Dakota John Bacus (born April 2, 1991) is an American 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

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(MLB) for the

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 ...

Career

Oakland Athletics

Drafted out of

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

by the Oakland Athletics in the

2012 Major League Baseball draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the List of first overall Major League Baseball draft picks, first ...

's ninth round, Bacus pitched mostly as a starter for the Class-A Beloit Snappers in his first full professional season in 2013. Bacus gained some media notoriety for a recurring on-field stunt in 2013 with Beloit, in which he would dress in all-white and stand on the warning track with his back to the white outfield wall during home games. "The Whitewall Ninja" would remain on the field, even when balls were put in play into the outfield, until he was noticed and told to go back to the bullpen. The Athletics' minor league coordinator ultimately stepped in to put a stop to the gag.

Washington Nationals

Bacus was traded to the

for catcher

Kurt Suzuki Kurtis Kiyoshi Suzuki (born October 4, 1983) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Washington Nationals, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Angels. ...

on August 23, 2013. In the Nationals system over the next few years, Bacus made slow progress, briefly reaching the Class-AAA

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, the Nationals' top minor league affiliate, in 2015. After an injury-marred 2016 season in which he didn't make it back to Class-AAA ball, Bacus considered retiring from professional baseball. In 2017, Bacus experienced a marked jump in performance, pitching to a 1.80 ERA out of the Class-A Advanced

Potomac Nationals The Potomac Nationals were a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They were located in Woodbridge, Virginia, and played their home games at Northwest Federal Field at Pfitzner Stadium. After the 2019 season, the team relocated to F ...

and Class-AA

Harrisburg Senators The Harrisburg Senators are a Minor League Baseball team of the Eastern League, and the Double-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who play their home games at FNB Field on City Island, which opened in 1987 a ...

bullpens. He was invited to pitch in the

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after the 2017 season, appearing with the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was established ...

. Bacus later told his hometown paper, '' The Rock Island Dispatch-Argus'', that he had rediscovered what made baseball fun for him in 2017. After spending the 2018 season with the Senators, Bacus was promoted in April 2019 to the Class-AAA

Fresno Grizzlies The Fresno Grizzlies are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They are located in Fresno, California, and play their home games at Chukchansi Park, which was opened in 2002 in d ...

, his first return to the level in nearly four years. He was named a Pacific Coast League All-Star in 2019, alongside teammate

Yadiel Hernández Yadiel Hernández (born October 9, 1987) is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder for the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League. After playing in the Cuban National Series for Cocodrilos de Matanzas, he played in Major League Baseball (ML ...

. By late June 2019, Bacus was being mentioned as a candidate for a promotion to the Nationals' major league bullpen by media outlets covering Washington baseball. Bacus did not end up contributing to the Nationals' championship season in 2019, playing out the year with the Grizzlies. He became a minor league free agent after the season's end. On February 12, 2020, Bacus re-signed with the Nationals on a minor league contract. The Nationals promoted Bacus to the major leagues on August 14, 2020 and he made his major league debut that day against 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 ...

. On March 28, 2021, Bacus was designated for assignment after Luis Avilán was added to the roster. On March 30, Bacus was outrighted to the minors. Bacus retired after the 2021 season.

Pitching style

Bacus, a right-hander, threw a fastball in the low to mid-90s and offset it with a breaking ball.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bacus, Dakota 1991 births Living people People from Moline, Illinois baseball players from Illinois Major League Baseball pitchers Washington Nationals players Indiana State Sycamores baseball players Arizona League Athletics players Beloit Snappers players Hagerstown Suns players Potomac Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Syracuse Chiefs players Fresno Grizzlies players Salt River Rafters players Mesa Solar Sox players Rochester Red Wings players Waterloo Bucks players