Keith Michael Ginter (born May 5, 1976) 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 ...
infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base.
Standard arrangement of positions
In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...
. Ginter is a graduate of
Fullerton Union High School in
Fullerton, California
Fullerton ( ) is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 143,617.
Fullerton was founded in 1887. It secured the land on behalf of the Atchison, Topeka and S ...
.
College
Ginter attended and played baseball at
Cypress College
Cypress College is a public community college in Cypress, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and belongs to the North Orange County Community College District. It offers a variety of general education (55 associat ...
before transferring to
Texas Tech University
Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public university, public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship instit ...
. During his two years at Texas Tech University, Ginter was a two-time All-American and helped the
Red Raiders in NCAA Regional action.
Professional career
Ginter was drafted by the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
in the 10th Round of the 1998 amateur entry draft and began his professional career playing for the
Auburn Doubledays
The Auburn Doubledays are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) that is located in Auburn, New York. From 1958 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's New York–Penn League (NYPL) ...
of the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
and made his first major league appearance playing for the Astros on September 20, 2000.
In September 2002, Ginter was traded along with
Wayne Franklin
Gary Wayne Franklin (born March 9, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played seven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros (2000-2001), Milwaukee Brewers (2002-2003), San Francisco Giants (2004), N ...
to
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 ...
for
Mark Loretta
Mark David Loretta (born August 14, 1971) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1995 and 2009 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox ...
and cash. Ginter played for the Brewers until December 2004 when he was traded to the
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 ...
for
Nelson Cruz
Nelson Ramón Cruz Martínez (born July 1, 1980), nicknamed "Boomstick", is a Dominican-American former professional baseball designated hitter and right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Ranger ...
and
Justin Lehr. During the 2004 season, Ginter had been named National League Player of the Week.
Ginter split the seasons between Oakland and the team's triple-A affiliate
Sacramento River Cats
The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...
, and spent the entire season at triple-A.
On January 2, 2007, he was signed by
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 ...
to a minor league contract and invited to spring training, but spent the entire season playing for the
Buffalo Bisons
The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...
.
On December 13, 2007, he was signed by
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 ...
to a minor league contract, and attended the team's spring training session but was assigned to the team's minor league camp on March 19, . He became a free agent at the end of the 2008 season and signed a minor league contract with the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
on January 6, 2009. He was released by the White Sox on March 15, 2010.
On April 26, 2010, he was signed by the
Orange County Flyers
The Fullerton Flyers were a professional baseball team based in Fullerton, California, in the United States. They were an independent franchise, not affiliated with either Major League Baseball ''or'' Minor League Baseball. The team played from 2 ...
of the independent
Golden Baseball League
The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico.
The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...
and was their starting
third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...
for the 2010 season.
He is not related to
Matt Ginter, a pitcher who pitched in the majors from 2000 to 2008.
Spring training incident
In spring training of , Ginter and five teammates from the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...
organization were in a player's hotel room with a female guest when two gunmen burst in, tied them up and robbed them. The gunmen then went to the next room where
Aaron Miles wrestled one of them to the ground while the other one fled. The other players involved were
Morgan Ensberg, Derrek Nicholson,
Mike Rose, and Eric Cole.
References
External links
Baseball Referenceminor league statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ginter, Keith
1976 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Norwalk, California
Baseball players from Los Angeles County, California
Major League Baseball second basemen
Major League Baseball third basemen
Auburn Doubledays players
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Charlotte Knights players
Cypress Chargers baseball players
Houston Astros players
Indianapolis Indians players
Jackson Generals (Texas League) players
Kissimmee Cobras players
Milwaukee Brewers players
New Orleans Zephyrs players
Oakland Athletics players
Orange County Flyers players
Pawtucket Red Sox players
Round Rock Express players
Sacramento River Cats players
Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball players
All-American college baseball players
Mat-Su Miners players
Fullerton Union High School alumni