| Eric Chavez | |
|---|---|
 Chavez with the Mets in 2022 | |
| Third baseman | |
| Born: (1977-12-07)December 7, 1977 (age 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 8, 1998, for the Oakland Athletics | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 8, 2014, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .268 |
| Home runs | 260 |
| Runs batted in | 902 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professionalbaseball coach and formerthird baseman. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theOakland Athletics (1998–2010),New York Yankees (2011–2012), andArizona Diamondbacks (2013–2014). During his playing career, Chavez won sixGold Glove Awards (2001–2006) and aSilver Slugger Award (2002). Chavez served as the bench coach for theNew York Mets during the 2023 season between stints as the hitting coach in 2022 and 2024-2025. In 2022, he was inducted into theAthletics Hall of Fame.[1]
Chavez was the second of four children born to Cesar and Ruby Chavez inLos Angeles,California.[2] Cesar, who was born in Mexico,[3] was a custodian at an elementary school and Ruby worked atRancho Bernardo High School.[2] Chavez was baptizedCatholic but his mother converted toProtestantism when he was eight or nine years old.[4] Although all four of Chavez's grandparents were from Mexico, he did not learn to speakSpanish.[3]
Chavez was an early childhood friend as well as a high school teammate ofEric Munson atMt. Carmel High School in San Diego.[5][6] They were among only ten players named to theUSA Today All-USA high school baseball team.[2] Chavez was also named to theABCA/Rawlings High School All-America Second Team.[7]
TheOakland Athletics selected Chavez in the first round, with the tenth pick, of the1996 Major League Baseball draft.[8] Chavez eventually chose a professional baseball career over a full scholarship at theUniversity of Southern California (USC), signing with the Athletics on August 27, 1996.[8] His time in the minor leagues was relatively short, lasting just under two seasons. He spent the1997 season playing for theVisalia Oaks, the Single-A team in the Athletics' farm system.[9] He played 134 games, all at third base, and hit .271 with 18 home runs and 100 RBI.[9]
Before the start of the 1998 season, Chavez was promoted to the Double-AHuntsville Stars.[9] After 88 games, he had a batting average of .328, 28 home runs, 86 RBIs, 12 stolen bases, and atriple.[8] His efforts caused him to be promoted to theEdmonton Trappers, where in 47 games he hit 11 home runs and had a .325 batting average.[9] When Edmonton's season finished up on September 8, 1998, he was called up to the major leagues.[10] He finished his minor league career by receiving both theBaseball America Minor League Player of the Year Award and theTopps Minor League Player of the Year Award.[10]
He made his major league debut on September 8, 1998, in a game against theBaltimore Orioles, where he came in as apinch hitter forMike Blowers andstruck out in his onlyat bat.[10] He finished the 1998 season having played in 16 games, and ending with a .311 batting average, as well as a triple.[8]
In the 27 games of September and October in 2001, Chavez hit ten home runs with 31 RBIs, a .379 batting average and a .738slugging percentage resulting in him being named theAmerican LeaguePlayer of the Month for the only time in his career.[11]
Chavez won six consecutive RawlingsGold Glove Awards from 2001 to 2006. He was a part of the A's20 consecutive game winning streak in2002, during which he batted .338 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs.[12] In2004, the Athletics signed him to a six-year, $66 million contract extension; it was the largest contract guarantee made by the Athletics.[13] As of December 2022[update], the contract (equivalent to $109.9 million in 2024) remains the largest in franchise history.[14]
Between2002–2005, his batting average remained consistent, hitting in the .270–.280 range. His home runs hit remained steady, hitting 29 in 2003 and 2004, and 27 in 2005. However, his offense production dropped in 2006, with his batting average dropping to .241, despite hitting 22 home runs. This slump continued into2007, hitting .240 and 15 home runs.[15]
Through his first ten years with the A's, Chavez played 1256 games and batted .269. He had 227 home runs and 762 RBIs. Chavez batted .250 and slugged .445 in April and in May combined, but batted .294 and slugged .544 in June, July and August, continuing a constant theme in the Oakland A's organization in that they are a "second half" team.[citation needed]
He started the2008 season on thedisabled list, due to back pain. He was activated from the disabled list on May 29. On July 2, he was placed on the 15-daydisabled list again with right shoulder inflammation. On June 14, 2009, Chavez was placed on thedisabled list once again due to back pain, this time out for the season.
Chavez became a free agent at the conclusion of the 2010 season when the Oakland A's declined a club option to keep him on the roster for the 2011 season.[16] He had the longest continuous tenure as an Athletic, at 13 years, and second overall total behindRickey Henderson's 14 years.
On February 4, 2011, Chavez agreed to a minor league contract with theNew York Yankees with an invitation to spring training for the 2011 season.[17] The major league team purchased his contract on March 28, 2011.[18] On May 5, Chavez broke a bone in his left foot while rounding second base in a game against theDetroit Tigers.[19] He returned from thedisabled list on July 26, and batted 8th for the Yankees against theSeattle Mariners. On August 3, Chavez hit his first home run as a Yankee, a two-run shot to right field against theChicago White Sox.
On February 27, 2012, Chavez re-signed with the Yankees for one season. The contract guaranteed Chavez a salary of $900,000, with an additional $3.05 million in incentives based on plate appearances.[20] Chavez suffered a minorconcussion when diving for a ground ball during a game on May 2, 2012. He left the game and was placed on the seven-daydisabled list for concussions.[21] He returned to action on May 11. Chavez finished the 2012 season with 16 home runs in 113 games played. It was his highest total in both categories since 2006.
Chavez agreed to a one-year contract worth $3 million with theArizona Diamondbacks for the 2013 season.[22] On June 1, 2013, Chavez was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to a minor right oblique tear. On December 19, 2013, Chavez re-signed with the Diamondbacks for $3.5 million.[23] Chavez retired on July 30, 2014.[24]
On February 26, 2015, Chavez was hired as a part-timecolor analyst for Oakland A's telecasts onComcast SportsNet California. At the time,USA Today reported that Chavez would team with play-by-play announcerGlen Kuiper to call 20 games during the 2015 season, and would also serve as a pre-game and post-game studio analyst for the channel.[25]
Chavez served as a special assistant to Yankees executivesBrian Cashman andBilly Eppler during the 2015 season.[26] He was instrumental inscoutingDidi Gregorius, his former teammate in Arizona, for the Yankees.[27] When Eppler became thegeneral manager of theLos Angeles Angels after the 2015 season, he hired Chavez as a special assistant.[28] On August 5, 2018, theSalt Lake Bees announced that Chavez would replaceKeith Johnson, who was promoted to the coaching staff of the Angels.[29]
On December 22, 2021, the Yankees announced they had hired Chavez as an assistant hitting coach.[30] On January 6, 2022, however, theNew York Mets hired Chavez away from the Yankees and named him their hitting coach.[31] After the 2022 season, the Mets moved Chavez from hitting coach to bench coach, andJeremy Barnes took over as hitting coach. Chavez was later moved back to the hitting coach position following the 2023 season.[32] The Mets fired Barnes and Chavez after the 2025 season.[33]
· Baseball Almanac| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month September 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle June 21, 2000 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Metshitting coach 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Metshitting coach 2024–2025 | Succeeded by TBA |
