Jeffrey David Larish (born October 11, 1982) 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

and

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 played in

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 ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Amateur career

Larish attended

McClintock High School McClintock High School is a high school located in Tempe, Arizona, Tempe, Arizona, approximately two miles southeast of the campus of Arizona State University. McClintock High School was established in 1964. The school was named after James H. McC ...

. Larish was chosen by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

in the 32nd round of the

2001 Major League Baseball draft The 2001 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 5 and 6. First round selections Supplemental First Round selections Compensation Picks Background On June 1, 2001, Rolando Viera, a Cuban baseball pitcher who had recently left Cub ...

, but chose to attend college at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

. Larish was chosen by 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 ...

in the 15th round of the 2004 Major League Baseball draft, but turned down a reported $660,000 contract offer at the advice of his agent,

Scott Boras Scott Dean Boras (born November 2, 1952) is an American sports agent, specializing in baseball. He is the founder, owner and president of the Boras Corporation, a sports agency based in Newport Beach, California, that represents roughly 175 pro ...

, so that he could complete college. On June 21, 2005, Larish became the third

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is a baseball tournament held each June in Omaha, Nebraska. It is the culmination of the NCAA Division I baseball tournament—featuring 64 teams in the ...

player in history to hit three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in a single game.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Larish was chosen by the

in the fifth round (150th overall) of the

2005 MLB draft The 2005 Major League Baseball draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best drafts in recent memory. ''SourceMajor L ...

. In 2007, Larish was honored as the Tigers Minor League Player of the Year. On January 25, 2010, Larish was optioned to Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

. On July 25, Larish was recalled to the

when

Magglio Ordóñez Magglio José Ordóñez Delgado (; born January 28, 1974) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball right fielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox (1997–2004) and Detroit Tigers (2005–2011). Ordóñez is tall and weighs . Having po ...

and

Carlos Guillén Carlos Alfonso Guillén (born September 30, 1975) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers. Guillén was signed by the Houston Astros as a non-draft a ...

were sent to the disabled list. Larish had a Statue of Liberty batting stance. He stood straight up with absolutely no movement other than pushing off on his left leg as he began his swing. On July 30, Larish was

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 ...

by the Tigers.

Oakland Athletics

On August 3, 2010, Larish was claimed off waivers by the

, and subsequently assigned to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. On August 6, Larish had 10 RBI in a doubleheader sweep at

Isotopes Park Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park, previously known only as Isotopes Park, is a minor league baseball stadium located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and is the home field of the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Pacific Coast League, the Tr ...

. The River Cats won both games, 14–5 and 12–3, respectively.

Philadelphia Phillies

On November 18, 2010, Larish signed a minor league contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

. On July 14, 2011, Larish suffered a season-ending injury when he suffered a broken leg trying to score at home plate.

Pittsburgh Pirates

The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

signed Larish to a minor league contract on February 3, 2012. However, he did not receive an invitation to spring training. At the end of spring training, Larish was released by the Orioles. On May 4, Larish signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

, but never played in a game for the organization. On May 12, 2012, Larish was traded to 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

in exchange for cash considerations. On September 3, playing for the Triple-A

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory ...

against the

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, Larish attempted to play all nine positions. Larish began the game in left field, in the 2nd inning he was in center field, by the 3rd inning Larish was in right field. He played third base in the 4th, shortstop in the 5th, and second base in the 6th. He started the 7th inning at first base and became the pitcher with two outs in the inning. Larish failed to play catcher only because the game was shortened due to rain. Larish was credited with the save. He elected free agency on November 2. On November 9, 2012, Larish re-signed with the Pirates on a minor league contract. In 20 appearances for Triple-A Indianapolis, he batted .167/.310/.313 with two home runs and five RBI. Larish was released by the Pirates organization on August 3, 2013.

International career

Larish played on the

United States national baseball team The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA, represents the United States in international level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United S ...

in the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

; the team took the silver medal and went 27–2 overall, at the time its best finish ever. Larish scored the only

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 ...

in the team's 3–1 loss in the final game to

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larish, Jeff 1982 births Living people Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players at the 2003 Pan American Games Baseball players from Iowa Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Gulf Coast Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Lakeland Tigers players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players 21st-century American sportsmen Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Mesa Solar Sox players Oakland Athletics players Oneonta Tigers players Peoria Saguaros players Sacramento River Cats players Sportspeople from Iowa City, Iowa Toledo Mud Hens players United States national baseball team players Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in baseball