Christopher Michael Woodward (born June 27, 1976) 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 ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

. 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), ...

(MLB) for the

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 ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

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 ...

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, from 1999 through 2012. He then served as a coach for the Mariners and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, from 2014 through 2018 and managed the Texas Rangers from 2019 to 2022. He is currently a special assistant and roving instructor for the Dodgers.

Baseball career

Amateur career

Woodward attended Northview High School in

Covina, California Covina is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, about east of downtown Los Angeles, in the San Gabriel Valley. The population was 51,268 according to the 2020 census, up from 47,796 at the 2010 census. The city's slogan, " ...

, and

Mt. San Antonio College Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is a public community college in southern California, located in Walnut in eastern Los Angeles County. It offers more than 260 degree and certificate programs, 25 support programs, and more than 50 studen ...

Toronto Blue Jays

The

selected Woodward in the 54th round of the

1994 Major League Baseball draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players *Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not ...

. He made his major league debut on June 7, 1999, hitting a

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

in an 8–2 loss to the

. From 2002 through 2004, Woodward was the starting

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

in about half of Toronto's games. On August 7, 2002, he achieved a rare feat by hitting three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s in one game as a shortstop (the first as a Blue Jay and the 15th overall). After an injury-plagued and difficult offensive season in 2004, the Blue Jays released him.

New York Mets

In 2005, Woodward signed with the

. Woodward was the epitome of flexibility, playing at seven different positions including the entire infield and performing well off the bench and as a starter and even managed two game-winning hits. In 2006, he struggled with injuries and the Mets chose not to re-sign him.

Atlanta Braves

On December 20, 2006, Woodward agreed to a one-year deal with the

. He went through a huge down season in Atlanta however, hitting an MLB-position player worst .199 with one home run.

Yankees, Phillies, and Brewers

On February 8, 2008, Woodward signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

then was released on March 26 and signed with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

on March 28, 2008, where he was assigned to the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate, the

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. On May 2, 2008, Woodward was released. He signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers on May 31, 2008, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. He became a free agent following the season.

Seattle Mariners

Woodward signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

with the

in 2009. On June 19, 2009, Woodward was called up from the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

after second baseman José López was placed on the

bereavement list Major League Baseball transactions are changes made to the roster of a major league team during or after the season. They may include waiving, releasing, and trading players, as well as assigning players to minor league teams. Active, expanded, a ...

. He made his debut for the Mariners that night, in their 4–3 win against the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, he was 2 for 4 in that game with a stolen base and a run scored. On August 4, Woodward was designated for assignment to make way for

Adrián Beltré Adrián Beltré Pérez (born April 7, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball third baseman. During his career, Beltré played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers ...

who was activated from the 15-day disabled list the same day. He hit .299 with 52 hits, 12 doubles, one

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * ...

, one

, 15

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs) and four

stolen bases 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 ...

in 51 games with the Triple-A Rainiers. With the Mariners he hit .239 with one double and five RBIs in 20 games.

Boston Red Sox

On August 7, Woodward was claimed off waivers by the

only to be designated for assignment eight days later on August 15, due to the acquisition of Álex González. He was later optioned to the Triple-A

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

and would be called up in September when rosters expanded.

Second stint with the Mariners

Woodward and the Seattle Mariners reached an agreement on a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training on January 6, 2010.

Second stint with the Blue Jays

On March 14, 2011, Woodward signed a minor league contract with the

. Woodward was called up by the Blue Jays organization on April 21, 2011. He was outrighted to the minors on April 28. He returned to the team on September 4 for the remainder of the season. For the season, he was hitless and did not reach base in ten at bats. He was named a 2011 MILB.COM Toronto Organization All Star, after batting 296/.353/.474 with 13 home runs in 422 at bats in AAA for the Las Vegas 51s. He became a free agent after the season, and re-signed to a minor league contract for 2012 by the Toronto Blue Jays, who invited him to spring training. On April 3, Woodward was assigned to the Las Vegas 51s. With them, in 2012 he batted .285/.338/.392 with 2 home runs, 34 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases in 309 at bats.

Coaching and managing career

20170718 Dodgers-WhiteSox Cody Bellinger with third base coach Chris Woodward

Seattle Mariners

Woodward retired on November 1, 2012 and joined the

organization as minor league infield coordinator. He became the Mariners' infield coach in 2014, and served as the Mariners first base coach in 2015, but opted not to return for the 2016 season after manager

Lloyd McClendon Lloyd Glenn McClendon (born January 11, 1959) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1987 to 1994 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners and the ...

was fired.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On December 17, 2015, he was named the third base coach for the

. He spent the 2016 through 2018 seasons in that position. Woodward managed

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

qualification tournament in Australia in 2016. Woodward interviewed for the

manager position after the 2017 season, which eventually went to

Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player, ...

Texas Rangers

On November 2, 2018, Woodward agreed to a three-year contract to be the manager of the Texas Rangers beginning with the 2019 season. On March 24, 2021, the Rangers exercised Woodward's option for the 2022 season. On November 19, 2021, the Rangers signed Woodward to a contract extension through the 2023 season, with a club option for 2024. The Rangers fired Woodward on August 15, 2022.

Dodgers front office

Prior to the 2023 season, Woodward was hired by the Dodgers as a special assistant in the front office as well as a roving infield instructor for their organization.

Managerial record

Personal life

Woodward is married to Erin Woodward, with whom he has three children. He met his wife, a native of

Aurora, Ontario Aurora ( 2021 population: 62,057) is a town in central York Region in the Greater Toronto Area, within the Golden Horseshoe of Southern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of the City of Richmond Hill and is partially situated on the Oak Ridges ...

, while playing with the Toronto Blue Jays. He resides in Chandler, Arizona. In 2004, Woodward was featured in an episode of '' Degrassi: The Next Generation''."Rock & Roll High School"

References

External links

Chris Woodward
at Baseball Almanac
Chris Woodward
at Ultimate Mets Database * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woodward, Chris 1976 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Atlanta Braves players Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Dunedin Blue Jays players Hagerstown Suns players Knoxville Smokies players Las Vegas 51s players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Los Angeles Dodgers coaches Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Medicine Hat Blue Jays players Mt. SAC Mounties baseball players Nashville Sounds players New York Mets players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Covina, California People from Palm Harbor, Florida Seattle Mariners coaches Seattle Mariners players Sportspeople from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from the Tampa Bay area Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers managers Toronto Blue Jays players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Venados de Mazatlán players