Christopher Odell Gissell (born January 4, 1978) is an American retired

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 ...

player. A

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 ...

, 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), ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

, and the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

Career

Gissell graduated from

Hudson's Bay High School Hudson's Bay High School is a public high school in the Central Park area of Vancouver, Washington, and is part of Vancouver Public Schools. It was founded in 1955 and was named after the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), as Fort Vancouver had been chos ...

in Vancouver, Washington. He was named the Washington State High School Player of the Year following his senior season. He entered the 1996 Major League Baseball draft and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

selected him in the 4th round as the 112th overall pick. From to , Gissell played in the Cubs minor league system, reaching Triple-A in 2002 and never played for the Cubs. Gissell was primarily a starter, with a few

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

appearances here and there. He became a minor league free agent after the 2002 season. On November 7, 2002, he signed a minor league contract with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

that included an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. After being reassigned to minor league camp on March 14, 2003, he was cut 15 days later by the Astros on March 29. The

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

then signed him to a minor league contract on April 3, 2003. He would then go on to spend the whole season with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, posting an 8-4 record with a 3.55

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

in 38 games that included 10 starts. On August 2, 2003, Gissell combined with Jesus Sanchez to throw a no-hitter for the Sky Sox against the Nashville Sounds, 3-0, at Herschel Greer Stadium in Nashville (Gissell 7 IP, Sanchez 2 IP). On October 15, 2003, he became a minor league free agent. On December 19, 2003, he signed a minor league contract with the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

that included an invitation to

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He did not make the major league club and was sent to Triple-A Fresno. The Giants released him on April 7, 2004, without ever getting into a game for the Grizzlies. A month later, on May 12, 2004, the Rockies signed him again to a minor league contract and sent him to Triple-A. He posted an excellent season for the Sky Sox, leading the

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

with 14 wins, despite making 16 relief appearances and only 8 starts. His contract was purchased by the Rockies on August 19, 2004. On August 22, 2004, he made his major league debut against the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

. He pitched 2 innings in relief, giving up a solo home run only to Juan Rivera. After making another relief appearance, he was optioned to Triple-A on August 27, 2004. He would be called up again in September on the 7th when rosters expanded and finished out the season with the Rockies. He ended up pitching in 5 games, made 1 start, and had a 0-1 record with a 14.54 ERA. Gissell became a free agent after the season. On January 12, 2005, Gissell signed a minor league contract with an invitation to Spring training with the St. Louis Cardinals. He did not make the team and was assigned to Triple-A Memphis, where he spent the entire 2005 season. Pitching in 23 games (all starts), he had an 8-8 record with a 3.54 ERA. After the season, he became a free agent and from there went to play baseball in Japan. From -, Gissell played for the Seibu Lions in the

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. Gissell returned to Major League Baseball on November 20, 2007, when he signed a minor league contract that included an invitation to spring training with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed with the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

of the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He will be the pitching coach for the

Orem Owlz The Orem Owlz were a Minor League Baseball team located in Orem, Utah, United States, from 2001 to 2020. The team competed in the Pioneer League as a Rookie League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. The Owlz played their home games at Home o ...

for the 2013 season. The Owlz are the short season A team for the

LA Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

References

External links

Japanese Baseball profileMLB.com Player ProfileESPN.com Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gissell, Chris 1978 births American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan American expatriate baseball players in Japan Living people Baseball players from Tacoma, Washington Colorado Rockies players Seibu Lions players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Vancouver, Washington Gulf Coast Cubs players Rockford Cubbies players Daytona Cubs players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Iowa Cubs players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Memphis Redbirds players Sacramento River Cats players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players