Douglas Slaten (February 4, 1980 – October 4, 2016) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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) from 2006 to 2012 for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

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 ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Amateur career

Slaten attended Venice High School, Glendale Community College, and

Los Angeles Pierce College Los Angeles Pierce College (Pierce College or Pierce) is a public community college in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. It is part of the Los Angeles Community College District and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and C ...

Professional baseball career

Slaten was drafted in the 29th round of the

1998 Major League Baseball draft The 1998 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, 1998. A total of 1445 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections ...

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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, but did not sign. The Orioles selected Slaten in the 34th 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 ...

, but he did not sign. Slaten was drafted in the 17th round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

by the

and signed July 5, 2000.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Slaten was drafted in the 17th round of the

by the

and signed July 5, 2000. He spent the 2001 season with the

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League ...

. He split the 2002 season, between the

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz' ...

and Lancaster. In 2003, he played for the Lancaster JetHawks again. In 2004, he mostly pitched for South Bend, but also pitched for the AA

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whi ...

. In 2005, he pitched for the AA

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

. In 2006, pitching for the Smokies, he was named a Southern League Mid-Season All-Star. In 2006, Slaten went 4-4 with a 1.43 ERA with 80 strikeouts in the minor leagues. Slaten made his major league debut on September 4, for the

, against the

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 ...

. He would finish the season not giving up a single earned run in 9 appearances. In , Slaten appeared in 61 games for the D-Backs and recorded a 2.72

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Compa ...

and helped the team win the

NL West The National League West is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. This division was formed for the 1969 season when the National League expanded to 12 teams by adding the San Diego Padres and the Montreal Expos. For purpose of keeping a re ...

. After a 4.30 ERA in 38 games in , Slaten was optioned to Triple-A

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. He would come back for the 2009 season in Arizona but would only get to a career worst, 7.11 ERA in 11 games. Slaten would again be sent to the minors. Slaten was claimed off waivers by the

on November 4, 2009.

Washington Nationals

Slaten was claimed off waivers by the

on November 4, 2009. In his first year with the Nationals, Slaten had a career high 4 wins and also have a career high in number of innings pitched and strikeouts. Slaten would finish the season with a 3.10 ERA. Slaten would start off the 2011 season by not giving up a single run until his 15th appearance. He finished with a 4.41 ERA with 13 strikeouts and an 0-2 record in 16 1/3 innings.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Slaten signed a minor league contract with the

in January 2012. Slaten was assigned to the AAA

Indianapolis Indians The Indianapolis Indians are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Indianapolis, Indiana, and play their home games at Victory Field, which open ...

. On April 29, 2012, in a game between Indianapolis and the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...

, Slaten pitched the final inning of a combined

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 ...

. Justin Wilson pitched the first 7 1/3 innings, and Jose Diaz got the final 2 outs in the 8th inning. On May 28, he was called up and pitched in 10 games until on June 27, he was designated for assignment to make room for Oscar Tejeda. During the 10 games Slaten composed of a 2.77 ERA and 6 strikeouts.

SK Wyverns

Slaten signed a deal with the

SK Wyverns SSG Landers () are a South Korean professional baseball team. The team was originally established as the SK Wyverns but was renamed as the SSG Landers in 2021 after Shinsegae acquired the team from SK Group. They are a member of the KBO League. B ...

in the KBO to be a starter, and then later cancelled his contract due to personal reasons. Slaten died October 4, 2016.Douglas Slaten Obituary
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Slaten, Doug 1980 births 2016 deaths Arizona League Diamondbacks players Lancaster JetHawks players LAPC Brahma Bulls baseball players Glendale Vaqueros baseball players South Bend Silver Hawks players El Paso Diablos players Tennessee Smokies players Tucson Sidewinders players Reno Aces players Syracuse Chiefs players Gulf Coast Nationals players Hagerstown Suns players Harrisburg Senators players Indianapolis Indians players Arizona Diamondbacks players Washington Nationals players Pittsburgh Pirates players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Los Angeles Venice High School (Los Angeles) alumni