleveland, he had a .213 batting average and was the team's starting catcher eight times. For the 1982 season, Bando remained with the Indians. In his second year in the majors, his batting average (.212) was nearly the same as it had been the previous year. Bando played in 66 games, connected for three home runs and drove in 16 runs. His first Major League homer came on July 9, when he hit a two-run shot off Seattle's

Floyd Bannister Floyd Franklin Bannister (born June 10, 1955) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (–), Seattle Mariners (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Kansas City R ...

. In his third Major League season, Bando saw his batting average jump to .256 in 48 games of action. He hit four home runs, three of which came in June, and he totaled 15 RBIs. He was also caught stealing in his first Major League stolen base attempt. In 1984, Bando appeared in the Indians starting lineup as catcher 59 times. He posted a .291 batting average, 12 home runs and 41 RBIs, all of which were his MLB career-highs. He also appeared in 29 games for the

Maine Guides The Maine Guides were an American minor league baseball franchise that played in Old Orchard Beach, Maine, between 1984 and 1988. The Triple-A International League (IL) club was named for a classification of registered hunting and wilderness gui ...

, Cleveland's AAA affiliate. Bando's offensive numbers dropped substantially in 1985, as he batted .139 with no homers and 13 RBIs in 73 games for Cleveland. In 1986, Bando saw action in a career-high 92 games for the Indians. His batting average jumped to .268, he hit two home runs and he drove in 26 runs. The following season, Bando's average dropped to .218 in 89 games. He had five homers and 16 RBIs. Bando began 1988 with Cleveland, but he was released in August after batting .125 in 32 games. He joined the

in September and saw action in one game. Bando also made a single appearance with the

the following year. It was the final game of his Major League career.

As coach, scout, and manager

Bando has over 30 years in professional baseball and player development, where he has ample experience as a player, scout, coach, and manager. He spent 10 years as a Minor League manager for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

and

and was voted the Best Minor League Managing Prospect by

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

in 1994 and in 1995 was voted the #2 Manager Prospect by Major League General Managers. Bando's career record as an affiliated Minor League manager is 561–500. Bando was formerly the manager of the Aiken Foxhounds of the

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, Independent league baseball, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by ...

in 2007, the league's only year of operation. For three years he served as the Third Base coach and Bench coach for the

and he also was the manager of the

Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania The team competes in the Frontier League (FL) as a member of the Midwest Division and is owned by Stu and Francine Williams. They play their home games ...

of the independent

Frontier League The Frontier League (FL; French: ''Ligue Frontière'', LF) is a professional baseball league in North America composed of 18 teams – 15 in the United States and 3 in Canada. The FL is one of the eight independent baseball leagues in North Ame ...

in 2012. Bando has also been a Major League pro scout for the

and an Advanced scout for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

Personal life

Chris is the brother of

Sal Bando Salvatore Leonard Bando (February 13, 1944 – January 20, 2023) was an American professional baseball player and general manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from to , most prominently as the captain of the Oakland A ...

. Chris attended

Solon High School Solon High School, founded in 1898, is a public high school located in Solon, Ohio, a southeastern suburb of Cleveland in the Northeast Ohio Region, the 15th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States. It comprises grades 9 through ...

Solon, Ohio Solon ( ) is a city in southeastern Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. The population was 24,262 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Cleveland metropolitan area. History In 1820, the first ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bando, Chris Oakland Athletics players 1956 births Living people Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Cleveland Charleston Charlies players Chattanooga Lookouts players Cleveland Indians players Detroit Tigers players Maine Guides players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Minor league baseball managers Tacoma Tigers players All-American college baseball players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players