Frederick Helsher Rath Jr. (born January 5, 1973) is an American former

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), ...

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 ...

who played for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

in 1998.

Amateur career

A native of

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, Rath graduated in 1991 from Thomas Jefferson High School in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, and joined

Fred McGriff Frederick Stanley McGriff (born October 31, 1963) is an American former first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 through 2004. He was one of the most consistently productive powers hitters of the 1990s, post ...

Tino Martinez Constantino "Tino" Martinez (born December 7, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Devil Rays from 1990 t ...

, Luis Gonzalez,

Tony Larussa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

Sam Militello Sam Salvatore Militello Jr. (born November 26, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the New York Yankees in and . In 12 career games, he had a 4–4 record with a 3.89 ERA. He batted and threw right-handed. Amateur car ...

, and

Lenny Faedo Leonardo Lago Faedo (born May 13, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. He played all or parts of five seasons in the majors, from until , for the Minnesota Twins. In 1978, he won the Tony Saladino Award, which went yearly to the to ...

as MLB alumni from Jefferson High. 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 ...

selected Rath in the 29th round of the

1991 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1991 Major League Baseball draft. Supplemental first round selections Compensation picks Other notable players *Kevin Stocker, 2nd round, 54th overall by the Philadel ...

, but Rath opted to attend the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, where he was a starting pitcher for four years. In 1992, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Professional career

He was signed by the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

as an un-drafted amateur free agent in . Rath played his first professional season with their rookie league

Elizabethton Twins The Elizabethton Twins were a Minor League Baseball team of the Appalachian League and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They were located in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and were named for their major league affiliate. The team playe ...

in 1995 where he posted a 1.35 era in 33.1 innings, recording 50 strikeouts and 12 saves to lead the team. In 1996, Rath made the Midwest League All-Star Team while playing for the

Fort Wayne Wizards A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

with 14 saves and a 1.51 era in 41.2 innings. He also struck out 63 batters and walked just 10. Rath earned a promotion to the

Fort Myers Miracle The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Fort Myers, Florida, and play their home games at the Lee County Sports Complex a ...

after the all-star break and recorded another 4 saves in 29 innings of work. In 1997, Rath made the journey from Class A

to Class AAA

Salt Lake Buzz Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

, where he combined for 17 saves with a 2.21 era in 83.1 innings of work. Rath was added to Minnesota's Major League roster to start the 1998 season. Just after the start of the season, Rath was placed on waivers and was selected by the

and made his major league debut on July 29, 1998. He played during one season at the major league level for the

. During spring training of 1999, Rath was placed on waivers and selected by the Minnesota Twins and assigned to AAA Salt Lake Buzz. In 2000, Rath was traded to

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

and assigned to AAA

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

and helped contribute to Memphis's championship season. Towards the end of 2000, Rath was traded to the

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 ...

for a player to be named, and assigned to AAA

Nashville Sound The Nashville Sound originated during the mid-1950s as a subgenre of American country music, replacing the chart dominance of the rough honky tonk music, which was most popular in the 1940s and 1950s, with "smooth strings and choruses", "sophist ...

; primarily a reliever, Rath was inserted into

's starting rotation. During spring training 2001, the St. Louis Cardinals completed Rath's trade by selecting him back from Pittsburgh Pirates, and assigned Rath to AAA Memphis. In 2002, Rath retired from the

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 ...

before the start of the season.

Personal

Rath's father, Fred Rath Sr. also played professionally for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in 1967 and 1968. Rath now lives in Tampa, Florida, with his wife Kirstie and four children, Ashley, Eva, Freddy (III), and Austin.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Fred Jr. 1973 births Living people Colorado Rockies players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Dallas Nashville Sounds players Memphis Redbirds players Salt Lake Buzz players South Florida Bulls baseball players Thomas Jefferson High School (Tampa, Florida) alumni Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players

Amateur career

Professional career

Personal

See also

References

External links