Projo Sox Blog

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON _ Not since Davey Lopes has a native Rhode Islander participated in the World Series – until now.

Providence native and St. Raphael Academy standout Chris Iannetta is the backup catcher for the Colorado Rockies and he’s in town to face the Red Sox in the October Classic, which begins tonight at Fenway Park.

Growing up a Red Sox fan, Iannetta returned “home” last June when the Red Sox hosted the Rockies in a three-game series that Colorado won, 2-1. Unfortunately, he did not get to play and manager Clint Hurdle took some heat for it from Rhode Islanders, but everything is going very well for the kid who grew up just a hit-and-run away from Fenway Park.

When he was here in June, Iannetta – the Rockies’ fourth-round pick in 2004 – never imagined he would return in October for the World Series.

“No,” he said. “But it’s been great. It’s been an exciting ride and it’s been fun to be a part of. Experiencing the whole thing has been awesome. It’s really hard to explain in a few words.”

Especially tough for a local kid who imagined his backyard was Fenway Park, and now he’s playing here on baseball’s biggest stage. He’s come a long way from Little Rhody.

“It’s something that you can’t even imagine,” he said. “You can put yourself in factious situations where you’re in it, but to say this is how you’re going to get here and this is the process you’re going to take, you can never really fathom that. To experience this for the first time is really exciting.”

While the rest of the Rockies squad arrived at Fenway around 1:30 yesterday afternoon, Iannetta had already hit in the batting cage and worked out. It’s that work ethic, combined with his obvious talent, are the reasons Iannetta finds himself in the World Series.

The 24-year-old was the Rockies opening-day starting catcher, but struggled during the season before he was optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs on Aug. 6. He played 16 games for the Sky Sox and produced a .296 average in 54 at-bats before the Rockies recalled him for good Aug. 26. He hit .348 for the Rockies during his final 16 games of the regular season to finish with a .218 average with four homers and 27 RBI.

“He’s handled this very well,” said Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. “This has been a challenging year for Chris. He has very solid skills, and we do believe that he’s going to be an important part for us as we moved forward.”

Iannetta made his pro debut with Single-A Asheville in 2004, he spilt 2005 between Single-A (High-A) Modesto and Double-A Tulsa. He played 44 games for Tulsa last season before making the jump to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

In August of 2006 he was told he was being called up to the big club and he would be making his major-league debut. He started 20 of Colorado’s final 33 games of the season and he made the big club out of spring training this season.

Now he’s participating in the World Series.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to be on a great team,” he said. “Things have been good, but obviously I didn’t have the offensive year that I’m capable of, and the one I would be happy with. But it was a good step and a good experience, and hopefully I can build from it."

Participating in the World Series at Fenway Park would be a hair-raising experience for any young player, especially Iannetta.

“We like Chris,” said Hurdle. “We actually like him with a beard. Have you seen him with a beard before? He’s got more hair on his face than he does on his head. But we like him a lot.”

Native Rhode Islanders do, too.

---