Christopher Ryan Rowley (born August 14, 1990) is an American law student and former professional
baseball pitcher.
He played in
Major League Baseball (MLB) for the
Toronto Blue Jays. He is also a
first lieutenant in the
United States Army, assigned to the
Individual Ready Reserve (IRR). Upon his major-league debut in August 2017, Rowley became the first
West Point graduate to play in MLB.
High school and college
Rowley attended
South Forsyth High School
South Forsyth High School is a public high school, built in 1989, located in Cumming, Georgia, United States, a suburb northeast of Atlanta. It is one of eight public high schools in the Forsyth County School District, and serves students who li ...
in
Cumming, Georgia, where he set school records in
wins WINS may refer to:
*WINS (AM), an all-news radio station in New York City
*WINS-FM, a radio station in New York City
*World Institute for Nuclear Security
*Windows Internet Name Service
*WINS (solution stack), a set of software subsystems
*Wireles ...
,
earned run average (ERA), and
strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...
s.
After high school, Rowley was offered
college baseball scholarships by
Mercer University and the United States Military Academy (also called West Point). He chose the Military Academy over Mercer, as the
Army Black Knights
The Army Black Knights are the athletic teams that represent the United States Military Academy, located in West Point, New York. In sports contexts, since 2015, the teams are commonly referred to as Army. The Black Knights compete at the Nation ...
offered him a chance to
start
Start can refer to multiple topics:
*Takeoff, the phase of flight where an aircraft transitions from moving along the ground to flying through the air
* Starting lineup in sports
*Standing start, and rolling start, in an auto race
Acronyms
*St ...
games, while the
Mercer Bears wanted him in the
bullpen
In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...
, working as a
relief pitcher. In his first season with Army, he appeared in three games for the Black Knights and posted a 13.00 ERA in nine
innings pitched
In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...
.
The following year, Rowley pitched to a 5–4
win–loss record, 4.68 ERA, and 54 strikeouts in 73 total innings.
Rowley finished the 2012 campaign with an 11–1 record, which included six
complete game
In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...
s and five
shutouts, and added a 2.40 earned run average and 80 strikeouts in 97 innings. Following the season, he was named the
Patriot League
The Patriot League is a collegiate athletic conference comprising private institutions of higher education and two United States service academies based in the Northeastern United States. Outside the Ivy League, it is among the most selective gr ...
's Pitcher of the Year.
In his final season with the Black Knights, Rowley went 9–4 with a 2.67 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 97 innings pitched.
Professional career
Toronto Blue Jays
Minor leagues and military
Undrafted after graduation, Rowley was invited by the
Toronto Blue Jays to play for the
Gulf Coast League Blue Jays for the remainder of the 2013 season, after which he would begin his five-year
active duty obligation to the
United States Army.
In nine games played, he pitched to a 4–0 record, 1.10 ERA, and 39 strikeouts in 32 innings.
Rowley began his military service assigned to
Fort Sill
Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost .
The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, and was later assigned to
Bulgaria and
Romania as a
Field Artillery
Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement.
Until the early 20t ...
fire support officer.
While assigned to Bulgaria for
Operation Atlantic Resolve
Operation Atlantic Resolve, though not a "named" operation, refers to military activities in response to Russian operations in Ukraine; mainly the War in Donbass. It was funded under the European Deterrence Initiative. In the wake of Russia's 201 ...
,
first lieutenant Rowley pitched to his company's senior medic to keep his arm in shape. After serving 30 months in the military, Rowley's application for an exception to the remainder of his commitment was approved on January 22, 2016, and he was assigned to Individual Ready Reserve.
He played the entire year with the
Advanced-A Dunedin Blue Jays
The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...
, and posted a 10–3 win–loss record, 3.49 ERA, and 86 strikeouts in a career-high 123 innings.
He was assigned to the
Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats to begin the 2017 season, and earned a promotion to the
Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on June 19. Rowley initially pitched out of the bullpen for Buffalo, and joined the starting rotation on July 4.
Major Leagues
On August 12, 2017, Rowley was called up from Triple-A Buffalo to start against the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. He pitched 5 innings and allowed a single run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts, and earned the
win in the 7–2 victory. In his rookie season, Rowley recorded a 6.75 ERA and 1–2 record in 6 games. Rowley was outrighted off the 40-man roster on November 20, 2017. On January 24, 2018, the Blue Jays invited him to spring training as a non-roster invitee. He did not make the club and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo to begin the year. Rowley was added to the active roster on July 14, 2018. In two games for Toronto in 2018, Rowley allowed four runs in innings pitched.
Texas Rangers
On July 23, 2018, Rowley was claimed off waivers by the
Texas Rangers. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple-A
Round Rock Express
The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...
, logging a 2–3 record and 3.46 ERA in 7 games. On September 10, Rowley was outrighted off of the 40-man roster. He declared free agency on October 5, 2018.
San Diego Padres
On February 28, 2019, Rowley signed a minor league contract with the
San Diego Padres organization. He was assigned to the Triple-A
El Paso Chihuahuas, where he pitched to a 11.02 ERA in 16.1 innings of work, missing much of the year due to injury. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.
Minnesota Twins
On January 28, 2020, Rowley signed a minor league contract with the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
organization. Rowley did not play in a game in 2020 due to a career-ending shoulder injury and the cancellation of the minor league season because of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
He became a free agent on November 2, 2020.
Law School
During the cancelled 2020 minor league season, during which minor league contracts were voided and players were not paid, Rowley grew frustrated with the labor conditions and lack of collective bargaining for minor league players.
Rowley began work in the minor league grassroots labor movement with Advocates for Minor Leaguers, a nonprofit formed to help players attain a "collective voice," and subsequently enrolled in the
University of Colorado Law School. While there, he was awarded the Michael Weiner Scholarship for Labor Studies.
Publications
Following minor league players' unionization in September 2022,
Rowley authored a
law review article on the labor relationship in Minor League Baseball; the article, titled "It’s Past Time: Unionization and Labor Management in Minor League Baseball," is forthcoming in the University of Colorado Law Review.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Chris
1990 births
Living people
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Army Black Knights baseball players
Baseball players from Atlanta
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Dunedin Blue Jays players
El Paso Chihuahuas players
Gulf Coast Blue Jays players
Major League Baseball pitchers
New Hampshire Fisher Cats players
Round Rock Express players
Toronto Blue Jays players
United States Army officers
United States Military Academy alumni