Chris Parmelee

Christopher Matthew Parmelee was born on February 24, 1988 in Long Beach, California.

He was the Minnesota Twins first round draft choice out of Chino Hills High School in 2006, but had a very lackluster path trek through their minor league system. He had barely reached Double-A by the end of 2010, and was nowhere to be found on several "top prospect" lists. Parmelee then had a strong 2011 season with Double-A New Britain, and skipped Triple-A to be a September call-up late in the year.

The former first round pick went 2-for-4 in his Major League debut on September 6, 2011. He had a two run double the next day, and began his career on a five game hit streak. After that hit streak ended, a new six game hit streak was born. Parmelee finished the month with a .355 batting average and a 1.035 OPS, appearing in 21 games for a 99 loss Twins squad. His breakout performance gave fans a small reason to watch otherwise meaningless games down the stretch.

Ron Gardenhire penciled in Parmelee as his Opening Day first baseman in 2012, pushing former American League MVP Justin Morneau into a DH role. He appeared to pick up where he left off, hitting .294 with seven extra base hits in his first ten starts. However, the magic eventually died out. Parmelee was demoted to Triple-A with a .179 batting average on May 15th. He began tearing the cover off the ball in Rochester, kick-starting his reputation as a "Quad-A" player. Parmelee wound up splitting the 2012 season between Triple-A and the Majors, playing exactly 64 games at each level. His big league OPS was .671, stacked up against a 1.102 mark with the Red Wings. This is a trend that would continue for the rest of his career, even as he moved to other organizations later on.

Minnesota designated Parmelee for assignment towards the end of spring training in 2014, opening a 40-man roster spot so Jason Kubel could make the Opening Day roster. He cleared waivers, and slashed .305/.378/.542 in 32 games at the Triple-A level. Parmelee did eventually find his was back onto the Twins roster, hitting .256/.307/.384 while in the big leagues. He was DFA'd for a second time after the season, and signed a minor league deal with the Baltimore Orioles.

During his time with the Twins, Parmelee was good for the occasional clutch home run. 13 of his 24 homers with the club came in either one run or tie game situations, including six in the eighth inning or later. The crown jewel of these was a walk-off shot against Andrew Miller of the Boston Red Sox on May 13, 2014. He tagged the Red Sox in a big spot once again a month later, hitting a tie breaking shot in the tenth inning against Koji Uehara at Fenway Park.

Parmelee hit .314 in 63 games at the Triple-A level for Baltimore in 2015. This earned him a big league promotion, where he hit .217 in 32 games. He joined the New York Yankees farm system in 2016, slashing .500/.500/1.375 for the Bronx Bombers. However, this was just an eight plate appearance sample. The rest of that season was spent in Triple-A. He kept playing minor league ball through the 2019 season, but that brief 2016 stint with the Yankees was his final Major League stop.

• Highest OPS in Yankees history (minimum three plate appearances)
  • As of Opening Day in 2025