| Chris Cates | |
| Current Title: | Head coach |
| Current Team: | Riverview (FL) H. S. |
| Birth Date: | 15 April 1985 |
| Birth Place: | Tampa, Florida |
| Player Years1: | 2004–2007 |
| Player Team1: | Louisville |
| Player Years2: | 2007 |
| Player Team2: | Elizabethton Twins |
| Player Years3: | 2007–2008 |
| Player Team3: | Beloit Snappers |
| Player Years4: | 2009–2010 |
| Player Team4: | Fort Myers Miracle |
| Player Years5: | 2010–2011 |
| Player Team5: | New Britain Rock Cats |
| Player Positions: | Shortstop |
| Coach Years1: | 2013 |
| Coach Team1: | Florida State (asst.) |
| Coach Years2: | 2014 |
| Coach Team2: | Tampa (asst.) |
| Coach Years3: | 2015–2019 |
| Coach Team3: | South Florida (asst.) |
| Coach Years4: | 2020–present |
| Coach Team4: | Riverview (FL) H. S. |
Chris Cates (born April 15, 1985) is a former minor league shortstop selected by the Minnesota Twins in the 38th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He is currently a volunteer assistant coach for the Florida State University Seminoles baseball team.[1] Also he is the manager of the North Adams Steeplecats of the NECBL.
Cates graduated in from Brandon High School in Brandon, Florida where he was a four-year letter winner in baseball. When he joined the University of Louisville Cardinals in, he was the smallest player in NCAA Division I baseball.[2] Despite standing only 5'3" tall and weighing just 145 lbs., his junior year he was named Third-Team All-Big East while leading the Louisville Cardinals with a .332 batting average and 47 runs scored.[3]
Cates also played for the North Adams Steeplecats of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, a collegiate summer baseball league. He won the Most Valuable Player award at the 2005 NECBL All-Star Game. He is returning to the North Adams Steeplecats for the summer of 2014 as their manager.
In, he represented the Beloit Snappers in the Midwest League All-Star game,[4] and in, Cates was 1–3 with a walk and a run scored as the starting shortstop for the South in the Florida State League All-Star game.[5] For the season, he batted .251 with 25 runs batted in and 41 runs scored. Cates split 2010 between Fort Myers and New Britain, batting a combined .198. He improved modestly to a .205 hitter in for New Britain, and retired at the end of the season. For his career, he batted .228 with 109 RBIs and 163 runs scored. He never hit a professional home run.