Christopher Barton "Chris" Donnels (born April 21, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. He is an alumnus of Loyola Marymount University where he was a standout for the Lions' baseball team. New York Mets Donnels was drafted out of college in the first round (24th overall pick) of the Major League Baseball Draft. He spent the next few years ascending through the Mets minor league affiliates. On May 7, , Donnels made his Major League Baseball debut for the Mets, recording an RBI of Tim Belcher in his debut. Over the course of his rookie year, he played in 37 games, compiling a .225 batting average. Donnels spent only limited time with the Mets in the season. He appeared in 45 games, but struggled considerably, putting together a .174 batting average. At the conclusion of the 1992 season, the Mets failed to protect Donnels, and he was chosen by the Florida Marlins as the 67th pick of the 1992 expansion draft. Only a month later, the Marlins placed Donnels on waivers. Houston Astros Almost immediately after being placed on waivers by Florida, Donnels was signed to a contract by the Houston Astros. It was with the Astros in the season that Donnels appeared in the most games of any season throughout his career. He appeared in 88 games, playing the primary backup to third baseman Ken Caminiti. Donnels pieced together a .257 batting average and hit the first two home runs of his major league career. He continued this role for the season. In , after appearing in 19 games with Houston, the Astros sent Donnels to the Boston Red Sox as part of a conditional deal. Astros rookie Phil Nevin made the team, thus making Donnels expendable. Japan Although Donnels finished the 1995 season with the Red Sox, appearing in 40 more games, his career collapsed after the season. He was released at the season's end, and failed to draw interest from another major league club. Donnels was signed by the Kintetsu Buffaloes for the season. He then played three seasons for the Orix BlueWave from -. Los Angeles Dodgers On February 8, 2000, days before spring training for the 2000 season began, Donnels was invited to attend the spring camp for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Considering he had not seen major league action in four years, Donnels had an outstanding spring, and surprised many