Harry Chiti – Baseball Player Biography, Career, Net Worth Information

Harry Chiti made a unique mark in baseball history during his decade-long career from 1950 to 1962. He played for four teams: the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets.

He appeared in 502 games as a catcher. But honestly, his story goes way beyond his .238 batting average and defensive work behind the plate.

Chiti stands out as the first and only player in Major League Baseball history who got traded for himself. The New York Mets picked him up from the Cleveland Indians for “a player to be named later” in April 1962, then sent him back to Cleveland as that same player just months after.

This weird transaction happened during the Mets’ first season as an expansion team. It’s still one of baseball’s strangest oddities.

Chiti’s journey started as a teenage prospect debuting at just 17 years old. He ended up a seasoned veteran, navigating the unpredictable business side of baseball.

He had family ties to established players and later worked for Columbia Pictures after baseball. Chiti’s story really captures the changing landscape of America’s pastime in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Early Life and Entry Into Baseball

Harry Dominic Chiti Jr. was born on November 16, 1932, in Kincaid, Illinois, to Harry and Clara Chiti. His Italian heritage and the family’s move to Detroit influenced his early years.

His standout high school baseball performance caught the attention of major league scouts. That led to a big signing with the Chicago Cubs in 1950.

Family Background and Upbringing

Harry Chiti grew up in an Italian-American family rooted in the Midwest. His grandparents immigrated from Massa Marittinio in Tuscany three years before his father was born.

The Chiti family left Kincaid for Detroit when Harry was still young. His father, Harry Sr., worked in the auto industry with his brothers, like so many Italian immigrants back then.

Harry Jr. lived in a big household at 185 12th Street in Detroit. The home included his Uncle Boero, Aunt Arnita, their daughter Corianne, Harry’s younger brother Eugene, and Uncle James.

That close-knit environment gave Harry a stable foundation. The house was just 10 blocks from Northwestern High School, where Harry’s baseball journey really began.

Kincaid, Illinois Roots

Kincaid, Illinois, Harry’s hometown, was a small place where baseball was just what kids did for fun. After World War I, boys played stickball in the streets and pickup games in the fields.

While growing up in Kincaid, Harry became friends with Emil Leonard, later known as “Dutch” Leonard. That friendship would matter in Harry’s career, since Leonard went on to pitch for four teams over a 20-year Major League career.

That small-town vibe in Kincaid sparked Harry’s lifelong love of baseball. Kids there probably never guessed some of them would reach the big leagues one day.

Signing With the Chicago Cubs

At Northwestern High School, Harry started out playing third base. He struggled defensively, racking up 24 errors in just 11 games.

Coach Sam Bishop noticed right away that “he was no George Kell,” so he moved Harry behind the plate.

That switch changed everything. As a catcher in his senior year, Harry hit a remarkable .650 batting average.

He didn’t just shine in high school. Harry tore it up for Hudson Local #41 in the Detroit Amateur Federation, too.

Standing 6’2″ and weighing 221 pounds, the right-handed catcher drew attention from plenty of teams:

American League Interest:

• Chicago White Sox
• New York Yankees
• Boston Red Sox
• Cleveland Indians
• Detroit Tigers

National League Interest:

• Brooklyn Dodgers
• Philadelphia Phillies
• New York Giants
• Cincinnati Reds
• Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs ultimately outbid everyone with a reported $20,000 bonus, the biggest they’d ever paid. Harry signed with them on June 29, 1950, just a few weeks after graduating high school at 17.

Major League Baseball Career Overview

From 1950 to 1962, Harry Chiti played in 502 Major League Baseball games as a catcher for four teams. Military service during the Korean War interrupted his career, but he came back and kept playing.

Debut and Early Years With the Chicago Cubs

Harry Chiti debuted in the majors on September 27, 1950, just 17 years old. He was the youngest player in the big leagues that season, playing for the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs had signed him for a $20,000 bonus that June, their largest ever at the time.

Chiti’s early years looked pretty promising. In 1951, after time in the minors, he got a September call-up and hit an impressive .355 batting average, going 11 for 31 in nine games.

He spent most of the 1952 season with Chicago, starting 30 of his 32 games and hitting .274 in 113 at-bats. Then, military service interrupted what could’ve been a breakout run.

Military Service During the Korean War

Harry’s baseball career paused for two years while he served in the Korean War, from 1953 to 1954. He missed out on important development years as a young player.

He was just 20 when he got called up for service, right after showing real promise in the majors.

Return to the Cubs and Notable Achievements

Chiti returned to the Cubs in 1955 after his military stint. He put up a solid comeback season, batting .231 with 11 home runs in 113 games.

Those 11 homers made up more than a quarter of his career total of 41.

The 1956 season didn’t go well for Chiti. His numbers dropped, and the Cubs traded him to the New York Yankees for catcher Charlie Silvera.

