Photo: Indianapolis Indians, Public Domain via Wikicommons<\/p><\/div>\n

Christmas\u2019 first brush with professional baseball came – on a less than happy note \u2013 with the Twins, who selected him in the 33^{rd<\/sup> 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).<\/p>\n}

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. \u00a0Converted from a corner infielder to a catcher, the 19-year-old Christmas got off to a merry start \u2013 hitting .306-6-30 for the A-Level Eugene Emeralds.<\/p>\n

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?)<\/p>\n

n a September 19 game in Minnesota, Christmas was called on to pinch hit for C Marc Hill<\/strong> with the game tied at three, two outs and two men on base.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

In December of 1984, Christmas was granted free agency by the White Sox \u2013 and then resigned by Chicago as a free agent month later. \u00a0The 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.\u00a0 It was his final professional season.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Primary Resources:\u00a0 Stathead.com; Baseball-Reference.com; “Off the Rubber; The Almost Unbelievable True Story of Steve Christmas,”<\/em> by Roger Cormier, BaseballProspectus.com<\/p>\n