Today seems like a pretty good day to reflect on the professional baseball career of former major leaguer Steve Christmas – a tale that intersects a couple of times with my hometown Minnesota Twins.
Photo: Indianapolis Indians, Public Domain via Wikicommons
Christmas’ first brush with professional baseball came – on a less than happy note – with the Twins, who selected him in the 33rd round of the 1975 MLB Draft (out of Colonial High School in Orlando). The Twins made an offer (reportedly a $2,500 bonus and $500 monthly salary) that Christmas found unacceptable (and maybe even a bit insulting).
So, it was on to Oklahoma City Southwestern College and Southwestern Oklahoma State University before a 1977 tryout with the Reds earned him an acceptable offer. Converted from a corner infielder to a catcher, the 19-year-old Christmas got off to a merry start – hitting .306-6-30 for the A-Level Eugene Emeralds.
By 1982, he had honed his catching skills and worked his way up to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, were he hit .306-7-37 in 85 games. In 1983, having another solid year at Triple-A (.271-6-38) earned him a September call up to the Reds, where he went 1-for 17 in nine games. Following the season, he was traded to the White Sox and, in 1984, he spent most of the season with the Triple-A Denver Zephyrs (.278-4-29 in 74 games). He did get into a dozen MLB games for the ChiSox (three in June and nine in September) and went four-for-eleven (.364), with a home run and four RBI. Ironically, Christmas’ first (and only) MLB home run came against the Twins. (Remember those intersections I mentioned earlier?)
n a September 19 game in Minnesota, Christmas was called on to pinch hit for C Marc Hill with the game tied at three, two outs and two men on base. Christmas delivered a three-run home run and the ChiSox went on to a 7-3 win. Ah, sweet payback for those 1975 negotiations. It was not only his only MLB home run, but accounted for three of his seven MLB career RBI.
In December of 1984, Christmas was granted free agency by the White Sox – and then resigned by Chicago as a free agent month later. The White Sox sent him back to the minors for 1985, where he hit .298-16-56 in 127 games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons. He was released in October and signed with the Cubs, where he went one-for-nine in three April 1986 games and .300-4-25 in 62 games for the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. It was his final professional season.
Christmas’ professional career: ten minor-league seasons (.274-72-401 in 942 games); three MLB seasons (.162-1-7 in 24 games). The key fact – Christmas was gifted enough and gritty enough to reach the major leagues.
Primary Resources: Stathead.com; Baseball-Reference.com; “Off the Rubber; The Almost Unbelievable True Story of Steve Christmas,” by Roger Cormier, BaseballProspectus.com
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