After Chicago, Chiti bounced around with the Kansas City Athletics, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He became a bit of a legend for being “traded for himself” when the Mets sent him back to Cleveland as a “player to be named later” in 1962.

Team Transitions and Key Moments

Harry Chiti’s career felt like a whirlwind of team changes and odd circumstances. He mostly served as a backup catcher, but some moves really shaped his story.

He spent time with the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics, then had short stints with the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians, which led to his famous Mets trade.

Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Athletics

After his military service, Chiti went back to the Cubs in 1955. He hit .231 with 11 home runs in 113 games—not bad, but nothing eye-popping.

The Cubs traded him to the Yankees after the tough 1956 season for Charlie Silvera. Chiti spent all of 1957 with the Yankees’ AAA Richmond Virginians, never making the major league roster.

The Kansas City Athletics picked him up in the Rule 5 Draft after 1957. That move helped his career, and he became a regular backup catcher for Kansas City from 1958 to 1960.

Chiti played 202 games over three seasons with the Athletics. He brought steady defense behind the plate and chipped in modest offense as a backup.

Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians

The Detroit Tigers bought Chiti from Kansas City for $20,000 on July 26, 1960. Tigers President Bill DeWitt wanted him “for his bat,” hoping he’d bring some pop to the lineup.

It didn’t really work out. Chiti hit just .163 in 37 games for Detroit that year. Things didn’t improve in 1961, either—he played only five games with the Tigers.

Detroit sent him down to their AAA Denver affiliate for most of 1961. The Tigers later traded him to the Baltimore Orioles, who assigned him to the Rochester Red Wings in the International League.

Key Transaction Timeline:

• July 1960: Purchased by Detroit Tigers
• 1961: Traded to Baltimore Orioles
• Late 1961: Traded to Cleveland Indians
• April 1962: Sold to New York Mets

The Cleveland Indians picked up Chiti from Baltimore after the 1961 season, but he never played a game for Cleveland. Instead, they sold him to the expansion New York Mets on April 26, 1962.

Specialization as a Catcher and Knuckleball Handling

Switching from third base to catcher in high school really set Chiti’s career in motion. Coach Sam Bishop saw that Harry didn’t have the quick reflexes for third and moved him behind the plate.

As a catcher, Chiti built a reputation for strong defensive skills. His big 6’2″, 221-pound frame made him a tough presence behind the dish.

Teams especially valued Chiti for handling knuckleball pitchers. That pitch is notoriously wild, so you really need a catcher with soft hands and laser focus.

His defense kept him in the majors, even when the bat went cold. Managers trusted him to work with pitchers and call games.

Chiti played his last major league game on June 10, 1962, at Wrigley Field. Just five days later, the Mets sent him back to Cleveland, finishing off one of baseball’s oddest trades—he literally got traded for himself.

The 1962 New York Mets Season and Historic Trade

Harry Chiti joined the expansion New York Mets in April 1962 in a deal that would go down in baseball history. He became the only player ever traded for himself when the Mets returned him to Cleveland as the “player to be named later” in his own trade.

Joining the Expansion Mets and Early Performances

On April 26, 1962, the Cleveland Indians sold Harry Chiti’s contract to the New York Mets for a player to be named later. The Mets, brand new that year, desperately needed veteran players.

Chiti debuted for the Mets just two days after the trade, coming into the game as a late-inning replacement catcher. His first at-bat ended in a strikeout—pretty much summed up his stint in New York.

He struggled during his short time with the Mets, appearing in only a handful of games over about six weeks. His defense was fine, but he just couldn’t hit.

The Mets, meanwhile, were having a brutal inaugural season. They finished 40-120, the worst record in modern baseball history. Chiti’s struggles kind of mirrored the team’s misery that year.

The Player To Be Named Later: Being Traded for Himself

The real twist came on June 15, 1962. The Mets wrapped up their original deal with Cleveland by sending Chiti back as the player to be named later.

That made Chiti the only guy in MLB history to be traded for himself. How did it happen? The Mets got him for an unnamed future player, and when they decided to cut him loose, they just shipped him back to Cleveland to complete the trade.

Chiti later joked about it in an interview, asking, “If they don’t know who they want, then what’s the sense of making the trade?” He also pointed out that “Cleveland got enough money out of the deal to build a new scoreboard.”

The story got plenty of media attention over the years. It remains one of baseball’s most famous trivia questions and a quirky piece of MLB history.

Statistical Summary and On-Field Contributions

Chiti barely made a statistical mark with the 1962 Mets, mostly because he spent such a short time with them. He played in fewer than 10 games and got very few at-bats during his six weeks in New York.

Key Statistics:

• Games played: Less than 10
• Batting average: Not great (the sample size was tiny)
• Position: Backup catcher
• Notable achievement: Struck out in his first Mets at-bat

He played his last major league game on June 10, 1962, at Wrigley Field. Just five days later, the Mets sent him back to Cleveland.

