Steve Christmas

Stephen Randall Christmas

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School Southwestern Oklahoma State University
• High School Colonial High School
• Debut September 1, 1983
• Final Game April 28, 1986
• Born December 9, 1957 in Orlando, FL USA

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Biographical Information

"A guy gets his first major league home run and it's the game-winner. I've never seen a guy as happy as that. It shows you how much fun baseball can be." - Chicago White Sox manager Tony LaRussa, after Christmas' first (and only) big league home run on September 19, 1984

The pro career of catcher Steve Christmas lasted a decade, and he earned brief cups of coffee in the majors with three different clubs, including both Chicago teams.

Born a couple weeks before Christmas in 1957, Steve was selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 33rd round of the 1975 amateur draft but did not sign. He instead went to Southwestern Oklahoma State University, one of two major leaguers to come from that school (the other is Ray Burris). After one season, he was signed by the Cincinnati Reds prior to the 1977 season. He hit .306 for the Eugene Emeralds in his first season in pro ball. He again hit .306 in 1982, this time for the AAA Indianapolis Indians, and made his big league debut for the Reds late the following season, going 1-for-17 in 9 games, mostly seeing action behind the plate.

Following the 1983 season, Christmas was traded to the Chicago White Sox for Fran Mullins. He spent most of 1984 with the Denver Zephyrs and also went 4-for-11 in a dozen games with the Sox. He hit his only big league home run on September 19, a three-run shot off Mike Smithson of the Twins to break a 3-3 tie; Chicago went on to win 7-3. Staying in the Sox chain in 1985, he hit .298 with 16 homers for the Buffalo Bisons but did not see any big league action. Christmas became a free agent and moved across town to the Chicago Cubs prior to the 1986 season. He went 1-for-9 in 3 games for the Cubs but spent most of the year in the minors, hitting .300 for the Iowa Cubs and retiring at season's end.

One could put Christmas on an "all holiday team" with Luke Easter, but it might be tough to find enough other players to fill out the lineup.