Eric Cesar Chavez (born December 7, 1977) is an American professional baseball coach and former third baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (1998–2010), New York Yankees (2011–2012), and Arizona Diamondbacks (2013–2014).

[3] Chavez was an early childhood friend as well as a high school teammate of Eric Munson at Mt.

[7] The Oakland Athletics selected Chavez in the first round, with the tenth pick, of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft.

[8] Chavez eventually chose a professional baseball career over a full scholarship at the University of Southern California (USC), signing with the Athletics on August 27, 1996.

[8] His efforts caused him to be promoted to the Edmonton Trappers, where in 47 games he hit 11 home runs and had a .325 batting average.

[10] He made his major league debut on September 8, 1998, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, where he came in as a pinch hitter for Mike Blowers and struck out in his only at bat.

[8] In the 27 games of September and October in 2001, Chavez hit ten home runs with 31 RBIs, a .379 batting average and a .738 slugging percentage resulting in him being named the American League Player of the Month for the only time in his career.

On February 4, 2011, Chavez agreed to a minor league contract with the New York Yankees with an invitation to spring training for the 2011 season.

On August 3, Chavez hit his first home run as a Yankee, a two-run shot to right field against the Chicago White Sox.

[24] On February 26, 2015, Chavez was hired as a part-time color analyst for Oakland A's telecasts on Comcast SportsNet California.

At the time, USA Today reported that Chavez would team with play-by-play announcer Glen Kuiper to call 20 games during the 2015 season, and would also serve as a pre-game and post-game studio analyst for the channel.

[25] Chavez served as a special assistant to Yankees executives Brian Cashman and Billy Eppler during the 2015 season.

[28] On August 5, 2018, the Salt Lake Bees announced that Chavez would replace Keith Johnson, who was promoted to the coaching staff of the Angels.