Former Kansas City Royals World Series hero Christian Colón to rejoin club as a coach
Kansas City Royals World Series champion and former first-round draft pick Christian Colón will reportedly rejoin the organization that drafted him as a minor-league coach.
MLBTradeRumors.com reported that Colón, 32, has accepted a development-focused coaching position with the Royals and is expected to begin the season on the staff of the organization’s Double-A affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.
Colón retired from professional baseball earlier this offseason.
The Royals announced their major-league coaching staff in November, but they have not yet revealed minor-league coaching assignments. There will undoubtedly be some shuffling among the player development staffs, with former Triple-A manager Brian Poldberg having retired and Damon Hollins joining the major-league staff.
Colón began last year playing with the KC Monarchs of the independent American Association. The infielder returned to affiliated baseball when the Toronto Blue Jays signed him in April to a minor-league contract.
He appeared in 100 games for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate this season with a slash line of .258/.345/.429 and 15 home runs.
A fourth overall pick in the 2010 MLB Draft, Colón spent the first seven seasons of his career in the Royals organization and played a role in several memorable and pivotal moments during their back-to-back World Series appearances in 2014 and 2015.
Colón delivered a crucial 12th-inning hit in the 2014 American League Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics, an infield single that scored Eric Hosmer with the tying run. Later in the game, Colón stole second base and scored on Salvador Perez’s walk-off RBI single.
In the 2015 World Series, Colón’s 12th-inning RBI single gave the Royals their first lead in Game 5 and started a five-run inning as the Royals won 7-2 and clinched their first World Series title since 1985.
Over the course of four seasons in the majors with the Royals, he slashed .263/.323/.329 in 348 plate appearances in 125 games.
The Miami Marlins selected Colón off waivers from the Royals in 2017. He also spent time with the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Blue Jays. He only appeared in major-league games for the Royals, Marlins and Reds.
For his career (parts of six seasons in the majors), he slashed .249/.312/.310 with one home run in 418 plate appearances in 161 games.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 5:38 PM.
