University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heels' Iannetta Makes Major League Debut Sunday
August 27, 2006 | Baseball
Aug. 27, 2006
DENVER - Former University of North Carolina All-America catcher Chris Iannetta made his major league debut Sunday in the Colorado Rockies' win over San Diego at Coors Field. The Providence, R.I., product started the game behind the plate and went 1-for-4 with an RBI single in the fifth inning.
In the minor leagues this season, Iannetta combined to hit .336 (103-for-307) with 14 home runs and 48 RBI in 91 games. He began the season at Tulsa and hit .321 (50-for-156) with 11 home runs and 26 RBI in 44 games. He was selected to his first Texas League All-Star team and was named the Minor League Baseball Star of the Day for June 1 after going 2-for-3 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI in the Drillers' 3-1 win over San Antonio. He was promoted to Triple-A on June 26 and has hit .351 (53-for-151) with 3 home runs and 22 RBI in 47 games with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.
While at Carolina, Iannetta earned All-America honors in 2004 and was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award.
Iannetta is the fourth former Tar Heel to play in the majors this season, joining Russ Adams, Brian Roberts and Kyle Snyder. Rookie Andrew Miller is expected to be the fifth when the Detroit Tigers expand their roster Friday.
