Kris Richards

Kristopher Curtis Richards

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.

• School University of North Carolina at Greensboro
• High School West Johnston High School

• Born December 9, 1989 in Great Falls, MT USA

BR Register page

Biographical Information

Kris Richards played in the US, Czech Republic and New Zealand and for the New Zealand national team.

Richards was All-State as a high school senior then hit .234 as a college freshman. He improved to .307/.350/.480 as a sophomore, fell to .208/.241/.321 as a junior and rebounded to .342/.402/.505 as a senior.

He was signed by Baltimore Orioles scout Gary Rajsich. He was a utility infielder that summer for the GCL Orioles (.127/.239/.186 in 37 G) and Aberdeen Ironbirds (1 for 13, BB). In 2013, he played for Aberdeen (.253/.301/.347 in 25 G) and the Delmarva Shorebirds (.172/.203/.213 in 36 G), fielding .993 at 1B and .988 at 2B.

Kris then signed with Kotlarka Praha in the Czech Republic, where he was a player-coach. He was 9 for 27 with two walks, three times plunked, a double, a homer, four runs and nine RBI in ten games in 2015 and had a 1.69 ERA in three outings. The team won a title, ending Draci Brno's long run. He was 2 for 9 and pitched a scoreless inning the next year.

With the Auckland Tuatara in the 2018-2019 Australian Baseball League, he batted .236/.277/.357, falling one double shy of league leader Zac Shepherd's 12. He was 3 for 14 with a double, homer, two walks, three runs and two RBI for Auckland in 2019-2020. He then worked for Baseball New Zealand before becoming a softball coach at George Washington University.

Playing the field again, he appeared for New Zealand in the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers. In their opener, he hit fifth and played right field. He flew out against Brazil's Gabriel Barbosa in the second and finished the qualifiers 0-for-7. Only teammate Sam Kennelly and Shan Sundu had worse oh-fers in the qualifier.