Lonnie David Chisenhall (born October 4, 1988) 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 t ...

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and

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 c ...

. 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

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 Fi ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Indians in June 2011 while playing third base. Chisenhall transitioned to right field later in his career.

Amateur career

Chisenhall attended

West Carteret High School West Carteret High School is a public secondary school located in Morehead City, North Carolina on Country Club Road, and is part of the Carteret County Public Schools system. The school serves the student populations of Morehead City, Newport, A ...

Morehead City, North Carolina Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast. Hist ...

, graduating in 2006. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 11th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft but chose to attend the University of South Carolina. Chisenhall played for the South Carolina Gamecocks baseball team in his freshman year, but was dismissed from the team after being charged with breaking into a dorm room and stealing electronic equipment. He then transferred to Pitt Community College.

Professional career

Cleveland Indians

The

chose Chisenhall with the 29th overall pick in the

2008 MLB draft The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008. First round selections ;Key Supplemental first rou ...

. He played 68 games in 2008 for the Indians Class A Short Season Affiliate the

Mahoning Valley Scrappers The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River, and play their home games at Eastwood Field. From 1999 to 2020, they were ...

posting a .290 AVG with 5 HR and 45 RBI. In 2009 and 2010, he played with the AA

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

. On June 27, 2011, Chisenhall was promoted from the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Columbus Clippers, and went 2-for-4 in his major league debut 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 ...

. On July 6, 2011 Chisenhall hit his first major league home run off of

Boone Logan Boone Logan (born August 13, 1984) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, and Milwau ...

of the

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

. On July 7, 2011, Chisenhall was hit with a fastball thrown by

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 ...

pitcher Carlos Villanueva and had to leave the game with facial contusions. In 2012, he finished with a .260 batting average, 12 home runs, and 38 runs batted in. On May 13, 2013, Chisenhall was sent down to the

Columbus Clippers. He was recalled on May 18. On June 9, 2014, Chisenhall became the first player in MLB history to have 5 hits, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI in 5 plate appearances. He is no longer the only such player. On June 6, 2017,

Scooter Gennett Ryan Joseph "Scooter" Gennett (born May 1, 1990) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. On June 6, 2017, he became the 17th player ...

had a better performance with 5 hits, 4 home runs, and 10 RBI in 5 plate appearances. In 2015, Chisenhall started out as the Indians everyday third baseman. On June 10, after poor offensive output, Lonnie was again optioned to Cleveland's Class AAA Columbus Clippers. Giovanny Urshela was called on to play third base for the Indians. While in Columbus, Chisenhall transitioned to right field. On July 29, Chisenhall was recalled to the Indians roster. Called on as a full-time right fielder, his transition was deemed a success by many. In Game 2 of the

2017 American League Division Series The 2017 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series held to determine the participating teams in the 2017 American League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1-3) and a fourth team—the winner of a ...

, with the Indians down 8-3 in the 6th inning with two outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd against the

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

and the count 0-2 on Chisenhall, Yankees reliever Chad Green threw an inside pitch that grazed the bottom of Chisenhall's bat. The home plate umpire called it a hit by pitch, awarding Chisenhall 1st base and bringing up Indians slugger

Francisco Lindor Francisco Miguel Lindor Serrano (born November 14, 1993), nicknamed "Paquito" and "Mr. Smile", is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Cleveland Indian ...

with the bases loaded. Replay showed that the ball did not actually hit Chisenhall, but Yankees manager

Joe Girardi Joseph Elliott Girardi (born October 14, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Girardi played the catcher position for the Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and S ...

decided not to challenge the call. On the second pitch he saw, Lindor hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

to right field, bringing the Indians within a run. The Indians would go on to tie the game in the 8th and walk off in the 13th. He began the 2018 season on the disabled list and was activated on June 5, 2018. He was placed back on the disabled list less than a month later. Chisenhall became a free agent following the 2018 season.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 27, 2018, Chisenhall signed a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates worth $2.75 million. He was placed on the injured list at the end of Spring training after sustaining an injury to his finger. He never played a game for the Pirates. On February 21, 2020, Chisenhall announced his retirement from professional baseball.

Personal life

Chisenhall and his wife, Meredith, have two sons and one daughter.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisenhall, Lonnie 1988 births Living people Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball third basemen Cleveland Indians players Pitt Bulldogs baseball players South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players Mahoning Valley Scrappers players Kinston Indians players Akron Aeros players Columbus Clippers players People from Morehead City, North Carolina Indianapolis Indians players Akron RubberDucks players