| Position | Third baseman / Second baseman / Left fielder |
|---|---|
| Birth date | January 19, 1973 (age 53) |
| Birth place | Queens, New York, U.S. |
| Bats | Right |
| Throws | Right |
| Debutleague | MLB |
| Debutdate | May 19 |
| Debutyear | 1995 |
| Debutteam | Kansas City Royals |
| Finalleague | MLB |
| Finaldate | July 30 |
| Finalyear | 2004 |
| Finalteam | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| Statleague | MLB |
| Stat1label | Batting average |
| Stat1value | .275 |
| Stat2label | Home runs |
| Stat2value | 51 |
| Stat3label | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value | 265 |
| Teams |
Christopher Desmond Stynes (born January 19, 1973) is an American former Major League Baseball utility player.[1]
Early life
Christopher Desmond Stynes was born in Queens, New York, and attended Boca Raton Community High School in Florida.[2] He attended Florida Atlantic University.[3]
His grandfather Joe Stynes won the 1923 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship; his cousin Jim Stynes was a legend for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League.[4]
Career
Among the Minor League Baseball teams that he played for was the Knoxville Smokies.[5][6]
He played in the majors from 1995 to 2004 for the Kansas City Royals,[1] Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles.[1]
Noted for his base-running speed, he managed to steal 3 consecutive bases in a single inning (second, third and then home-plate) while a member of the Kansas City Royals on May 12, , during an 8–5 win against the Seattle Mariners.[7]
In the 1997 season, Stynes had 7 hits in his first 7 at bats, setting an MLB record for most consecutive hits to start a season. The record was broken in 2021 by Yermín Mercedes, who went 8-for-8 to start the 2021 season.[8]
Stynes missed nearly a month of play during the 2001 season[9] after a pitch from Aaron Sele hit Stynes in the cheek, breaking the cheekbone in two places.[10]
References
- ^ Pete Palmer; Gary Gillette; Stuart Shea. The ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia. Sterling Publishing Company; 1 February 2006. ISBN 978-1-4027-3625-4. p. 680.
- ^ "Chris Stynes Trades and Transactions". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
- ^ "Chris Stynes Stats". ESPN. 1995-05-19. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
- ^ Bechtel, Mark (4 May 1998). "Spotlight: Getting His Irish Up: Leftfielder Chris Stynes has become the Reds' red-hot spark plug". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2014-03-04.
his grandfather, Joe Stynes, played Irish Rules football
- ^ Patton, Robes (1994-07-24). "Halfway There". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Archived 2025-01-21 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
- ^ "Chris Stynes Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. 1973-01-19. Retrieved 2014-04-04.
- ^ "Retrosheet Boxscore Seattle Mariners 8, Kansas City Royals 5". Retrosheet. Retrieved 2008-05-27.
- ^ Zahn, Matt (3 April 2021). "White Sox' Yermín Mercedes Becomes First Player Since 1900 To Start Season With 8 Straight Hits". CBS Chicago. Associated Press. Retrieved 2025-01-21.
- ^ "Cubs Sign Infielder Chris Stynes". MRT. 2002-01-01. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
- ^ Hickey, John (10 May 2001). "Mariners Notebook: Both teams concerned after Stynes hit by pitch". Seattle PI. Retrieved 15 April 2021.