Colin Benedict Curtis (born February 1, 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 ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. In 2010, he played for 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 ...

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).

Amateur career

Curtis attended

Issaquah High School Issaquah High School (also known as IHS or Issaquah) is a four-year public secondary school in Issaquah, Washington, United States, a suburb east of Seattle. It is one of three high schools in the Issaquah School District and serves students in ...

, where he played baseball for the school. As a freshman, in 2000, Issaquah won the Class 3A state championship. Curtis was named to the All-

King County King County is located in the U.S. state of Washington. The population was 2,269,675 in the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Washington, and the 13th-most populous in the United States. The county seat is Seattle, also the st ...

Class 3A team in 2001, 2002, and 2003. He was named to the All-State team in 2002 and 2003. Curtis was chosen in the 50th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by 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 ...

, but he did not sign, choosing to attend

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Arizona State Sun Devils baseball The Arizona State Sun Devils baseball program at the Arizona State University (ASU) is part of the Pac-12 Conference. Since it became a member of the Pac-12, it had the highest winning percentage, at .681, of all schools that participate in Divi ...

team. In 2004 and 2005, he played

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 ...

for the Orleans Cardinals of 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 ...

, and was named the MVP of the East division team at the league's annual all-star game in 2005.

Professional career

New York Yankees (2006–2012)

The

selected Curtis in the fourth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. That year, he hit .302 in 44 games with the Staten Island Yankees of Short Season A-ball. In 2007, Curtis hit .298 with five home runs and 26 RBI in 65 games with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

in High-A. He finished the year in Double-A with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

. Curtis repeated Double-A in 2008, hitting .255 with 10 home runs, 20 doubles, three triples and 71 RBI over 132 games. He reached Triple-A in 2009, but struggled when he hit .235 with six home runs and 29 RBI in 70 games for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. After the season, Curtis played in the Arizona Fall League. He had a strong showing in spring training before the 2010 season, going 6-for-12 with two home runs in eight RBI. Curtis was called up to the major leagues on June 21, 2010. That night, he made his major league debut by pinch hitting for

A. J. Burnett Allan James Burnett (born January 3, 1977), is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia ...

in the 5th inning. On June 22, Curtis recorded his first major league hit, a double off of

Chad Qualls Chad Michael Qualls (born August 17, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Rays, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, New Yor ...

of the Arizona Diamondbacks. On July 21, he hit his first career home run against

Scot Shields Robert Scot Shields (born July 22, 1975) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played his entire baseball career with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was the last member of the Anaheim ...

of the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 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 ...

. He was pinch hitting for

Brett Gardner Brett Michael Gardner (born August 24, 1983) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Gardner was a walk-on for the College of Charleston's base ...

, who was ejected while batting with an 0–2 count in the bottom of the seventh inning. On July 31, Curtis was optioned back to Triple-A following the acquisition of outfielder Austin Kearns. He was promoted again on September 6. In 2011, Curtis dislocated his shoulder making a catch in spring training. After an initial attempt to rehab the injury, he underwent surgery in April and missed the entire season. He was designated for assignment in the offseason. In 2012, the Yankees invited Curtis to big league spring training as a non-roster invitee. He was released by the Yankees on August 1.

Somerset Patriots (2012)

Curtis signed with the Somerset Patriots of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

a few days after he was released by the Yankees.

Personal

During his freshman year of high school, at the age of 15, Curtis was diagnosed with

testicular cancer Testicular cancer is cancer that develops in the testicles, a part of the male reproductive system. Symptoms may include a lump in the testicle, or swelling or pain in the scrotum. Treatment may result in infertility. Risk factors include an u ...

. It spread to the veins in his stomach and around his lymph nodes. The treatment involved surgery to remove the tumor and parts of the affected veins and regular blood tests. While battling the disease, fellow testicular

cancer survivor A cancer survivor is a person with cancer of any type who is still living. Whether a person becomes a survivor at the time of diagnosis or after completing treatment, whether people who are actively dying are considered survivors, and whether ...

Lance Armstrong gave him an autographed book.

References

External links

Baseball America profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Colin 1985 births Living people New York Yankees players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Orleans Firebirds players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders People from Issaquah, Washington Gulf Coast Yankees players Staten Island Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Tampa Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Somerset Patriots players Baseball players from King County, Washington