| George Kottaras | |
|---|---|
 Kottaras with the Kansas City Royals | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1983-05-10)May 10, 1983 (age 42) Scarborough,Ontario, Canada | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 13, 2008, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 2014, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .215 |
| Home runs | 32 |
| Runs batted in | 101 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Medals | |
George Kottaras (/kəˈteɪrəs/kə-TAY-rəs; born May 10, 1983) is a Canadian former professionalbaseballcatcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theBoston Red Sox,Milwaukee Brewers,Oakland Athletics,Kansas City Royals,Cleveland Indians,St. Louis Cardinals, andToronto Blue Jays.
Both of Kottaras' parents were born in Greece, but settled in theToronto,Ontario, suburb ofScarborough, where he was born.[1] He attendedMilliken Mills High School in nearbyMarkham.[2]
Kottaras was drafted by theSan Diego Padres in 20th round of the2002 MLB draft. He signed with the Padres in May2003 after spending one year atConnors State College inWarner, Oklahoma.
Kottaras began his professional career playing for theIdaho Falls Padres of thePioneer League, and worked his way up through the Padres minor league system to the Triple-APortland Beavers in2006. He played in the2006 All-Star Futures Game for Team World[3] and was named number 48 in the 2006 Minor League News FAB50 List.[4]
On September 5, 2006, he was traded to theBoston Red Sox to complete an August 31 deal forDavid Wells and was immediately added to the team's40-man roster.[5][6] He was assigned to the Red Sox Double A franchise, thePortland Sea Dogs, who had just begun theirEastern League playoff run. Kottaras arrived for Game 2 of Eastern League Division Playoffs and continued playing with the Sea Dogs until they were crowned 2006 Eastern League Champions.[7]
Kottaras played the entire2007 season for the Triple-APawtucket Red Sox. He reported forspring training in2008 but was optioned back to Pawtucket on March 17, 2008.[8] Kottaras played the regular and post season 2008 schedule for Pawtucket.[9]
Then, after Pawtucket was eliminated from the International League playoffs, he was called up from Pawtucket to MLB on September 8, 2008,[10] and on September 13, 2008, made his MLB debut in the sixth inning of a game against theToronto Blue Jays and scored the onlyrun for the Red Sox that game.[11]
In 2009, Kottaras wasknuckleball pitcherTim Wakefield's personal catcher; whileJason Varitek caught the other pitchers in the rotation. After Wakefield went on the disabled list after theAll-Star break, Kottaras followed suit with a lower back strain. He remained with Pawtucket until call ups on September 1. With Wakefield's first start in September, Red Sox managerTerry Francona had to decide whether to start Kottaras due to his familiarity with Wakefield orVíctor Martínez due to his bat and having made one start with Wakefield in which he caught the knuckleball very well for the first time.[12] Francona eventually chose Martínez.
Kottaras hit his first MLB home run on July 3, 2009, against theSeattle Mariners'Mark Lowe in the bottom of the 11th. For the season, he finished fifth in the league in passed balls, recording eight in 39 games.[13]
Kottaras was placed on release waivers by the Red Sox on November 18, 2009.[14]
Kottaras was claimed off waivers by theMilwaukee Brewers hours after being placed on release waivers by Boston on November 18.[15]
On September 3, 2011, Kottarashit for the cycle in a game against theHouston Astros, becoming the seventh Brewer to do so, and the third Brewers catcher to achieve the feat (along withChad Moeller andCharlie Moore).[16]
In 2011, Kottaras batted .252 and hit five home runs in 111 at bats.[13]
On December 12, 2011, Kottaras avoided arbitration by signing a one-year deal.[17] He was designated for assignment on July 26, 2012.[18]
On July 27, 2012, Kottaras was traded to Oakland for pitcherFautino de los Santos.[18]
On January 14, 2013, Kottaras agreed to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration.[19] Just a day after agreeing to that contract, Kottaras was designated for assignment to clear a roster spot for the newly acquiredJohn Jaso.[20]
On January 25, 2013, Kottaras was claimed off waivers by theKansas City Royals.[21] In 2013, his locker was assigned next toMike Moustakas, who is also of Greek descent. "I don't know how many times you've had two Greek guys in the same clubhouse on the same team," Kottaras said. "And they put us next to each other, which makes it even better."[1] He was designated for assignment on November 21, 2013.[22]
Kottaras was traded from the Royals to theChicago Cubs for cash considerations on November 26, 2013.[23] On December 2, Kottaras signed a one-year deal with the Cubs for $1.075 million, avoiding arbitration.[24] He was released on March 26, 2014.[25]
On March 30, 2014, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with theCleveland Indians.[26] He played in 9 games with the Triple-AColumbus Clippers before being added to the Indians' 40-man roster in time for the game on May 3, 2014. He was designated for assignment three days later.[27] He was assigned to Columbus on May 11, and re-added to the Cleveland roster on May 27. Kottaras was the only player to hit two home runs in his first two plate appearances as an Indian. On July 7, he was designated for assignment following the acquisition ofChris Dickerson.[28]
Kottaras was claimed by theSt. Louis Cardinals on July 11, 2014.[29] On July 26, Kottaras was designated for assignment.[30] He was released on July 29.[31]
On August 6, 2014, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with theToronto Blue Jays.[32] He was activated by the Triple-ABuffalo Bisons on August 10. He was called up to the Blue Jays on September 1, when the rosters expanded.[33] Kottaras made his debut for the Blue Jays on September 17, grounding out in his only at-bat against theBaltimore Orioles. He made his first start for Toronto on September 25, catchingDaniel Norris in his first MLB start. Kottaras went 0–4 as a member of the Blue Jays, and finished the season with a .233 average, three home runs, and 5 RBI.[34] He was sent outright to the Buffalo Bisons on October 3, but elected to become a free agent rather than accepting the assignment.[35]
On December 18, 2014, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with theChicago White Sox that included an invitation to spring training.[36] He was released on August 3, 2015.[37]
On August 5, 2015, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays.[38] He elected free agency on November 7.[39]
On January 21, 2016, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with theSan Francisco Giants.[40] He was released on July 14 after hitting .155 with the Triple-ASacramento River Cats.[41]
On July 16, 2016, Kottaras signed a minor league contract with theAtlanta Braves.[42] He was released on August 19.[43][44]
In2004, Kottaras played for theGreece national baseball team during the2004 Summer Olympics. His eligibility came from his parents, both of whom are Greek immigrants to Canada. During the Olympics, Kottaras served as afirst baseman and backup catcher.[45] On July 21, 2004, Kottaras had threehits helping Greece to come from behind to defeat Italy 11–7 for the team's first and only win in thetournament.[46]
Also, Kottaras played for theCanada national baseball team at the2017 World Baseball Classic.
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| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle September 3, 2011 | Succeeded by |
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