Christopher Michael Smith (born April 9, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and current pitching coach in the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox,

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, and

. He is a 1999 graduate of

Hesperia High School Hesperia High School is a public four-year high school within the Hesperia Unified School District located in Hesperia, San Bernardino County, California. It is one of seven comprehensive high schools in the district. The school currently is en ...

in Hesperia, California, and attended the University of California, Riverside.

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

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s and had a team-high eight

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. 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.

Professional career

Smith was selected by Boston Red Sox in 4th round of the

2002 Major League Baseball draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

and began his professional career playing for the Lowell Spinners of the New York–Penn League. However, Smith missed most of the season after being injured in an

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

accident.

Boston Red Sox

By , Smith had worked his way up to the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox and split the 2006 and seasons between Pawtucket and the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. He began the season with Pawtucket. On May 17, , the Red Sox called up Smith from Pawtucket to help out their

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. However, he was sent back to Pawtucket on May 20 without appearing in a game. 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 Out may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 * ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander * ''Out'' (2002 film), a Japanese film ba ...

by striking out Rick Ankiel on three straight changeups. He then gave up a grand slam to Troy Glaus for his first earned run. During his debut, he ended up going four innings, allowing just the one

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

, three

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

, striking out three and not walking anyone. 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. He was designated for assignment on October 17, and elected to become a free agent after clearing waivers.

Milwaukee Brewers

He later signed a minor league contract with the

with an invitation to spring training. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

to start the 2009 season; he was called up to Milwaukee on June 4 and optioned to Nashville on August 10. Smith was recalled on September 1 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 Joseph Steven Inglett (born June 29, 1978) is an American former professional baseball utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 2006 and 2011 for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Houston Astr ...

. He played the majority of the 2010 season with Nashville, but also played three games for Milwaukee. Smith led the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

with 26 saves. 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. 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. 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.

Return to the major leagues with Oakland Athletics

For the 2016 season, Smith signed a minor league contract with the

and was assigned to Triple-A

. 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. He made his first MLB appearance in nearly six years on August 7, 2016, pitching a scoreless ninth inning while striking out Dexter Fowler. He was sent outright to Triple-A after the 2016 season on October 5. On June 7, 2017, Smith pitched the first six innings of a combined

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

for the Sounds against the Omaha Storm Chasers. He was relieved by Sean Doolittle, Tucker Healy, and Simón Castro who pitched one inning each. 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. He was sent outright to Triple-A after the 2017 season and elected to become a free agent.

Coaching career

Smith was hired as the

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Oakland Athletics' Class A-Advanced

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Ba ...

for the 2019 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris 1981 births Living people Boston Red Sox players Milwaukee Brewers players Oakland Athletics players Baseball players from California Major League Baseball pitchers UC Riverside Highlanders baseball players Sugar Land Skeeters players Lowell Spinners players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Augusta GreenJackets players Sarasota Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Pawtucket Red Sox players Nashville Sounds players Tacoma Rainiers players Wichita Wingnuts players People from Hesperia, California Caribes de Anzoátegui players El Paso Chihuahuas players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela San Antonio Missions players Peoria Saguaros players People from Apple Valley, California