Christopher Ellis Duffy (born April 20, 1980) is an American former

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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

. He played for the

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

and 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 ...

Amateur career

Duffy played baseball for two seasons at

South Mountain Community College South Mountain Community College is a Public college, public community college in Phoenix, Arizona. It is one of the ten colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District. History South Mountain Community College was established by t ...

in Arizona. In , he was drafted by 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in the 43rd round of the

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

, but opted to attend

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 ...

instead. At ASU in , he batted .373 with four

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 ( ...

s, 37 RBIs, and 20

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out ...

s and was named a First Team All-Pac-10 selection.

Professional career

He was drafted by the

in the 8th round of the

2001 MLB Draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

and accepted a contract with them. He made steady progress through the Pirates'

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

system from to , spending time with their teams in Williamsport, Lynchburg, Altoona, and

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. Over 5 minor league seasons and 524 games, he achieved a .299 batting average with 27 home runs and 190 RBIs.

2005 season

In 2005, Duffy received his first call-up to the majors on April 7 but spent only two weeks with the team before returning to Indianapolis on April 21. On July 17, he was again called up and spent the rest of the season on the Pirates' roster. Before an injury in late August ended his season, he hit .341 with 1 home run and 9 RBIs in 39 games with the Pirates.

2006 season

In , Duffy began the season as the Pirates' starting

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

. After faring poorly at the plate in April and May, however, the Pirates optioned him to the minor leagues on May 14. After an emotional closed-door discussion with the general manager and manager, Duffy unilaterally decided to instead return to his home in

Glendale, Arizona Glendale () is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. Located about nine miles northwest of the state capital Phoenix, Glendale is known for State Farm Stadium, which is the home of the Arizona Cardinals football team. The city al ...

, causing the Pirates to suspend his pay. While Duffy had been very critical of manager Jim Tracy for insisting that he change his batting style, he insisted through his agent that he was not protesting the Pirates' decision. Rather, he was on leave for personal reasons that he did not wish to disclose, but that reportedly had to do with a lack of desire to continue a career in professional sports. Duffy returned to the minor leagues after about a month and—despite earlier reports that the decision to quit had nothing to do with Tracy's change to his batting style—immediately reverted to his 2005 batting style and hit for a .349 average in 26 games. Duffy returned to the majors on August 2 and, apparently with the support of the clubhouse, Tracy installed him directly into the starting center field and leadoff spots.

2007 season

On June 8, 2007, he hit an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a rare play in which a Batter (baseball), batter rounds all four bases for a home run without the baseball leaving the baseball field, field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-p ...

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...

2008 season and beyond

Duffy failed to earn a spot on the Pirates' active roster, mainly due to injuries. On July 31, Duffy was designated for assignment after the Pirates traded

Jason Bay Jason Raymond Bay (born September 20, 1978) is a Canadian-American former professional baseball left fielder who played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Initially drafted by the Montreal Expos, he played for the San Diego Padres, Pitts ...

for four players. He cleared waivers and was added to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians roster. On December 18, he signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. Duffy was assigned to the Brewers' Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

, but was on the temporary inactive list for a part of the season. Duffy soon later signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. Duffy was released unexpectedly during the 2010 season, and has not played professional baseball since.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Chris 1980 births Living people Major League Baseball center fielders Altoona Curve players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Gulf Coast Pirates players Florida Complex League Phillies players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Indianapolis Indians players Lynchburg Hillcats players Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Pittsburgh Pirates players Williamsport Crosscutters players South Mountain Cougars baseball players