Chris O'Riordan

From BR Bullpen

Christopher Sean O'Riordan

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

Chris O'Riordan had a promising career derailed by injury; he peaked at AA.

Amateur Career[edit]

O'Riordan played baseball and football (kicker) in high school, being named All-California for small schools in the former. He was a walk-on at Stanford, a national power. He got into two games as a freshman in 1999, when Stanford finished third in the nation. Despite not having been recruited by Mark Marquess, he won a spot on Marquess's club in 2000 and put on a show. His first collegiate hit was a 10th-inning homer to help beat Florida State University. He went on to hit .366 to lead Stanford in 2000 (beating out Joe Borchard, Eric Bruntlett and John Gall), winning the Most Improved Player on the team. In the 2000 College World Series title game, he was 2 for 5 in a 6-5 loss to LSU. He struggled to make contact in summer ball with the Anchorage Bucs, batting .222 though he led his team with 18 walks.

The San Diego native was a star presence in 2001. He hit .359/.435/.562 to win All-American honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association at 2B. Baseball America picked him second-team after Michael Woods. O'Riordan had 12 home runs, 16 steals, 62 runs and 68 RBI. He was third in the Pacific-10 Conference in RBI, after Shelley Duncan and Casey Myers, tied for 4th in home runs, was second with 101 hits (four behind Brian Baron and the 6th-highest total in Stanford history to that point), third in runs (behind Ernie Durazo and Duncan), tied for 6th in walks (32), second in total bases (158, trailing Duncan) and tied for 4th in steals. In the 2001 College World Series, he drove in the go-ahead run in the 10th against Cal State Fullerton. In the finale, he went 0 for 4 as Stanford lost to the University of Miami, their second straight loss in the finals. That summer, he hit .236 for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod League.

O'Riordan continued to shine in 2002. On March 28, he hit a two-out, bottom-of-the-9th, game-tying grand slam against the University of Texas; Stanford won in the 10th. He hit .332/.420/.529 for the year. He was second in the Pac-10 in hits (87, trailing teammate Sam Fuld), 6th in runs (59) and third in HBP (16). He also led with 214 assists. In the 2002 College World Series, he was 4 for 11 with two steals, four RBI and one double. He was All-Pac-10 at second base.

He finished his college career 7th in Stanford history in average (.352), tied for 9th in doubles (49) and 10th in hits (262). He had a .434 OBP and .537 slugging in college.

Professional Career[edit]

The Texas Rangers took O'Riordan in the 8th round of the 2002 amateur draft. The little infielder did not miss a beat after turning pro, batting .370/.495/.526 with 14 steals in 17 tries, 30 walks, 16 doubles and 37 runs in 48 games for the Pulaski Rangers; he also hit .273/.400/.364 in nine contests with the Savannah Sand Gnats. He led the Appalachian League in OBP and fielding at 2B (.983) and was second in average, .005 behind Luis Jimenez. He was named the All-Star 2B and Baseball America rated him as the league's #20 prospect, right after fellow 2B Pedro Lopez. He did well in 2003 - .326/.429/.413 in 48 games for the Clinton Lumber Kings and .470/.630/.789 in a 7-game rehab stint with the AZL Rangers - despite missing time with knee problems.

That summer, he was diagnosed with patellofemoral syndrome. The team physician recommended surgery. His father, a doctor, said that he would not undergo surgery if he were in Chris's shoes, but that the choice was Chris's. Opting for surgery, he never recovered, missing all of 2004 and 2005. Signing with the San Diego Padres for 2006, he was a shadow of his former self in stints with the Lake Elsinore Storm (.219/.326/.247 in 24 G) and Mobile BayBears (.168/.293/.230 in 47 G).

He finished his minor league career with a batting line of .297/.418/.400. He had 36 doubles, 105 walks and 96 runs in 183 games while going 25-for-34 in base-stealing.

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