Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. (pronounced ) (November 16, 1932 – January 31, 2002) was an American

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

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), ...

. He appeared in 502 games over all or parts of ten seasons between and for 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 ...

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

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 ...

. Chiti batted and threw right-handed, and was listed as tall and . Born in

Kincaid, Illinois Kincaid is a village in Christian County, Illinois. The population was 1,349 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Kincaid has a total area of , all land. The village is located near Sangchris Lake. Demograp ...

, he was the father of major league

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 ...

Dom Chiti Harry Dominic Chiti (born December 10, 1958 in Independence, Missouri) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, scout and farm system official. In Major League Baseball, he has worked as bullpen coach of the Cleveland Indians, Ba ...

Career

A competent defensive catcher with a great ability to handle the

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...

, Chiti was 17 years old when he broke into the majors with the Chicago Cubs in September 1950, and he made infrequent appearances in

MLB 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), ...

from 1950 to 1952 as he learned his trade in the Cubs'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

. After two years in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Chiti returned to Chicago and handled the starting job in 1955,

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.231 with 11

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 and 41 RBI in a career-high 113

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. In 1956, Chiti shared catching duties with

Hobie Landrith Hobart Neal Landrith (born March 16, 1930) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1950 through 1963 for the Cincinnati Reds/Redlegs, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Cardinals, San Franci ...

. On May 30 (Memorial Day) he made an entry for himself in Cubs trivia, during the second game of a windblown doubleheader against the

Milwaukee 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) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

, in which 39 runs were scored overall. While being intentionally walked, Chiti hit

Ray Crone Raymond Hayes Crone (born August 7, 1931) is a retired American professional baseball player and scout. In his playing days, he was a right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Braves from 1954 to 1957 and the New ...

's pitch, delivered a little too close to the outside corner of the plate, into the right field corner for a triple. At season's end, he was sent to the 1956 World Series champion

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 ...

but never saw any action with the Bronx Bombers. He was drafted by the

from New York in the 1957 Rule 5 draft. Chiti played with the Athletics from 1958 to 1960. The next three years, he was part of transactions between the A's, Detroit Tigers,

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 ...

and

Cleveland Indians 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

. On April 25, 1962—before he played a game for the Indians—Chiti was acquired by the expansion New York Mets for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

. However, he was sent ''back'' to the Indians on June 15, 1962, after 15 games and a .195 batting average.CNN/Sports Illustrated
"Worst Individual Seasons By a Team-1962 New York Mets" Chiti was the "player to be named later"; he became the first MLB player to be traded for himself. Three other players have been traded for themselves:

Dickie Noles Dickie Ray Noles (born November 19, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and the Baltimore Orioles between 1979 and 1990. He bat ...

Brad Gulden Bradley Lee Gulden (born June 10, 1956) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1978 to 1986 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Montreal Expos, ...

, and John McDonald. Chiti never played another major league game, spending two more years at Triple-A before retiring in 1964. Harry Chiti died on January 31, 2002, at Heart of Florida Hospital in

Haines City Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan S ...

, at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife Catherine; his daughter Cindy; his son Dom; and eight grandchildren. He is buried at Rolling Hills Cemetery in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

References

External links

Harry Chiti
- Baseballbiography.com
Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiti, Harry 1932 births 2002 deaths United States Army personnel of the Korean War Baseball players from Illinois Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Chicago Cubs players Denver Bears players Des Moines Bruins players Detroit Tigers players Indios de Oriente players Jacksonville Suns players Kansas City Athletics players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers Major League Baseball catchers New York Mets players People from Christian County, Illinois Richmond Virginians (minor league) players Rochester Red Wings players Springfield Cubs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players