Cleaning out my big-league notebook I came across two stories that deserve more notice.
In case you missed it, former Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta retired at age 37 after recently getting designated for assignment by the Yankees.
Iannetta, who played college baseball at North Carolina, made his major league debut on Aug. 27, 2006, at age 23. He was the 16,576th player in major-league history. He played in 1,197 games for four teams, batted .230 and hit 141 home runs.
The numbers don’t begin to describe Iannetta, who is one of the smartest, well-spoken and toughest players I’ve ever covered. When the Rockies were losing and the clubhouse was a ghost town, Iannetta was always available with an honest quote and clear analysis. His teammates respected him and his pitchers learned from him.
On May 12, 2017, while playing for Arizona, Iannetta was hit by a pitch from Pittsburgh’s Johnny Barbato. Iannetta suffered a broken nose along with four fractured teeth, and required stitches on his lips. He returned a few days later.
Iannetta, in case you didn’t know, is the founder and part-owner of Jack Winery, a small, high-end label out of Napa, Calif.
As I wrote in Jan. 2018: “Iannetta can talk about wine with the same expertise that he discusses sliders, cut fastballs and two-seam fastballs. He can talk at length about Jack’s 2015 Cabernet, with its rich aroma of black cherry, blueberry, fresh violets and mocha. He can pick up on the plum, vanilla and nutmeg on his palate.”
The hardscrabble catcher has become — he admits with a chuckle — something of a wine snob.
“You know it’s funny,” he told me. “Now when I go back to the wines I started with, I realize they are very one-dimensional.”
Cheers, Mr. Iannetta.
And cheers to another man who knows his way around home plate. Jerry Weinstein, a Rockies’ player development and scouting special assistant, was given the Wilson Lefty Gomez Award in recognition from the American Baseball Coaches Association as “an individual who has contributed significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally and internationally.”
Weinstein is one of those coaches who can talk to you about the intricacies of baseball in simple and explainable, yet colorful terms.
Weinstein has had a role with the Rockies organization since 2007, ranging from catching coach with the big-league club (2012–13) to the manager of High‑A Modesto (2007–11). He has more than 53 years of coaching experience.
There are a lot of people who’ve played instrumental roles in the career of Rockies star third baseman Nolan Arenado, but Weinstein’s firm-and-steady hand came at the right time.
A 2009 draft report on Arenado suggested that his future might be as a third baseman, but more likely as a catcher, due to his lack of foot speed. The report said: “He’s duck-footed and lumbers.”
Weinstein, who managed Arenado in Modesto in 2011, saw something else.
“Nolan doesn’t have a great-athlete, Michael Jordan kind of skill set, but it’s an intuitive, instinctive talent,” Weinstein told me for a story I did on Arenado in the spring of 2019.
Then Weinstein gave me the best quote I’ve ever heard about Arenado’s skills as a fielder.
“Nolan has the best internal clock and the best internal compass of any player I have ever seen,” Weinstein said. “When he needs to make that spinning throw from third, he knows exactly where his target is and exactly how much time he has to make the play. He knows baseball in his mind’s eye better than anyone I have ever seen.”