From Brandon High to the Eastern League: Chris Cates Stands Tall

Chris Cates barely reached the batter's box when the first razzes sailed his way. Everywhere he goes, the opposing crowd gleefully attacks
his 5-foot-3, 145-pound lack of stature.
 
"Who let my little brother play?" one fan taunted. Another offered advice for the pitcher, "The only way to get a strike call is to roll it."
 
Smiling as he dug in, Cates is accustomed to the treatment and long ago transformed it into motivation. Three pitches later, he laced a two-run single to silence the hecklers.
 
"If you make a play or get a big hit, you almost want to look at the fans like, 'I don't hear you talking now,'" said Cates, the shortest player in the Eastern League. "The worst is when you make an error or strikeout, because then they're really on you."
 
On this particular August night, the diminutive Brandon High School graduate loomed as a giant, just as he had many times with the Eagles. Though he hasn't grown much since graduating in 2003, no one can deny how far he's come.
 
This summer was Cates' second with the New Britain Rock Cats, the Minnesota Twins' Double-A affiliate, having risen from a 38th pick out of Division I Louisville. With the Cardinals, he packed plenty into his tiny frame by hitting better than .300 for his career.
 
While his offensive statistics haven't translated to professional baseball — he finished the season at .205 and sports a .228 career mark in
five minor-league seasons — his energy and passion have made him one of the team's most popular players.
 
"He's one of the funniest guys you'll meet, and one of the most fun guys to watch play," Rock Cats pitcher Tyler Robertson said. "He's so
talented and can do it all. He even pitched for us when we were losing. I'd pitch with him behind me all the time."
   
When he's the shortstop, an obvious joke for the fans, Cates said he has heard it all. While playing at the same time as the Little League
World Series, Cates naturally heard that he should be in Williamsport with his 12-13-year-old teammates. In Akron, a batboy said he recognized him from the Kentucky Derby.
 
"Everywhere we go, I hear it," he said. "I get 'Oompa Loompa' and 'Webster.' Someone once yelled, 'Mow the grass so the shortstop can see.' That was a good one. A lady once asked me if I shopped at Baby Gap. It's fun when they're creative, but they have to do better than just saying, 'The shortstop is short.' I'll tip my cap and smile if I hear a good one. It's people enjoying the game, and it makes me feel that they're noticing me."
 
Cates has been noticed since his days growing up in Brandon, home to Seattle Mariners second baseman Chone Figgins — Cates' workout partner — and former players Jody Reed, Danny Graves and Ozzie Timmons.
 
When the Twins selected him in 2007, vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff said Cates' intangibles go could negate any drawbacks caused by his height.
 
"You can't name too many people who look like that who have played in our league," Radcliff said in 2007. "But he's always been successful
wherever he's played."
 
Cates, who said he inherited his lack of height from his mother, always drew inspiration from other short players, and there have been 5-foot-3 Major Leaguers. Shortstop Harry Chappas appeared in 72 games for the White Sox from 1978-80. Then, there's Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto and David Eckstein. In college, a fan once sent him a photo of Freddie Patek, who stood 5-foot-5 and played 14 seasons in the big leagues.
 
"Someone sent me Patek's baseball card and wrote, 'Always believe. Don't let your size stop you,' " Cates said. "You can't make excuses. It defines who I am. If I was 6-foot, who knows if I'd still have the same abilities? I might be an average player who never made it past college. I think it's helped me stand out."