Douglas Michael Waechter (born January 28, 1981) 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 tea ...

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 ...

for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

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), ...

. He graduated from Northeast High School and was then drafted by the Devil Rays in the 3rd round of the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

. During his minor league career he threw 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 ...

when he was with the Single-A short season club, the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

. Since making his major league debut in 2003, he was shuffled back and forth between Triple-A

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

and Tampa Bay, making 54 starts with the Devil Rays. In his first major league start at home, and second overall, on September 3, 2003 against the Seattle Mariners, he threw a 2-hit complete game shutout, which would remain the best single-game performance of his career. Over four seasons with the Devil Rays, from 2003 through 2006, he was 14-25 with a 5.62 ERA. After having shoulder surgery in October 2006, he was released by the team on November 22. He then made a comeback with the D-Rays, being put on the 60-day DL. His season has compiled of two rehab starts with the Hudson Valley Renegades, Tampa Bay's single A short season affiliate. His rehab starts were against the

Staten Island Yankees The Staten Island Yankees were a minor league baseball team located in the New York City borough of Staten Island from 1999 to 2020. Nicknamed the "Baby Bombers", the Yankees were the Class A Short Season affiliate of the New York Yankees and pla ...

, the

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

affiliate, and the

Brooklyn Cyclones The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, and play at Maimonides Park, just off the Coney Island Boar ...

, 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 league ...

affiliate. He has compiled a 1-1 record giving up three runs in the two rehab starts. During the 2007 offseason, he was signed to a minor league contract by the

. After spring training, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an el ...

. His contract was purchased on April 18, 2008, and he was promoted to the Marlins as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

. In 2007, he had arguably his most successful major league season as a relief pitcher, appearing in 48 games for Florida with a 4-2 record and a 3.69 ERA. Having played most of his career in the American League, with the National League Marlins, he got the only hit of his major league career on June 6, 2008 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Marlins, however, parted ways with him after the season, granting him his free agency on October 1, 2008. On December 11, 2008, Waechter signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched for Kansas City during the 2009 season and appeared in only 5 games as a relief pitcher with a 0-0 record and an 8.77 ERA. He was released on November 21, 2009, and became a free agent. After failing to draw interest from any major league clubs in 2010 or 2011, he announced his retirement on June 25, 2011. For his six-year major league career, he finished with 18 wins and 27 losses, in 113 appearances, including 54 starts with one complete game shutout and a career ERA of 5.34. Waechter has occasionally appeared as a sportscaster alongside

Dewayne Staats Dewayne Staats (born August 8, 1952) is a sports broadcaster who has been the television play-by-play commentator for the Tampa Bay Rays since their inception in 1998. He is currently teamed with color commentator Brian Anderson. Staats has ...

covering Rays games for

Bally Sports Sun Bally Sports Sun is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local coverag ...

(formerly Fox Sports Sun). He also serves as a realtor for DMK Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

References

External links

Minor League Baseball-reference.com page for Waechter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waechter, Doug 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Hudson Valley Renegades players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Florida Marlins players Kansas City Royals players Princeton Devil Rays players Charleston RiverDogs players Orlando Rays players Bakersfield Blaze players Durham Bulls players Vero Beach Devil Rays players Albuquerque Isotopes players Gulf Coast Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Omaha Royals players Indios de Mayagüez players American television sports announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Tampa Bay Rays announcers American real estate brokers