After leaving New York, Chiti landed in Jacksonville, a Cleveland affiliate in the International League.

The 1962 season closed the book on Chiti’s major league career. He had played parts of ten seasons in the big leagues, showing up in 502 games total.

His short time with the Mets wrapped up his professional baseball journey.

Final Years in Baseball and Retirement

After his time with the Mets in 1962, Harry Chiti kept playing ball in the minors for two more years. Then he shifted into new careers in entertainment and law enforcement.

Minor League Tenure

Once he finished his last major league game on June 10, 1962, at Wrigley Field, Chiti went back to the minors to finish out his professional baseball career.

The Mets sent him to the Jacksonville Suns of the International League, a Cleveland affiliate, where he quickly started hitting well.

Chiti batted .335 in 70 games with Jacksonville that season. For a guy who struggled in the majors, that was a pretty strong showing.

He stayed with Jacksonville in 1963, and then the team assigned him to the AAA Toronto Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs worked as a farm club for the Milwaukee Braves and later the Washington Senators.

That 1964 Toronto team had a lot of veterans, with 20 of the 22 position players boasting major league experience. Chiti didn’t stick around long, though, playing just eight games before he decided to call it a career.

Retirement and Post-Baseball Career

Chiti retired from pro baseball after the 1964 season, at just 30 years old. His minor league career totaled 608 games with a .271 batting average, which was quite a bit better than his big league numbers.

After baseball, Chiti jumped into the entertainment world as a district manager for Columbia Pictures. He took care of getting films into theaters across his territory.

Later on, he moved to Bartlett, Tennessee, and started a new chapter in law enforcement. He worked as a Shelby County Deputy Sheriff, spending his days in the courts around Memphis.

Chiti retired in 1998 and settled in Winter Haven, Florida. He passed away on January 31, 2002, at Heart of Florida Hospital in Haines City, at age 69.

His wife Catherine, daughter Cindy, son Harry (who pitched in the minors), and eight grandchildren survived him.

Legacy and Place in Baseball History

Most folks remember Harry Chiti for his odd spot in baseball history as the player who was supposedly “traded for himself“.

When MLB historian Jerome Holtzman interviewed him in 1987, Chiti had some thoughts about the whole thing.

“If they don’t know who they want, then what’s the sense of making the trade?” Chiti wondered out loud. He also said, “There was more to it than that. Cleveland got enough money out of the deal to build a new scoreboard.”

Chiti’s major league career covered 502 games with a .238 batting average, 41 home runs, and 179 RBI across four teams from 1950-1962. His stats might not jump off the page, but his journey mirrored what a lot of journeyman players went through back then.

His story also revealed some of the challenges for players during the Korean War era. Chiti lost two key years of his career to military service.

Family Legacy and Influence in Baseball

Harry Chiti’s influence in baseball didn’t stop with his own playing days. His son, Dom Chiti, built a solid career as a coach in Major League Baseball.

Dom carved out his own path as a bullpen coach, working for teams like the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels.

Dom Chiti’s Coaching and Playing Career

Dom Chiti followed his dad into pro baseball, but he found his place on the coaching side. Unlike Harry, who caught behind the plate, Dom focused on developing pitchers and managing bullpen operations.

Dom played in the minors before making the switch to coaching. That experience gave him real insight from a player’s point of view.

It turned out to be a big plus when he started coaching.

He understood the mental side of the game. Watching his father’s ups and downs taught him about perseverance and professionalism.

Those lessons served him well as he moved up in the baseball world.

Links to Bullpen Coaching and Teams

Dom Chiti became known as a bullpen coach, a job that takes a lot of pitcher know-how and strategy. Bullpen coaches work hands-on with relief pitchers during games and help with pitching changes.

His coaching style focused on preparation and communication. Dom worked closely with pitchers to figure out what made them tick.

That approach helped him earn trust with players and other coaches.

The bullpen coach role has grown more important in today’s game. Dom’s expertise made him a real asset to every team he joined.

He handled high-pressure bullpen situations with a calm that earned him respect across the league.

Connections With the Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, and Los Angeles Angels

Dom Chiti spent years working with three major league organizations during his coaching career. Each team got a boost from his hands-on approach to bullpen management and pitcher development.

Texas Rangers: Dom took on the role of bullpen coach and helped shape their relief pitching staff. He played a big part in building up the team’s pitching depth and game management.

Baltimore Orioles: The Orioles leaned on Dom’s bullpen expertise. He guided younger pitchers as they faced the pressure of major league games.

Los Angeles Angels: Dom kept his coaching career going with the Angels organization. He brought the same steady performance to each team, which really says something about his reputation as a specialized coach.

Dom’s work with these organizations makes it clear that the Chiti family’s baseball know-how stretches across generations. His coaching career ended up outlasting his father’s playing days, and honestly, that’s a legacy worth remembering in professional baseball.