Clayton Anthony Rapada (born March 9, 1981) is a

Filipino American Filipino Americans ( fil, Mga Pilipinong Amerikano) are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos and other Asian ethnicities in North America were first documented in the 16th century as slaves and prisoners on ships sailing to and from New ...

former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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 draw ...

. 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 (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers,

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...

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 of ...

, and

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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

. He is currently an assistant pitching coordinator for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

organization. He has appeared in 152 major league games but has pitched only 93 innings in that time, averaging about of an inning per appearance. He does however hold a unique major league record. He has a career won loss record of 8–0 for a winning percentage of 1.000. This marks the most wins for a pitcher without ever being charged with a loss, presuming he doesn't resume his playing career and records a future loss at the major league level. He is not credited for his win percentage in the official baseball records because that required a minimum of 1,000 innings pitched.

Early life

Rapada was born in Chesapeake, Virginia to a Filipino father whose roots traces to

Cabangan Cabangan, officially the Municipality of Cabangan, is a 4th class municipality of the Philippines, municipality in the Philippine Province, province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,118 people. C ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales ( fil, Lalawigan ng Zambales; ilo, Probinsia ti Zambales; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Zambales''; xsb, Probinsya nin Zambales), is a province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon re ...

and an American mother. He graduated from

Deep Creek High School Deep Creek High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools and is located on 2900 Margaret Booker Drive. History In 1845, Norfolk County, Virginia constructed the first public schoo ...

of Chesapeake, Virginia in 1999 and was a fan of the Chicago Cubs. He then attended

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a public historically Black land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia. Founded on , Virginia State developed as the United States's first fully state-supported four-year institution of hi ...

and played on the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is an intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environmen ...

Trojans baseball team. As a freshman, Rapada went 7-1 and was planning on transferring to Old Domionion before he was approached by a Chicago Cubs scout.

Career

Chicago Cubs

Rapda signed as an Undrafted Free Agent with the Chicago Cubs during the summer of 2002. Rapada started in the Chicago Cubs organization pitching for the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in Garden City, Idaho, a small city surroun ...

from 2002 to 2003. At the beginning of 2003, he was promoted to the Single-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

, where he posted a 4.96

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and recorded 27 strikeouts over innings pitched, primarily in relief. In 2004, Cubs coaches suggested that Rapada try a sidearm delivery. Rapada showed improvement that season for the Lugnuts, going 6–6 with an ERA of 2.33 in 57 appearances. In 2005, the Cubs moved Rapada up to the Single-A

Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as ...

, where he went 1–3 with an ERA 3.83 in 27 appearances. 2006 saw Rapada progressing through the Cubs minor league organization, and he pitched for both the Double-A

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

and the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Between the two teams, he appeared in 61 games and posted an ERA of 1.59. Rapada made his major league debut with the Chicago Cubs on June 14, 2007, against the

. He faced one batter,

Raúl Ibañez Raúl Javier Ibañez (; born June 2, 1972) is a Cuban-American former professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) now serving as Senior Vice President of On-Field Operations for MLB. He played 11 of his 19 big league seaso ...

, who lined out to Cubs

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Cliff Floyd Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst who co-hosts ...

. Rapada was sent back to the Iowa Cubs on June 19, 2007, without making another appearance.

Detroit Tigers

On August 30, 2007, Rapada was announced as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in the trade between the Tigers and Cubs involving outfielder

Craig Monroe Craig Keystone Monroe (nicknamed "C. Mo") (born February 27, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and current sportscaster. He played for the Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins and Pittsburgh Pira ...

. Rapada made his Tigers debut on September 9, 2007. In a coincidence, he faced Ibáñez again, giving up a three-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. He was pulled immediately after, giving him the distinction of facing the same batter (and only that batter) twice in his first two major league appearances; one while pitching for a

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club and the other with an

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

club. He earned his first major league

victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

on April 15, 2008, as the Tigers beat the Minnesota Twins 6–5. Rapada did not make the Tigers 25-man roster and began the 2009 season playing for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

Texas Rangers

On December 7, 2009, Rapada was traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. On December 16, Rapada was outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A. Rapada played most of the 2010 season with the minor league

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New M ...

. On September 3, 2010, Texas called up Rapada to the major league roster. Rapada was listed as an alternative during the postseason when the Texas Rangers would make it to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. The Rangers would eventually lose the 2010 World Series against the

Baltimore Orioles

On January 14, 2011, Rapada was placed on release waivers by the Rangers. On January 25, 2011, Rapada was signed by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and invited to spring training to compete for a roster spot. After being sent to the minors after spring training, Rapada was called up by Baltimore on April 17. He made his Orioles debut on April 18 with two outs in the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins. He was designated for assignment on June 29. In innings with Baltimore, Rapada had a 6.06 ERA. After being designated for assignment on February 6, Rapada was released by the Orioles on February 15. He leads the major leagues in left-handers' batting average who face him since 2010.

New York Yankees

Rapada signed a minor league contract with the

on February 18, 2012, with an invitation to spring training. Rapada made the Yankees Opening Day roster. He had a 2.82 ERA in 70 appearances. After 2013 Spring Training, he was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. He cleared waivers and was released on April 3. He was re-signed to a minor league deal on April 9 and released on June 3.

Cleveland Indians

Rapada signed a minor league contract with the

on June 13, 2013. After spending most of the season with the AAA Columbus Clippers, he was added to the Indians' major-league roster as a September call-up. He was designated for assignment on October 2, 2013. After being outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on October 7, Rapada elected free agency on October 16.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Rapada signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

in December 2013. He was released before the end of Spring Training.

Seattle Mariners

Rapada signed a minor league deal with the

in April 2014, and was assigned to Triple-A Tacoma. He pitched in 14 games, going 4–1 with a 4.12 ERA before his release on June 16.

Return to the Orioles

That day, he signed a minor league deal with the

. He reported to Triple-A

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. On August 5, 2014, he was released.

San Francisco Giants

On February 5, 2015, Rapada signed a minor league deal with the

Philippine national team

Due to his Filipino heritage, Rapada is eligible to play for the Philippine national team. He was to participate for the Philippines at the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers in 2012 but did not participate citing personal reasons. Rapada led the Philippines at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers in February 2016.

Coaching career

After the 2015 season Rapada was hired as a pitching coach for the

Low-A affiliate

Augusta GreenJackets The Augusta GreenJackets are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina, which opened in April 2018. They previo ...

. He served in that role until 2021, when the Giants moved him to a role as the assistant pitching coordinator.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapada, Clay 1981 births Living people American baseball players of Filipino descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Virginia Boise Hawks players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Cleveland Indians players Daytona Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Iowa Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Sacramento River Cats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Sportspeople from Chesapeake, Virginia Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers players Toledo Mud Hens players Virginia State Trojans baseball players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players