Craig Tatum

Craig Tatum
Tatum with the Orioles in 2011
Houston Astros — No. --
Catcher
Born: March 18, 1983 (1983-03-18) (age 28) Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 21, 2009 for the Cincinnati Reds
Career statistics (through July 29, 2011)
Batting average	.252
Home runs	1
Runs batted in	18
Teams
Cincinnati Reds (2009) Baltimore Orioles (2010–2011)

Tatum playing for Cincinnati Reds in 2009

Craig Browning Tatum (born March 18, 1983, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball.

Early years

Tatum attended Hattiesburg High School where he played as a catcher and pitcher. He was named the Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year after hitting a team-best .435 with 51 hits and 54 Runs Batted In. He had a 7-3 pitching record with a save and a 3.94 earned run average and 80 strikeouts^[1]

College career

In 2002 Tatum was redshirted before be the team's starting catcher. In 2004, Tatum hit .325 with 13 home runs and a team-leading 60 RBI,^[2] in route to second-team All-All-SEC honors as a sophomore.^[3] He majored in Banking and Finance.

MLB career

Tatum was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the third round (78th overall) of the 2004 MLB Draft.^[4]

He was called up from the minors from Triple-A Louisville Bats on July 19, 2009 after starting catcher Ramon Hernandez had a knee injury.^[5][6] On July 21, 2009 he made his major league debut against Los Angeles Dodgers,^[7] he went 0-2 and was the last player retired in the game.^[8] On July 25, Hanigan was scratched from his scheduled start to a stiff neck^[9] which allowed Tatum took his first Major League start against the Chicago Cubs.^[10] On July 28 against the San Diego Padres, Tatum notched his first Major League hit and first career RBI with a single that scored Laynce Nix^[11] On August 29, 2009, Tatum hit his first career home run, a line drive off knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. On November 20, 2009, Tatum was claimed off waivers by the Baltimore Orioles. Making the team out of spring training, he backed up Matt Wieters for the 2010 season. In 2011 Tatum did not make the team out of spring training but was called up after catcher Jake Fox was designated for assignment on June 1. He has backed up catcher Matt Wieters since then.

Tatum was claimed off waivers by the Astros on October 28. ^[12]

Personal

Tatum played in college with Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, and they are offseason workout partners.^{[citation needed]} He is married to Daniele Rocconi.

References

1. ^ No. 39 Craig Tatum: Mississippi State Bulldogs
2. ^ Former Diamond Dog Craig Tatum Called Up By Cincy
3. ^ Corley, Tatum Earn SEBaseball.com All-Conference
4. ^ Catcher Craig Tatum Taken By Cincinnati In Third Round; Marlins Take Infielder Steve Gendron In 13th Round
5. ^ Reds catcher to have surgery, miss four-to-six weeks
6. ^ Tatum in awe of callup to big leagues
7. ^ LA Dodgers 12, Cincinnati 3 Game Wrapup, reds.com
8. ^ Cincinnati vs LA Dodgers-July 21, 2009
9. ^ Reds missing three starters Saturday
10. ^ Late taters not enough to pick up Cueto
11. ^ Arroyo, Reds drop tight one to Padres
12. ^ [1]

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Mississippi State University Buldogs Bio

Persondata
Name	Tatum, Craig
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	March 18, 1983
Place of birth	Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Date of death
Place of death