Chris Bando

Christopher Michael Bando (born February 4, 1956) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 1980s, spending most of his career with the Cleveland Indians before playing for the Detroit Tigers and Oakland Athletics. He managed the Texas AirHogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Career As player Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bando attended Arizona State University, where he played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils baseball team. He hit the game winning home run in the championship game of the 1977 College World Series (CWS). He was chosen as the best catcher in the CWS during the 1970s.

In the 1978 MLB draft, Bando was selected by the Cleveland Indians as their second round pick. Bando also spent the following two seasons with the Lookouts, Cleveland's AA affiliate. In 1979, he played in only 21 games, posting a .242 batting average and driving in seven runs. His number of appearances jumped by a hundred the next year, as he saw action in 121 games for Chattanooga in 1980. His batting average also rose significantly, as he hit .349 for the season, while homering 12 times and collecting 73 RBIs.

In his third Major League season, Bando saw his batting average jump to .256 in 48 games of action. the league's only year of operation. For three years he served as the Third Base coach and Bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and he also was the manager of the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League in 2012. Bando has also been a Major League pro scout for the Milwaukee Brewers and an Advanced scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Personal life Chris is the brother of Sal Bando. Chris attended Solon High School in Solon, Ohio.