Christian Anthony Colón (born May 14, 1989) is a Puerto Rican 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. 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

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

Miami 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 fra ...

, and

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 ...

Career

Colón attended Midway High School in

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the List ...

, as a freshman, and Taylorsville High School in

Taylorsville, Utah Taylorsville is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah. It is part of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The population was 60,448 at the time of the 2020 census. Taylorsville was incorporated from the Taylorsville–Bennion CDP and portions of the ...

, for his sophomore season, before his family moved to California. He then attended Canyon High School in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. Colón was drafted in the tenth round of the

2007 MLB Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players and was held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the fir ...

by 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 (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. He chose instead to attend

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

, where he 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 ...

for the

Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball The Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball team represents California State University, Fullerton in NCAA Division I college baseball. Along with the other CSUF athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the Big West Conference. Since its ...

team.

Kansas City Royals

With the Titans, Colón was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n shortstop. He was then selected with the fourth overall pick of the

2010 MLB Draft The 2010 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held on June 7–9, 2010 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. First-round selections The draft order was determined based on the 2009 MLB standings, with the worst team pic ...

by the Kansas City Royals. Colón was added to the 40-man roster on November 20, 2013. Colón batted .296 for the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Wer ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

in 2014, before he was promoted to the major leagues on June 30. After entering the

2014 American League Wild Card Game The 2014 American League Wild Card Game was a play-in game during Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2014 postseason played between the American League's (AL) two wild card teams, the Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals. It was held at K ...

as a pinch hitter, he knocked in the tying run on an infield single and scored the winning run on a single by Salvador Pérez. Colón served as a

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 ...

during the 2015 season. He entered Game 5 of the

2015 World Series The 2015 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2015 season. The 111th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the American Leag ...

(his first appearance in the playoffs) in the top of the 12th as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, American ...

. After not making a plate appearance for four weeks, he hit a single to score

Jarrod Dyson Jarrod Martel Dyson (born August 15, 1984) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

for the winning run to clinch the World Series, marking the first time in history that a player in his first at bat in a World Series delivered the Series-winning run. In 2017,

Raúl A. Mondesí Raul, Raúl and Raül are the Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Galician, Asturian, Basque, Aragonese, and Catalan forms of the Anglo-Germanic given name Ralph or Rudolph (name), Rudolph. They are cognates of the French Raoul (disambiguation) ...

won the Royals' starting second baseman position, and Colón competed with

Whit Merrifield Whitley David Merrifield (born January 24, 1989) is an American professional baseball second baseman and outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals. He is a tw ...

for a role on the

Opening Day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

roster. The Royals included Colón on the Opening Day roster, but

designated Designation (from Latin ''designatio'') is the process of determining an incumbent's successor. A candidate that won an election for example, is the ''designated'' holder of the office the candidate has been elected to, up until the candidate's i ...

him for assignment on May 10.

Miami Marlins

The

claimed Colón off of waivers on May 16. He was designated for assignment on June 23, 2017. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017.

Atlanta Braves

On December 6, 2017, Colón signed a minor league deal 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 ...

. He was released on May 9, 2018.

New York Mets

On May 18, 2018, Colón signed a minor league deal with the New York Mets. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Cincinnati Reds

On December 4, 2018, Colón signed a minor league deal with the

. On September 16, 2019, the Reds selected Colón's contract. Colón was outrighted off the Reds roster following the 2019 season. He became a free agent following the 2019 season. Colón later re-signed with the Reds on another minor-league deal in the offseason. On July 24, 2020, Colón had his contract selected to the 40-man roster. On August 14, Colón was designated for assignment. On August 17, Colón cleared waivers and was outrighted to the Reds alternate training site.

Kansas City Monarchs

On February 10, 2021, Colón signed with the

Kansas City Monarchs The Kansas City Monarchs were the longest-running franchise in the history of baseball's Negro leagues. Operating in Kansas City, Missouri, and owned by J. L. Wilkinson, they were charter members of the Negro National League from 1920 to 1 ...

of the

American Association of 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 ...

Toronto Blue Jays

On April 24, 2021, Colón signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization. On December 5, 2021, Colón announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Coaching career

On January 4, 2022, Colón was hired to serve as the assistant hitting coach for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, the Double-A affiliate of his former team, the

Personal life

Colón and his wife, Kayla, have 3 daughters.

References

External links

Cal State Fullerton Titans bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colon, Christian 1989 births Living people Kansas City Royals players Miami Marlins players Cincinnati Reds players Cal State Fullerton Titans baseball players Wilmington Blue Rocks players Northwest Arkansas Naturals players Arizona League Royals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Surprise Saguaros players Leones de Ponce players People from Cayey, Puerto Rico Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico New Orleans Baby Cakes players Criollos de Caguas players Gwinnett Stripers players Las Vegas 51s players Louisville Bats players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players