Christopher Joseph Latham (born May 26, 1973) is an American former professional

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 catch ...

. He is a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers, although there are some exceptions. Characteristics Right-han ...

who is 6'0" tall, weighs 195 pounds, and throws right-handed.

Career

Latham played baseball at

Basic High School Basic Academy of International Studies (also Basic Academy, previously Basic High School) is a State school, public Secondary school, high school with a Magnet school, magnet program. It is part of the Clark County School District. It was the firs ...

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

, and in 1991 the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

selected him in the June amateur draft, taking him with the 300th overall pick as part of the draft's 11th round. Latham enjoyed a breakout season with the

Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season ...

of the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseba ...

in 1994, setting a club record with a .340

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 ...

. Latham also made the Northwest League's

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team that season, establishing himself as a prospect. The

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

went on

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) * Hobart Huson, author of several drug related books Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm * Airstrike, ...

late in 1994, and as a result major league organizations attempted to field teams of

replacement players In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Replacements related to strikes are most ...

in the

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

before the 1995 season. Latham was one of the Dodgers' replacement players that spring, but the two sides reached a deal before any regular-season replacement games were played. On October 30, 1995, Latham was chosen as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in a deal that had been concluded on July 31. Los Angeles received pitchers

Kevin Tapani Kevin Ray Tapani (born February 18, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Mets, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago White Sox, and Chicago Cubs from 1989 to 2001. Early life Tapani was ra ...

and

Mark Guthrie Mark Andrew Guthrie (born September 22, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for several teams between 1989 and 2003, and was a member of the 1991 World Series Champion Minnesota Twins. Career After grad ...

from the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

, with Latham,

Ron Coomer Ronald Bryan Coomer (born November 18, 1966), nicknamed "Coom Dawg", is an American former first baseman and third baseman in Major League Baseball and the current color analyst and play-by-play broadcaster for the Chicago Cubs radio on WSCR 670 ...

Greg Hansell Gregory Michael Hansell (born March 12, 1971) is an American former baseball pitcher. Career Hansell played for four different major league ballclubs during his career: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1995), Minnesota Twins (1996), Milwaukee Brewers (1 ...

and José Parra going the other way. Latham made his major league debut with the Twins on April 12, 1997, appearing as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

for

Todd Walker Todd Arthur Walker (born May 25, 1973) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 2007. Listed at and , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Walker played college baseba ...

in an 11-6 win over the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He spent parts of the next three seasons with the Twins, but struggled to establish himself in the major leagues, and 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

for

Scott Randall Scott Phillip Randall (born October 29, 1975) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Randall's Major League Baseball (MLB) career began in June 1995 when he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 11th round of the Major League B ...

on December 7, 1999. Latham spent all of the 2000 season at the AAA level, then signed with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

organization as a minor league

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

. He enjoyed his most successful major league season with the Blue Jays in 2001, batting .274 with a .369

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batting (baseball), batter reaches base (baseball), base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA ...

and a .425

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at-bats for a given player, an ...

in 73

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 upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s. After another season in AAA, he spent a brief time with 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) Am ...

in 2003, then signed with Japan's

Yomiuri Giants The are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Bunkyo, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. They h ...

after being

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

. Latham spent the 2005 season with the independent

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseb ...

of the

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

. Most recently, he represented the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the

2005 Baseball World Cup The 2005 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 36th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...

, as one of four outfielders on the American team.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Latham, Chris 1973 births Living people African-American baseball players Albuquerque Dukes players 20th-century American sportsmen American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Bakersfield Dodgers players Baseball players from Idaho Bridgeport Bluefish players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Great Falls Dodgers players Long Island Ducks players Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball replacement players Mexican League baseball center fielders Minnesota Twins players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Norfolk Tides players Salt Lake Buzz players San Antonio Missions players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Toronto Blue Jays players Winnipeg Goldeyes players Vero Beach Dodgers players Yakima Bears players Yomiuri Giants players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 2005 Baseball World Cup players