Christopher Andrew Valaika (born August 14, 1985) is an American former professional

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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and current coach who is the

hitting coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the

Cleveland Guardians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

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), ...

(MLB). He played in

(MLB) for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

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 ...

. He was formerly an assistant hitting coach for the Cubs.

Before professional baseball

Born to father Jeffrey Valaika and mother Ilona, Chris Valaika is the oldest son of 5 children. He is an American of Lithuanian descent. Valaika attended Hart High School in Santa Clarita, CA, and also attended college at the

University of California-Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the Un ...

. He was a member of the U.S. National Team, and won the silver medal at the U-18 Pan Am Cup in Curacao-

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

and the gold medal at the 2004 World University Baseball Championship in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

Professional baseball

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds drafted Valaika in the third round of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, and he started his pro career with the rookie class

Billings Mustangs The Billings Mustangs are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Billings, Montana, and have played their home games at Dehler ...

. Chris hit .324 with 22 doubles and eight home runs with the Mustangs, and led the Pioneer League in total bases (143)and hits (89); was second in runs scored (58), RBI (60), and games played (70); and third in extra-base hits (34) and at-bats (275). He compiled a Pioneer League record 32-game hit streak, longest in the Minor Leagues in 2006. Valaika started 2007 with the low A

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. In 2 ...

, where he had two 11-game hit streaks. He was Reds' Minor League player of the month for April. His play earned him the starting shortstop for the East Division in the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

All-Star game, as well as a spot on the ML's postseason All-Star team. He was promoted to high-A Sarasota on July 4, where he batted .253 with two home runs and 23 RBI in 57 games. Chris Valaika 2009

Valaika spent 2008 with Sarasota and the Class AA Chattanooga Lookouts. In a combined 129 games, he batted .317 with 18 HR, 82 RBI, and nine stolen bases. He led all Reds minor leaguers in average and was second in RBI. His performance once again earned him Reds' Minor League player of the month for April. He played for the U.S. in the 2008

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 ...

, and was a mid-season

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

All-Star. He had an 18-game hit streak, which was second longest in the Southern League. Valaika received the

Chief Bender Charles Albert "Chief" Bender (May 5, 1884There is uncertainty about Bender's birth-date. He was voted the SABR "Centennial Celebrity" of 1983, as the best baseball player or figure born in 1883. However, the SABR ''Baseball Research Journal'' fo ...

Award for Reds' Minor League Player of the Year in 2008. He played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .311 with two doubles, a triple, seven home runs, and 16 RBI in 32 games. On November 20, 2009 the Reds added Valaika to their 40-man roster to avoid the Rule 5 Draft. Valaika made his Major League debut on August 24, 2010. In his first career at-bat, Valaika got his first Major League hit - a single off of

Santiago Casilla Santiago Casilla (born July 25, 1980) is a Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2004 to 2018 for the Oakland Athletics and San Francisco Giants. Casilla threw four pitches: a fastba ...

- on the first pitch he saw. Valaika was also called up for a brief stint with the Reds in 2011 to fill in for the injured Scott Rolen.

Miami Marlins

In 2013, Valaika was one of several

players verbally assaulted by

Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 t ...

, resulting in Martinez's resignation. When the organization considered promoting Valaika to the majors in August when

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a ...

was placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

, Marlins' owner Jeffrey Loria, who had handpicked Martinez, vetoed the transaction; the team promoted Gil Velasquez instead. With the New Orleans Zephyrs, he hit .235, with 7 doubles, 4 homers, 15 RBIs, and 1 stolen base. Before his wrist injury, he played 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, and shortstop for the Marlins. He hit .219, with 5 doubles, 1 homer, 9 RBIs, and no stolen bases when he was up with the Marlins. He became a free agent on October 1, 2013.

Chicago Cubs

On November 17, 2013, Valaika agreed to a minor-league deal with an invitation to Spring Training with the Chicago Cubs. Valaika would add depth to third base along with minor-league invitee

Mat Gamel Mathew Lawrence Gamel (born July 26, 1985) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers across the 2008 through 2012 seasons. Once considered among the best prospects in ...

. On August 1, 2014, Valaika was called up to the Cubs in the wake of the team trading Emilio Bonifacio and James Russell to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. On August 20, 2014, Valaika hit his first home run as a member of the Chicago Cubs. After the season, he was outrighted off the roster. He re-signed with the Cubs after the season.

Personal

Valaika's younger brother,

Pat Valaika Patrick Ryne Valaika (born September 9, 1992) is an American professional baseball infielder in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies and Baltimore Orioles. Career Amateur car ...

, played for 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 ...

and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Valaika, Chris 1985 births Living people Cincinnati Reds players Miami Marlins players Chicago Cubs players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players Billings Mustangs players Sarasota Reds players Dayton Dragons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Louisville Bats players Arizona League Reds players North Shore Honu players Peoria Javelinas players Jupiter Hammerheads players New Orleans Zephyrs players Iowa Cubs players