Christopher Domenic Iannetta (, ; born April 8, 1983) 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) for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

, and

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 ...

. He played in college for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

of the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He stands tall, and weighs .

Early life

Christopher Domenic Iannetta is the son of Maria (née DiLorenzo) and Domenic Iannetta. He is of Italian descent. His mother Maria was born in Casa Nova, Italy and his father Domenic was born in Scapoli, Italy. He has a younger brother Matt (born 1986). He went to St. Ann School in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and attended St. Raphael Academy, a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

high school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. His jersey was retired there, where it is hung for all to see. He was awarded All-State honors on three consecutive occasions. He was awarded the C. Dona Manyard Award which is given to a male athlete who excels in the classroom and on the field. He graduated from St. Raphael Academy in 2001.

Collegiate career

Iannetta attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, 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

as a catcher and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, while majoring in mathematics. As a sophomore in 2003, he finished fourth on the squad with a .319

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 ranked third with 55

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 ...

. Iannetta was named to the 2003 NCAA Starkville Regional All-Tournament Team after tallying five hits and four runs batted in during the Tar Heels' NCAA Tournament run. As a junior in 2004, he was selected as one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Award, presented annually to the nation's top collegiate catcher. Iannetta was also named a third-team All-American by '' Collegiate Baseball Newspaper''. During his collegiate career, Iannetta played summer baseball in the Cape Cod League and the New England Collegiate Baseball League. His 2002 season with the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod League, led to him being featured in the book "The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Dream" by Jim Collins. In his 2003 season with the Newport Gulls of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, Iannetta batted .302 with 20 runs batted in, and was selected to play in the NECBL All-Star Game. He was also named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.

Professional career

Draft and minor leagues

The

selected Iannetta in the fourth round of the 2004 MLB draft. He began his minor league career with the Asheville Tourists, and spent the 2005 season with the Modesto Nuts. He played the majority of the 2006 season with Double-A Tulsa Drillers before being promoted to the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

Colorado Rockies

Iannetta made his MLB debut with the Rockies on August 27, 2006. Iannetta got his first career MLB hit that same day, off Jake Peavy of the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

. He hit his first major league home run off Jonathan Sánchez of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

. Iannetta played 21 games during 2006 with 2 home runs and 10 runs batted in. In 2007, he was named the starting catcher coming out of

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

over Yorvit Torrealba, but struggled at the plate and was demoted to backing up Torrealba. Iannetta played in 67 games that year, with a .218 average, 4 home runs, and 27 runs batted in. Iannetta was part of the backup catcher's role as the Rockies went to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

for the first time ever but ended up losing the series 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

in a 4-game sweep. The 2008 year was a breakout season for Iannetta, in which he played 104 games batting .264 with 18 home runs and 65 runs batted in. In 2009, Iannetta played in 93 games batting .228 with 16 home runs and 52 runs batted in. In 2010, he played in 61 games batting .197 with 9 home runs and 27 runs batted in. In 2011, he played in 112 games batting .238 with 14 home runs and 55 runs batted in.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

On November 30, 2011, Iannetta was traded to the

for pitcher Tyler Chatwood. On May 2, 2012, he caught Jered Weaver's first

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

. He finished the 2012 season playing 79 games with a .240 batting average, 9 home runs, and 26 runs batted in. On October 5, 2012, the Angels and Iannetta agreed to terms on a three-year, $15.55 million deal.

Seattle Mariners

On November 23, 2015, Iannetta signed a one-year, $4.25 million deal with the

Arizona Diamondbacks

On January 13, 2017, Iannetta signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the

. On May 13, 2017, Iannetta was hit by a pitch from Johnny Barbato. Iannetta suffered a broken nose along with four fractured teeth, and required stitches on his lips.

Second stint with the Colorado Rockies

On December 8, 2017, the Rockies and Iannetta agreed to a two-year contract, bringing the catcher back to Colorado. On August 13, 2019, Iannetta was designated for assignment. He was released on August 15.

New York Yankees

On January 9, 2020, Iannetta agreed to a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. The deal was finalized on February 3. On July 21, 2020, Iannetta had his contract selected to the 40-man roster. On August 1, 2020, Iannetta was designated for assignment without appearing in a game for the Yankees. On August 8, Iannetta announced his retirement from professional baseball.

International career

Iannetta was selected for Team USA at the

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an International Baseball Federation, international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23. Unlike in 2006 World Baseball Classic, 2006, when the Round-robin tournament, round- ...

Personal life

Iannetta and his ex-wife Lisa were married in 2009 and have one daughter together. They live in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, just past the

Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...

border. Iannetta is married to Alanna Rizzo.https://www.denverpost.com/2025/04/05/alanna-rizzo-blasts-dick-monfort-rockies/

References

External links

UNC profile from 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iannetta, Chris 1983 births Living people American people of Italian descent Arizona Diamondbacks players Asheville Tourists players Baseball players from Providence, Rhode Island Chatham Anglers players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Hartford Yard Goats players Los Angeles Angels players Major League Baseball catchers Modesto Nuts players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players People of Molisan descent Peoria Javelinas players Salt Lake Bees players Seattle Mariners players Tulsa Drillers players World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2009 World Baseball Classic players