Christopher William Smith (born July 18, 1957) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played as 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 ...

and

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

and

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

Career

Smith attended the University of Southern California from 1976 to 1978. He was a starting member on the varsity baseball team since his freshman year where he hit third in the lineup all three years. He was selected to play for the USA team against the

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in 1977 and 1978, where he met some very special friends from the Japanese national team, Tatsunori Hara and his close friend Suguru Egawa, which Christopher roomed with at USC in 1978, where the Trojans won the national title in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. After touring Japan with the USA All Stars in 1978, Christopher signed a professional contract with the Texas Rangers. In his first year professionally, he hit .331, third highest in the Texas League. He was traded to the Montreal Expos the next year for

Rusty Staub Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub (April 1, 1944 – March 29, 2018) was an American professional baseball player and television color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 seasons as a right fielder, designated hitter, and first base ...

where he hit .327 in the International league,

Wichita Aeros The Wichita Aeros were an American minor league baseball franchise based in Wichita, Kansas, that played in the Triple-A American Association from 1970 through 1984. The Aeros were established as an expansion franchise when the Association grew ...

, AAA affiliate of the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

. The next year he was traded to the

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

for Jim Wohlford, where he played in the Pacific Coast League AAA affiliate of the Giants winning the batting title hitting .378 in 1983. He proceeded to play in the Major Leagues with the Montreal Expos in 1981 and 1982, and San Francisco Giants where in 1983, he finished the year hitting .328. One of his highlights in the major leagues, was at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, where he hit a three-run home run to beat the Cincinnati Reds in the top of the ninth inning going 2-for-5 for the day. After his career in the MLB, he signed at the time, the most lucrative three-year contract ever, with the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams in Tokyo, the other being the Yomiuri G ...

of the

(NPB). His only regret was not signing with the

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 ...

, who at the time, offered him two years, instead of three. In two seasons with the Swallows, he played in 68 total games, having 36 hits with five home runs and 18 RBIs for a .202 batting average.

Personal life

Smith has lived in Japan since 1995 where he considers his home after meeting a former model and TV broadcaster whom he married in 2003. They have twins, one boy and one girl.

External links

1957 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Torrance, California Denver Bears players Major League Baseball infielders Memphis Chicks players Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Phoenix Giants players San Francisco Giants players Tucson Toros players Tulsa Drillers players USC Trojans baseball players Wichita Aeros players Yakult Swallows players {{US-baseball-first-baseman-stub