So just who is Dallas Latos

Dallas Latos(Photo Berg Ted)

Story HighlightsDallas Latos is the wife of Reds pitcher Mat LatosShe got into an altercation with Pirates fans on Tuesday at PNC ParkShe is on a mission to find cute dogs

CINCINNATI Dallas Latos is on a mission to find cute dogs.

She weaves through fans and leashes at the Cincinnati Reds' annual Bark in the Park stopping to admire a Great Dane on a cool September evening. She asks the owner of a Giant Schnauzer a pooch decked out in a Reds uniform down to the cleats on his back paws if she can snap a photo on her phone which she quickly posts on Instagram.

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A couple of Reds fans take notice of the tall blonde. That's Dallas Latos one says out of the corner of his mouth.

That was two weeks ago when she was mostly known through her Twitter feed as a funny irreverent self obsessed wife of pitcher Mat Latos. She Tweets self deprecating comments gets over personal and retreats and always seems to be having fun.

But this week attention is at a fever pitch after she says she was threatened by a Pittsburgh fan and attacked by his female companion during the Reds' 6 2 National League wild card loss to the Pirates Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Dallas peppered her Twitter account with entries about the incident defended herself from naysayers and assured followers that yes she was pressing charges. Her following ballooned to 23 020 by midday Wednesday.

But just who is Dallas Latos

Spend some time with her and you'll know that beyond the baseball wife and social media maven she loves charity work cooking animals (think Pit Bulls and snakes) as well as socializing with others (most of the time). And yes she's as wickedly funny and self deprecating as her Twitter feed suggests.

After a tough transitional year here the California transplant has adopted a new perspective that may just carry her through the latest maelstrom.

I know it sounds really cheesy but you have the chance to make a positive or negative out of any situation. And you have to make that choice Dallas says. So this year I refuse to be unhappy. I refuse. Life is short.

A NEW IDENTITY

Tuesday's incident happened at PNC Park's Budweiser Bowtie Bar a lounge near the right field foul pole. The Reds have a Bowtie Bar. Dallas visits it when the team's struggling hoping to channel good luck.

It's where she was Sept. 24 just before the Reds beat the N.Y. Mets in 10 innings and clinched a playoff berth. It's also a place she never thought she'd be.

To understand 27 year old Dallas is to recognize her independence intelligence and openness as well as her fierce struggle with being known as someone's wife and a ballplayer's wife at that. Long before she married she earned degrees in business administration and economics at Saint Mary's College in Northern California did some modeling helped care for her sick grandmother volunteered at a homeless shelter and consistently rebuffed a friend's suggestion that she date a guy named Mat.

In my mind ball players were dirtbags. As rude as it was I understand it now because now that I'm married to one people think we have some sort of dysfunctional relationship where he cheats on me all the time Dallas said. The stuff in the media is the negative things that happen. And it's stupid and ignorant on my behalf. You don't have to be a ball player to cheat on your wife. It's just something that I had in my head that athletes are just bad horrible selfish people.

Her ideas changed after she agreed to meet Mat. Out for a movie with the friend and her boyfriend Dallas felt a third wheel and finally relented. OK she said. Call this Mat and tell him to meet us.

One problem Mat was in Florida. He took the call from the friend's boyfriend and politely rejected the idea of boarding a flight to California at 3 a.m. But he was definitely interested in striking up a friendship with the woman who had visited spring training and declined to make his acquaintance.

Me and her talked for like a week straight. I'd stay up til 4 5 o'clock in the morning waiting for her because of the time difference Mat said. She'd go out and hang out with her friends and I'd wait for her to come back.

Dallas visited Mat in Fort Lauderdale but purchased her own airfare and swore she wouldn't let him buy her as much as a milkshake until she knew him better. But she found a charming guy who made her laugh. And much to her surprise she promptly booked a return trip.

Less than a year later they eloped marrying at a courthouse.

That's about the time Dallas' identity forked like a thicket of branches. She traveled frequently with her new husband which made the prospect of a full time job impossible. Her frustrations deepened when Mat was dealt in a surprising 2011 trade from the San Diego Padres to the Reds.

She left her family and friends and flew cross country to start life anew.

It's definitely a sacrifice on my behalf in terms of my career. I didn't see myself being a housewife Dallas said. Sure I wanted to get married and have kids one day when I was like 80. You know what I mean When Mat and I first got married and stuff it's not where I saw my life going at the time. But it's not bad. My life revolves around our life our family life and his life as opposed to personal goals.

A BIG ADJUSTMENT

Relocating to Ohio Dallas says was kind of like moving to a foreign country. She didn't know many people. She had no idea how to navigate the road system or where to find well anything.

With Mat logging long hours at work and at the time dealing with struggles on the mound she slipped into a deep loneliness. Baseball wives will tell you that it takes about two years to get used to a new location she said.

I was really really depressed last (spring). I didn't really see it. I was so stressed. There were days I wouldn't even get out of bed until 4 o'clock. I would just be a zombie and go to the game and come home and be miserable Dallas said.

