Chris Smith (pitcher, born 1981)

Christopher Michael Smith (born April 9, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach in the Oakland Athletics organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Oakland Athletics. He is a 1999 graduate of Hesperia High School in Hesperia, California, and attended the University of California, Riverside.[1]

Chris Smith
Smith with the Oakland A's in 2017
Pitcher
Born: (1981-04-09) April 9, 1981
Apple Valley, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 21, 2008, for the Boston Red Sox
Last MLB appearance
September 30, 2017, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Win–loss record1–4
Earned run average5.41
Strikeouts112
Teams

College

While attending the University of California, Riverside, Smith posted a 9–8 record and a 2.91 ERA. He also broke a school record with 127 strikeouts and had a team-high eight complete games. He earned Big West Pitcher of the Week honors after a 15-strikeout performance at University of California, Irvine, and was named second team All-Big West.[2]

Professional career

Smith was selected by Boston Red Sox in 4th round of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft and began his professional career playing for the Lowell Spinners of the New York–Penn League.[3] However, Smith missed most of the 2002 season after being injured in an ATV accident.[4]

Boston Red Sox

By 2006, Smith had worked his way up to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox and split the 2006 and 2007 seasons between Pawtucket and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He began the 2008 season with Pawtucket. On May 17, 2008, the Red Sox called up Smith from Pawtucket to help out their bullpen.[5] However, he was sent back to Pawtucket on May 20 without appearing in a game.[6] On June 21, Smith made his debut against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park in the second inning with the bases loaded in relief of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Smith recorded his first major league out by striking out Rick Ankiel on three straight changeups. He then gave up a grand slam to Troy Glaus for his first earned run.[7] During his debut, he ended up going four innings, allowing just the one run, three hits, striking out three and not walking anyone.[8]

Smith with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009

Smith earned his first major league win on June 24, 2008, pitching two scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks in relief of starter Justin Masterson.[9] He was designated for assignment on October 17, and elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers.[10]

Milwaukee Brewers

He later signed a minor league contract with the Milwaukee Brewers with an invitation to spring training. He was assigned to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds to start the 2009 season; he was called up to Milwaukee on June 4[11] and optioned to Nashville on August 10.[12] Smith was recalled on September 1[13] and finished the season with Milwaukee.

On January 27, 2010, Smith was designated for assignment by the Milwaukee Brewers to make room on the roster for Joe Inglett.[14] He played the majority of the 2010 season with Nashville, but also played three games for Milwaukee. Smith led the Pacific Coast League with 26 saves.[15] He elected to become a free agent at the end of the season.

Minor and Independent leagues

He signed with the Seattle Mariners on a minor league contract and ended up playing for the Tacoma Rainiers in 2011 before being released during the season.[16] He later played with the Washington (Frontier) independent league for 2012 season and signed a minor league contract with New York Yankees for the 2013 season.[17]

Smith signed with the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball on March 5, 2013. In 2014, he signed with the San Diego Padres and was sent to the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas.[18]

Return to the major leagues with Oakland Athletics
Smith threw six innings in a combined no-hitter for Nashville in 2017 (shown).

For the 2016 season, Smith signed a minor league contract with the Oakland Athletics and was assigned to Triple-A Nashville Sounds. On August 6, 2016, he was added to the 40-man roster and was brought up to the MLB with the Oakland A's. He was added due to the injury to A's ace Sonny Gray and catcher Josh Phegley.[19] He made his first MLB appearance in nearly six years on August 7, 2016, pitching a scoreless ninth inning while striking out Dexter Fowler.[20] He was sent outright to Triple-A after the 2016 season on October 5.[21] On June 7, 2017, Smith pitched the first six innings of a combined no-hitter for the Sounds against the Omaha Storm Chasers. He was relieved by Sean Doolittle, Tucker Healy, and Simón Castro who pitched one inning each.[22] Smith was called up again to the Athletics on July 8, 2017, to make a spot start against the Mariners. At age 36, Smith became the oldest player to make his first career start with the Athletics in 117 years.[23] He was sent outright to Triple-A after the 2017 season and elected to become a free agent.[24]

Coaching career

Smith was hired as the pitching coach for the Oakland Athletics' Class A-Advanced Stockton Ports for the 2019 season.[25]

References
  1. "Chris Smith". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  2. "UC Riverside Baseball: 2001-02 Archive". University of California, Riverside. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  3. "Chris Smith". Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on 2020-10-24. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  4. "#31 Chris Smith". Sox Prospects. Archived from the original on 2004-03-06. Retrieved April 13, 2008.
  5. "RHP Chris Smith Added To Pen". The Joy of Sox. May 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 2015-09-06. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  6. "Smith's call-up is short-lived". Daily Press. May 20, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  7. "Glaus' slam helps Cards cruise past Red Sox, rusty Dice-K". ESPN. June 21, 2008. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  8. "Cardinals 9, Red Sox 3". St. Louis Cardinals. June 21, 2008. Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  9. Harris, Stephen (June 25, 2008). "First victory a big relief for Chris Smith". Boston Herald. Archived from the original on May 22, 2011. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  10. Kilgore, Adam (October 23, 2008). "Boras states his case for keeping Varitek". Boston Globe. Retrieved October 23, 2008.
  11. "Major League Baseball Transactions". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-10. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  12. "Major League Baseball Transactions". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-10. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  13. "Major League Baseball Transactions". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 2008-11-10. Retrieved October 25, 2009.
  14. Haudricourt, Tom (January 27, 2010). "Brewers add utility man". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  15. "2010 Nashville Sounds Season In Review". Minor League Baseball. September 8, 2010. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
  16. Sullivan, Jeff (November 24, 2010). "Charlie Haeger and Chris Smith have also signed minor league contracts". Lookout Landing. Archived from the original on 2010-11-30. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  17. "Former White Sands Pupfish Pitcher Chris Smith signs with New York Yankees". Peco's League. January 22, 2013. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  18. Cox, JW (June 28, 2014). "San Diego Padres Sign Independent League Arm and Former MLB Pitcher Chris Smith". Friars on Base. Archived from the original on 2014-08-30. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  19. Letourneau, Connor (August 7, 2016). "A's place Sonny Gray on 15-day DL; call up Chris Smith". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2016-08-08. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  20. "Boxscore: Chi Cubs vs. Oakland - August 7, 2016". MLB.com. August 7, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  21. "A's Outright Eric Sogard, Fernando Rodriguez, Four Others".
  22. "Sounds No-Hit Storm Chasers". Minor League Baseball. June 7, 2017. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  23. Hall, Alex (July 8, 2017). "A's call up Chris Smith for spot start". Athletics Nation. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
  24. Stiglich, Joe (October 25, 2017). "Journeyman Chris Smith's unique run with A's comes to an end". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on 2017-10-28. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
  25. Schulz, Katie (November 5, 2019). "2020 Field Staff Announced". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on 2020-11-16. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
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