A to Z Angels: Chad Curtis

Years Played As an Angel: 1992-1994
Angels’ Stats: .268 Avg., 396, 64 2Bs, 27 HRs, 116 SBs
Career Stats: .264 Avg., 1061 hits, 195 2Bs, 101 HRs, 212 SBs

How He Was Acquired: Drafted in the 45th round of the 1989 Draft. Traded to Detroit for Tony Phillips in April of 1995.

Why You Should Know Him: Curtis played for three pretty awful Angels teams, and when baseball came back from the strike of 1994, he had been traded away for Phillips. Curtis was a Mike Scioscia type of player, aggressive on the basepaths. He and Luis Polonia burned a path between first and second in 1993, with Polonia swiping 55 bases and Curtis 48, although both got caught stealing a league-high 24 times. Curtis stole 43 bases and got caught 18 times the year before.

Curtis went on to win two World Series rings with the Yankees. He also played for the Tigers, Indians, Dodgers, and Rangers. 
  
Memorable Moments/Games: If you are a Pete Rose fan, you love Chad Curtis. Not just because his playing style was reminiscent of Charlie Hustle, but because of how he stood up for Rose on baseball’s grandest stage. After Game 3 of the 1999 World Series, in which the second of two Curtis home runs led the Yankees over the Braves in walk-off fashion, Chad refused to talk to NBC’s Jim Gray, who had humiliated Rose on national television earlier in the year at the All-Star Game.

Anecdotes and Quotes: Curtis was an outspoken Christian who didn’t think Yankees teammate Derek Jeter walked on water. He repeatedly made runs at Jeter to discuss his faith but Jeter rebuffed him. Jeter at one point became offended. Curtis also had a run-in with Jeter for talking to Seattle shortstop Alex Rodriguez during a bench-clearing brawl between the Yankees and Mariners. The two got into it in front of the media after the game.

Where is He Now?: Curtis was named NorthPointe Christian athletic director in June 2007, replacing Matt Smith. He left as director of the school on November 05, 2009.