The isolation was uncharacteristic for the sociable Dallas who remained mired in a fog until Mat jarred her from it. He said she needed to figure out her unhappiness because she'd been that way for far too long and she wasn't acting like the Dallas he'd known.

I've even said to Mat before 'I feel bad. I must be the most boring person ever. There's nothing for you to even be proud of me for.' He said 'What are you talking about ' I said 'I'm boring. I don't even do anything cool at work or school. I'm so used to having a quantifiable thing that I've accomplished.' So it's really been a process of like OK how do I do things that I feel better Dallas said.

She found solace in little triumphs like intense workouts and charitable endeavors but their house purchase may have provided the biggest boost of all. Mat and Dallas relocated their pets (including snakes) from California to Indian Hill and reveled in finally having a place to call home.

Dallas immersed herself in organizing decision making cooking and entertaining. Her depression ebbed.

And for the record Mat said Dallas always makes him proud.

It's the little things she does he said. It's not going to Kroger and cooking and doing all that kind of stuff. It's the way that she is the things that she does. She's always meeting me at the front door when I come home if she's not at a game. That sort of thing. It's just doing the small stuff to show that she cares.

A POLARIZING FIGURE

By 2 p.m. Tuesday Dallas Latos' Twitter following reached 23 287. In comparison outfielder Billy Hamilton had 35 995 followers and third baseman Todd Frazier had 50 910.

Dallas registered for the account before she met Mat and built up a well of 10 000 followers who liked her snarky observations on life and men. Being the wife of a professional athlete accelerated her following. Her candid observations and witty banter kept people coming back.

Social media as she will tell you is not always an enjoyable endeavor. She disabled her account at least twice in the last year after tiring of insults and diatribes. She blocked people spewing vile comments. She upgraded her account to protected status meaning she must approve each new follower.

Sometimes for me people will write really nasty stuff Dallas said. Like I can write one Tweet and someone decides he wants to put it on some forum and then I have an entire web page of people telling me how horrible I am. Those things are definitely not positive. For me I'm always like I'll keep this account until the negative outweigh the positives.

So what are the positives Connecting with fans she said. Showing that she's just a normal person. Reaffirming the human side of athletes and their families.

She also has Tweeted to debunk fans' misconceptions about her husband.

I feel like he's so easily misunderstood. Even when I first met him I was like 'This guy is kind of a jackass.' But he's not. He's just really outspoken. He'll open car doors for my mom or for his mom or for me. He's very well mannered and kind. And he has a good heart Dallas said.

Mat will never get a Twitter account because as he said he doesn't have a filter and would tell people exactly how he felt. He supports Dallas' Tweets but prefers their private information a potential injury he might have or details of say a vacation destination remain that way.

On any given day Dallas' feed may feature observations about Vodka insomnia and cookies. Colorful language and sharp retorts read like the script of an edgy television sitcom but beneath it all she's constantly mindful of the Reds. She wants to present a good image on behalf of herself her husband and the organization.

I will sit there and think 'Oh what if (Reds president and CEO) Mr. (Bob) Castellini saw this Tweet Would he be disappointed in me ' I have a lot of respect for him so sometimes I'm like 'Oh yeah. I shouldn't have said that ' Dallas said. That's the thing. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the organization. If they were ever to say something to me like 'Don't Tweet this or that ' I'd gladly oblige. But they haven't said anything.

Dallas said the media department asked her to write for the Major League Baseball blog network last year. Her column So I Married a Baseball Player is another platform to give fans a peek into the Latos' lives which she said are assuredly simple.

Lisa Braun the Reds' director of digital media helped launch the blog.

The rest has been all Dallas Braun said. She's a great writer and someone our fans really connect with as a person.

DON'T MESS WITH DALLAS

When the clock hit 3 45 p.m. Wednesday afternoon Dallas was still defending herself and challenging fans who doubted the altercation or her role in it at PNC Park.

It's amazing how you claim you don't want attention but you still continue to answer people on twitter anaveragejoee wrote.

Dallas fired back.

anaveragejoee because I hate all of the lies That's why I have a twitter in the first place she wrote.

She doled out thank yous to supporters called out detractors and even made a few jokes. She attracted 239 new followers in little more than an hour.

She's definitely a sweetheart but if you aggravate and piss her off it's probably not the right thing to do said Mat who like Dallas was interviewed before the NL wild card game. It is what it is. There are people out there who are going to like her and there are people who won't. That's just kind of the way life goes.

A couple Tweeters chirped 'Who is Dallas Latos early Wednesday. Some of her identity emerged clear as day as she attempted to right injustices and fix inaccuracies online.

Because sometimes blocking a person on Twitter just isn't enough.

It's like 'Hey buddy you can't just say what you want to to me and get away with it. It's not fair.' In blocking people sometimes I feel like I'm not standing up for myself she said. That's the thing that bothers me most about not responding feeling like I'm not standing up for myself.

Shannon Russell also writes for The Cincinnati Enquirer.

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