Chris Cates

{{Short description|American baseball player}}

{{about|the baseball player|the congressional candidate|United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia, 2010#District 9{{!}}United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia, 2010}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}

{{Infobox college coach

|name =Chris Cates

|image =Chris Cates.JPG

|caption =

|current_title = Head coach

|current_team = Riverview (FL) H. S.

|current_conference =

|current_record =

|birth_date ={{birth date and age|1985|4|15}}

|birth_place =Tampa, Florida

|player_years1 = 2004–2007

|player_team1 = Louisville

|player_years2 = 2007

|player_team2 = Elizabethton Twins

|player_years3 = 2007–2008

|player_team3 = Beloit Snappers

|player_years4 = 2009–2010

|player_team4 = Fort Myers Miracle

|player_years5 = 2010–2011

|player_team5 = New Britain Rock Cats

|player_positions = Shortstop

|coach_years1 = 2013

|coach_team1 = Florida State (asst.)

|coach_years2 = 2014

|coach_team2 = Tampa (asst.)

|coach_years3 = 2015–2019

|coach_team3 = South Florida (asst.)

|coach_years4 = 2020–present

|coach_team4 = Riverview (FL) H. S.

}}

Chris Cates (born April 15, 1985) is a former minor league shortstop selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 38th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. Cates is currently Director of Player Development at the University of South Florida.{{cite web|url=https://gousfbulls.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/chris-cates/5110|title=Chris Cates|publisher=gousfbulls.com}} He is a former volunteer assistant coach for the Florida State University Seminoles baseball team.{{cite web|url=http://www.seminoles.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/chris_cates_823268.html|title=Chris Cates|publisher=Seminoles.com|date=2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140112173843/http://www.seminoles.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/chris_cates_823268.html|archivedate=2014-01-12}} Also he is the manager of the North Adams Steeplecats of the NECBL.

Cates graduated in {{baseball year|2003}} from Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida where he was a four-year letter winner in baseball. When he joined the University of Louisville Cardinals in {{baseball year|2004}}, he was the smallest player in NCAA Division I baseball.{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/baseball/2005-05-09-louisville-cates_x.htm|title=Cates' Humor, Arm Give Louisville 5-foot-3 Jolt|date=2005-05-09 | work=USA Today | first=Michal | last=Grant}} Despite standing only 5'3" tall and weighing just 145 lbs., his junior year he was named Third-Team All-Big East while leading the Louisville Cardinals with a .332 batting average and 47 runs scored.{{cite web|url=http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/cates_chris00.html|title=Louisville Official Athletic Site: Chris Cates|accessdate=2009-06-05|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614190823/http://www.uoflsports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/cates_chris00.html|archivedate=2012-06-14}}

Cates also played for the North Adams Steeplecats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league. He won the Most Valuable Player award at the 2005 NECBL All-Star Game. He is returning to the North Adams Steeplecats for the summer of 2014 as their manager.

Image:ChrisCates.JPG

In {{baseball year|2008}}, he represented the Beloit Snappers in the Midwest League All-Star game,{{cite web|url=http://twins.scout.com/2/763114.html|title=Twins Prospect Power Rankings: v.2|last=Weiss|first=Brad|date=June 18, 2008|work=scout.com|accessdate=2009-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202003516/http://twins.scout.com/2/763114.html|archive-date=December 2, 2008|url-status=dead}} and in {{baseball year|2009}}, Cates was 1–3 with a walk and a run scored as the starting shortstop for the South in the Florida State League All-Star game.{{cite web|url=http://floridastate.league.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090604&content_id=5144340&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp#roster|title=Division leaders pace FSL All-Star rosters|author=Bailey Stephens|date=2009-06-04|publisher=MLB.com|access-date=2010-05-25|archive-date=2012-03-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301030847/http://floridastate.league.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090604&content_id=5144340&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp#roster|url-status=dead}} For the season, he batted .251 with 25 runs batted in and 41 runs scored. Cates split 2010 between Fort Myers and New Britain, batting a combined .198. He improved modestly to a .205 hitter in {{baseball year|2011}} for New Britain, and retired at the end of the season. For his career, he batted .228 with 109 RBIs and 163 runs scored. He never hit a professional home run.