Latham chases dream

Tuesday, May 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

As a youngster growing up in Las Vegas, Chris Latham was an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. After he graduated from Basic High School and was selected by the Dodgers in the 11th round of the 1991 draft, Latham thought he had died and gone to heaven.

"I've always been a Dodger fan, even when I was a young kid," Latham said. "When I got drafted out of high school by the Dodgers, I couldn't believe it. It was a dream come true to be drafted and then to (be picked) by the team I love."

A trade last summer between the Dodgers and Minnesota sent Latham to the Twins' organization. Now Latham, playing for the triple-A Salt Lake Buzz, has another dream -- to play in the major leagues in the same outfield with fellow Las Vegans Marty Cordova and Anthony Lewis.

Cordova, the 1995 American League Rookie of the Year and a Bishop Gorman High grad, is a mainstay in the Twins' outfield. Latham is the proverbial phone call away from joining Cordova. Lewis, out of Rancho High, is in the Twins' organization at double-A Hardware City, Conn.

"That's what the dream is for all of us -- an all-Vegas outfield in Minnesota," said Latham, who had a triple and scored a run in the Buzz's 8-6 loss to the Las Vegas Stars Monday night at Cashman Field. "That would be fun and it's something we all have talked about."

Latham played in the same outfield with Cordova when he went to major-league spring training with the Twins this spring, and played briefly with Lewis while the two were in the Twins' minor-league camp.

"It was great this spring because me and Marty got to play side by side," Lewis said. "I've known Marty for a few years now because we've been working out together over at Hadland Park during the winter. It was a lot of fun to play side by side and be in the same lineup. It'll even be better once it counts, in a major-league game."

Latham, who will be 23 in two weeks, has struggled this season with the Buzz, hitting .232 with 15 RBIs in 34 games. The speedy center fielder chalks up his early-season slump to the change in organizations.

"I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself being with a new organization and trying to do too much," he said. "That's basically it -- I'm just trying to do way too much instead of just staying within myself and doing what I can do."

What he can do is hit and run. In his first five professional seasons in the Dodgers' minor-league system, Latham hit .278 and averaged nearly 36 stolen bases a season. Last season, while playing in the Class A Florida State League, Latham was named the best and fastest baserunner by Baseball America magazine and was rated the league's eighth-best prospect after hitting .296 and stealing 42 bases in 71 games at Vero Beach.

"I'm a line-drive, gap-to-gap hitter who every now and then hits a few out of the yard," said Latham, who has one home run and six stolen bases with the Buzz. "My game is to hit the ball on the ground and use my speed because I can run pretty good, and try to get doubles and triples. They call it the set-up man over here -- I set up the dinner table and let the big boys drive me in."

Latham showed that speed Monday night against the Stars as he led off the eighth inning with a triple to the gap in right-center field. Latham was rounding second base by the time Stars outfielders Rob Deer and Ira Smith had tracked down the ball at the base of the wall.

True to his role as the set-up man, Latham scored as the next hitter, Brent Brede, lofted a fly ball to left field.

Although his heart may still belong to the Dodgers, Latham has come to accept the trade that brought him to the Twins for Kevin Tapani and Mark Guthrie.

"I'm going to miss the Dodgers -- they're a great organization and first-class all the way around -- but it's time to move on," he said. "I think it's going to be great for my future because once I get my stuff together and start playing the way I'm capable of playing, I can move up at any time.

"We've got a few guys (in Minnesota) who are struggling right now. I think the Twins want to give me my shot, but I'm just not ready yet. I need to prove to them and myself that I can play here by putting up numbers."