William Henry Traber, Jr. (born September 18, 1979) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Playing career

College

Traber attended

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near Playa Vista. LMU is the parent school to Loyola Law School, which is located ...

, where he was First-Team All-American and West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He set a single-season school

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

record with 156 strikeouts (in 123 innings pitched). In , Traber entered the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...

and was picked in the first round (16th overall) by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

. The Mets were prepared to offer Traber a contract worth $1.3 million, but after an MRI showed some damage to his pitching elbow, he signed a contract worth only $400,000.

Professional career

In 2001, the Mets traded Traber to the

along with Matt Lawton, Alex Escobar, Earl Snyder, and Jerrod Riggan for

Roberto Alomar Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez (; ; born February 5, 1968) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball player for the San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago White Sox, and Arizon ...

, Mike Bacsik, and Danny Peoples. In , Traber was runner-up

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

pitcher of the year, going 17-5 for the

Akron Aeros The Akron RubberDucks are a Minor League Baseball team based in Akron, Ohio. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 7,630 ...

( Double-A) and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen F ...

( Triple-A), and was voted by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

'' as having the best control and

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

in the league. His numbers were also good enough to give him top-honors for Cleveland pitching prospects. On April 4, , Traber made his Major League debut. Although he started out well (1.59 ERA, 1-0 record in seven games that spring)—even pitching a one-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

of the New York Yankees on July 8—Traber's season fell apart when elbow problems that haunted him in college and the minors came back to end his '03 campaign and ultimately the entire season when he needed

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's ...

. During the 2004- offseason, the

signed Traber. Before playing a single game, he was placed on waivers by the Red Sox. On November 10, 2004, he was claimed by the Indians off waivers and was signed to a minor league deal on December 22, 2004. On December 5, , he was released by the

after having pitched for them the previous two seasons. On January 5, , he signed a minor league deal with the New York Yankees and was invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

. On March 15, he was added to the 40-man roster and he opened the season in the Yankee

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

. He spent much of the season splitting time between the Yankees and their Triple-A affiliate. He was designated for assignment on September 1. In December , he signed a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training to return to the Red Sox. On August 5, , he was called up by the Red Sox to bolster their undermanned bullpen. In October 2009, Traber was granted free agency. He was designated for assignment on August 7, 2009. In June 2010, Traber was signed by the Seattle Mariners.

Teaching career

He is currently the Head Varsity baseball Coach and a physics teacher at his former high school, El Segundo High School.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Traber, Billy 1979 births Living people Cleveland Indians players Washington Nationals players New York Yankees players Boston Red Sox players Baseball players from Torrance, California Major League Baseball pitchers Binghamton Mets players St. Lucie Mets players Norfolk Tides players Akron Aeros players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Kinston Indians players New Orleans Zephyrs players Columbus Clippers players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Pawtucket Red Sox players Tacoma Rainiers players El Segundo High School alumni Loyola Marymount Lions baseball players