Christopher Robert Richard (born June 7, 1974) is an American former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
and
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
. He is an alumnus of
University of San Diego High School
Cathedral Catholic High School (CCHS) is a private coeducational Catholic college preparatory day school in San Diego, California serving grades 9–12. It is operated by the Diocese of San Diego. It was founded in 1957 as the University High S ...
in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
and of
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
. He last played in the majors in for the
Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...
.
Career
Drafted by the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...
in the 19th round of the
1995 MLB Draft
First round selections
The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft.
''*'' Did not sign
Background
Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...
, Richard made his Major League Baseball debut with the Cardinals on July 17, . He hit a
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
in his first major league
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...
, becoming the fourth player in the history of the club to do so. After appearing in six games with the Cardinals, Richard was traded to the
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
on July 29, 2000, for
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
Mike Timlin
Michael August Timlin (; born March 10, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Timlin played on four World Series championship teams in an 18-year career; the 1992 Toronto Blue Jays, 1993 Toronto Blue Jays, 2004 Bos ...
.
With Baltimore, Richard's campaign would be the best of his career. In 136 games for the Orioles, he compiled a .265
batting average
Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic.
Cricket
In cricket, a player's batting average is ...
with 15 home runs and 65
RBI.
After appearing in 50 games for Baltimore in , Richard was traded to the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
on March 21, , for outfielder
Jack Cust
John Joseph "Jack" Cust III (born January 7, 1979) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles, San Diego ...
.
Initially a
first baseman
A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...
, Richard was converted to an outfielder with
Jeff Conine
Jeffrey Guy Conine (; born June 27, 1966) is an American former professional baseball left fielder / first baseman and current assistant baseball coach at Florida International University, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons, ...
being the Orioles' mainstay at first base, and later
Todd Helton
Todd Lynn Helton (born August 20, 1973) is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played his entire 17-year career for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and ...
being the Rockies starter at first.
After being out of organized baseball in , Richard played for the
Oklahoma RedHawks
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...
in the
Texas Rangers organization in . After spending the season playing for the
Indianapolis Indians
The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...
, the Triple-A affiliate of the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
, he played and with the
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...
, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Richard returned to Durham to start the season. He was called up by the Rays on September 7, 2009, after
Carlos Peña
Carlos Felipe Peña (born May 17, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, Detroit Tigers, Boston Red Sox, Tampa Bay Devil Rays/Rays, C ...
suffered two broken fingers on a
CC Sabathia
Carsten Charles Sabathia Jr. (born July 21, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the New York Yankees. He also played for the Cleveland Indians and Milwauke ...
pitch, and had one plate appearance in the second game of a day/night
doubleheader against the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
.
Richard was released and became a minor league free agent in 2009.
He played for the
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...
once again in 2010.
Richard retired on March 4, 2011.
Richard lives in his hometown of San Diego, CA with his wife and daughter, where he co-owns and operates his family business, Personal Pitcher.
PersonalPitcher.com
/ref>
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richard, Chris
1974 births
Living people
Aberdeen IronBirds players
Arkansas Travelers players
Baltimore Orioles players
Bowie Baysox players
Colorado Rockies players
Durham Bulls players
Gulf Coast Orioles players
Indianapolis Indians players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball outfielders
Baseball players from San Diego
Memphis Redbirds players
New Jersey Cardinals players
Oklahoma RedHawks players
Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players
Rochester Red Wings players
St. Louis Cardinals players
St. Petersburg Cardinals players
Tampa Bay Rays players