David Martin Rader (born December 26, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through , with the San Francisco Giants (1971–1976), St. Louis Cardinals (1977),

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

(1978),

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1979) and Boston Red Sox (1980). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

Major League career

Rader was selected by the San Francisco Giants as their number one pick in the

1967 Major League Baseball Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the profe ...

. He became the Giants' starting catcher in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, posting a .259 batting average in 127

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

. Rader finished as runner-up to Jon Matlack for the National League Rookie of the Year Award, and won ''The Sporting News'' Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, he posted career-highs in home runs (9), runs (59), runs batted in (41) and

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

(.991) but hit for only a .229 batting average in 148 games. In

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

he averaged .291 each season. In October 1976, Rader was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he served as a reserve catcher working behind Ted Simmons during the

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

season. After one year with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs in December 1977. Rader became the Cubs' regular catcher during the

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

season, playing in 114 games but, only managed to post a .203 batting average and, in February

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, he would be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He served as a third string catcher with the Phillies, backing up Bob Boone and Tim McCarver. Rader would be traded a final time in March

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

to the Boston Red Sox where he backed up regular Red Sox catcher,

Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) a ...

. In November 1980, the Red Sox granted Rader free agency. He signed with the

California Angels 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 ha ...

in February 1981 but was released two and a half months later.

Career statistics

In a ten-year major league career, Rader played in 846

, accumulating 619

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

in 2,405

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s for a .257 career batting average along with 30 home runs and 235 runs batted in. Rader had a career .983

. Rader was the Giants catcher on August 24,

when Ed Halicki pitched a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

against the New York Mets.

References

External links

Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rader, Dave 1948 births Living people People from Claremore, Oklahoma Baseball players from Oklahoma Major League Baseball catchers San Francisco Giants players St. Louis Cardinals players Chicago Cubs players Philadelphia Phillies players Boston Red Sox players Salt Lake City Giants players Fresno Giants players Amarillo Giants players Phoenix Giants players