Christopher Ryan Getz (born August 30, 1983) is an American 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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

second baseman who 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), ...

for 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

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 expans ...

and

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 ...

. Getz currently serves as the assistant general manager/player development for the

Early life

Getz was born in the

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

suburb of

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...

, and was raised in

Grosse Pointe Grosse Pointe refers to an affluent coastal area next to Detroit, Michigan, United States, that comprises five adjacent individual cities. From southwest to northeast, they are: *Grosse Pointe Park *Grosse Pointe *Grosse Pointe Farms *Grosse Poi ...

, Michigan by Art and Betsy Getz. He attended

Grosse Pointe South High School Grosse Pointe South High School is a public high school of state and national historical significance serving the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe. Originally known as Grosse Pointe High School when it opened in 1928, the school adopted its curr ...

('South'), where he was a three-time All-Michigan selection in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

and holds the South career records for

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 ...

(.465), doubles,

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s, walks, and saves. Getz was a member of South's State Championship baseball team during his junior year. He shared the title of "Michigan's Mr. Baseball" in 2002 and also lettered in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

. Getz was drafted in the sixth round (180th overall) of the

2002 MLB draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

by the Chicago White Sox, but opted to play baseball at

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

where his father had attended college. Getz transferred to the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

to play baseball after just one season. He holds the single season

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

records for

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, hits, and was an All Big Ten Selection in and . Getz also was a player in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

(CCBL), a premier

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

league for major league prospects. In 2003 and 2004, Getz played for the CCBL's Chatham A's, now known as the

Chatham Anglers The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in t ...

, and was named a league all-star in 2004.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Getz was again selected by the White Sox in the fourth round (125th overall) of the 2005 MLB draft. In 2005, he played six games for the

Great Falls White Sox Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, the Sox rookie league affiliate, batting .333 with 4 RBI. He was later promoted to the Single-A

Kannapolis Intimidators Kannapolis () is a city in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, Cabarrus and Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan counties, in the U.S. state of North Carolina, northwest of Concord, North Carolina, Concord and northeast of Charlotte, North Carolina, ...

, where he played in 55 games and batted .307 with a home run and 28 RBI. In , Getz played in 130 games for the Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, and hit .256 with two home runs and 36 RBI. Limited by injury, Getz played in just 72 games for Birmingham during the season, batting .299 with three home runs and 29 RBI. In 2008, Getz was named to the

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League ...

, then was called up to the White Sox on August 10, . He made his major league debut against the

on August 12, where he recorded his first hit and RBI off Royals

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Josh Newman Joshua Paul Newman (born June 11, 1982) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He played parts of and for the Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals. Biography A native of Wheelersburg, Ohio, Newman played college baseba ...

in his one and only

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

during the eighth inning. The next day, he had his first Major League start, replacing

Alexei Ramírez Alexei Fernando Ramírez Rodriguez (born September 22, 1981) is a Cuban former professional baseball shortstop. He has played for the Chicago White Sox, San Diego Padres and Tampa Bay Rays in MLB and Pinar del Rio of the Cuban National Serie ...

at second base. He went 1-for-3 with a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

. With Ramirez moving over to shortstop for the season, White Sox manager

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

announced Getz had won the starting role at second base out of spring training. In 2009, Getz ranked tied for first among AL rookies in multi-hit games (28) and 92.6 stolen base percentage (25-for-27) led the league. After the season, he was named 2009 Topps All-Star Rookie Roster.

Kansas City Royals

Getz was traded to the

on November 6, 2009 along with Josh Fields for

Mark Teahen Mark Thomas Teahen (born September 6, 1981) is an American-Canadian former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. He graduated from Yucaip ...

. His career with the Royals was riddled with injuries. He played only 72 games during the 2010 season due first to a strained oblique muscle, and then later due to a concussion after being hit in the head with a baseball. In those games, Getz batted .255 with 18 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He fared somewhat better in 2011, appearing in 118 games and posting a .255 batting average, 26 RBI and 21 stolen bases. During the 2012 season, Getz made three separate trips to the disabled list, first in May with a bruised ribcage, then in June with a lateral strain of the left leg, and finally in August with a broken left thumb. The last injury required surgery, ending his season. Despite the injury history, the Royals signed Getz to a one-year contract on November 30, 2012. The base contract for 2013 was for $1.05 million, with additional performance bonuses totalling $150,000. Getz was optioned to the Triple-A

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 ...

in June 2013 after starting the season batting .214 with a home run and 12 RBI. Jarrod Dyson was called down up to replace him. Getz was later recalled on July 18. The Royals did not tender him a contract for 2014 and he became a free agent on December 2, 2013.

Toronto Blue Jays

On January 16, 2014, Getz signed a minor-league contract with the

. He was sent to minor league camp on March 24, 2014. Getz started the 2014 season with the Triple-A

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 ...

. He was brought up to Toronto on April 29, and designated for assignment on May 11. Getz cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo on May 13, 2014. On May 16, 2014, Getz announced his retirement from baseball. He batted .160 in 10 games played for the Blue Jays in 2014.

Personal life

His wife, Nicole "Nicky" Getz, was a contestant on

The Amazing Race 23 ''The Amazing Race 23'' is the twenty-third season of the American reality television show ''The Amazing Race''. It featured eleven teams of two competing in a race around the world. The season premiered on CBS on September 29, 2013, and the two ...

, where she was teamed up with

David DeJesus David Christopher DeJesus (; born December 20, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Washington Nationals, Tampa Bay Ray ...

' wife, Kim.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Getz, Chris 1983 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Michigan Birmingham Barons players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Charlotte Knights players Chatham Anglers players Chicago White Sox players Great Falls White Sox players Kannapolis Intimidators players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Michigan Wolverines baseball players Omaha Royals players Omaha Storm Chasers players Sportspeople from Southfield, Michigan Toronto Blue Jays players Wake Forest Demon Deacons baseball players