Chris Coghlan
Christopher Brockett Coghlan is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs, Florida / Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays. Coghlan was the National League Rookie of the Year in 2009.
Career
High school and college
Coghlan attended East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Florida. He was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 18th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign, choosing instead to attend the University of Mississippi to play college baseball for the Ole Miss Rebels. In 2004, Coghlan started 54 games at third base and made the Southeastern Conference All-Freshman team. He was named to the All-SEC second team in 2005. He played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League in 2005, was named a league all-star, and led the league in batting with a.346 average. In 2006, he was a first-team All-SEC and third-team All-American selection.Coghlan was selected by the Florida Marlins in the first round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft, and signed.
Florida/Miami Marlins
After joining the Marlins organization, Coghlan played for the Gulf Coast Marlins, the Jamestown Jammers, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, the Jupiter Hammerheads, the Carolina Mudcats and the New Orleans Zephyrs. Much of his time in the minors was spent switching positions from his college position of third base to second base and eventually left field when called up to the Florida Marlins.Coghlan made his major league debut on May 8,. On August 9, 2009, he set the Marlins team record for consecutive multi-hit games at eight.
Coghlan had 41 hits in August 2009, the most for a rookie since Todd Helton hit 45 in August 1998, earning him Rookie of the Month honors. He then followed with 50 hits in September/October 2009, the first rookie with back to back 40+ hit months, and the first player to do so since Ichiro Suzuki in 2004. His.321 batting average was 6th in NL among all players and 1st among all rookies. After the MLB All-Star break, Coghlan led all major league players in batting average and hits. His overall performance earned him the National League Rookie of the Year Award on November 16, 2009.
In April 2012, Coghlan was sent down to New Orleans, with Bryan Petersen being recalled to take his place. Coghlan was hitting.121 with a.299 OPS and 2 RBI in Miami. In May 2012, Coghlan and Donovan Solano were called up by the Marlins after Emillio Bonifacio was placed on the disabled list with a thumb injury. He started the same day against the Cleveland Indians going 0–4 with an RBI. In June 2012, Coghlan was sent down for a second time to the New Orleans Zephyrs to make room for Scott Cousins.
After the 2013 season, Coghlan was non-tendered by Miami, becoming a free agent.