C.J. Retherford

Christopher Jess Retherford

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 185 lb.
• School Arizona State University
• High School Hamilton High School (Chandler)

• Born August 14, 1985 in Homestead, FL USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Infielder C.J. Retherford was signed by the Chicago White Sox in 2007 after attending Arizona State University, beginning that season with the Great Falls White Sox a long odyssey all around minor league baseball. He had an excellent first season, hitting .318/.389/.613 in 60 games, with 30 doubles and 13 homers. By 2009, he was playing regularly in AA with the Birmingham Barons, where he hit .297/.340/.473 in 128 games. He was a second baseman that year, after playing mainly third his first two seasons, and appeared to be on the brink of breaking into the Show.

However, he suddenly seemed to lose the ability to hit in 2010, as he he combined for a .200 average, 7 homers and 41 RBIs in 123 games between Birmingham and the AAA Charlotte Knights. He changed organizations in 2011, joining the Atlanta Braves, but he hit only .297 in 41 games for the AA Mississippi Braves. He was let go in June, played briefly with the Erie SeaWolves of the Detroit Tigers organization without finding his hitting stroke, and by the end of the year was in the independent leagues, toiling for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the American Association. There, he could suddenly hit again, putting up a line of .339/.399/.500 in 56 games. That late surge got him another shot in organized baseball, this time with the Los Angeles Dodgers system. In 118 games in Class A and AA, he hit .311/.366/.546 to seemingly put his career back on track. He confirmed his good form by hitting .288 in 61 games for the Tiburones de La Guaira in the Venezuelan League during the 2012-13 off-season.

But hitting woes returned again in 2013. He was with the Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League that season, but was limited to a .219 average in 47 games. Released mid-year, he was back in Fargo-Moorhead to end the season, where he hit .270 in 83 games. Back with La Guaira that winter, he hit .328, once again playing regularly in a circuit boasting a significant number of major leaguers and former major leaguers. However, the 2014 season found him back with Fargo-Moorhead, where he hit .312 in 99 games. Late in the year, he moved to another indy team, the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League. There, facing a higher level of competition, he hit .314 in 18 games. He played again for La Guaira after the season, but was let go after putting up a .200 average in 19 games. He immediately found another opportunity in the Mexican Pacific League with the Charros de Jalisco, and his bat got red hot suddenly, with a .341 average and 7 homers in 32 games. His hot hitting with Jalisco helped him to find an opportunity to play in the Mexican League in 2015. After 27 games of hitting .233 with the Toros de Tijuana, he moved to the Piratas de Campeche, where he hit .283 with 15 homers and 56 RBIs in 81 games. When the LMB season ended, he spent a couple of weeks back in the Atlantic League, with the Bridgeport Bluefish, where he hit .226 in 17 games. After the season, he changed winter league teams, moving to the Águilas de Mexicali, still in the Mexican Pacific League. Loving the Mexican climate, he hit .333 during the regular season, then was the hero of Game 7 of the league semifinals against the Mayos de Navojoa on January 18, 2016. In the 16th inning, of a 2-2 game, with teammates Chris Roberson on third and Yuniesky Betancourt on first base, he laid down a perfect squeeze bunt to drive in Roberson and end the game, sending Mexicali to the league finals.

Retherford became a hitting coach with the ACL Brewers Blue in 2022. After the season he served as a hitting coach for Aguilas de Mexicali in the Mexican Pacific League. He was hitting coach of the ACL Brewers in 2023. He returned to Mexico on November 21, 2023 as the new hitting coach for the Charros de Jalisco.