Darrell Wayne Rasner, Jr. (born January 13, 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 ...

. 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) 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 ...

and

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 ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

Career

Amateur career

Rasner attended the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Nevada Wolf Pack The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada. H ...

. He earned Freshman All-American honors in 2000, with a record of 14-2, 3.52 ERA in 18 appearances. When drafted, he held records for most wins (28) and strikeouts (302) by a Nevada pitcher. He was a health ecology major. Rasner was selected by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

with the 5th pick in the second round (46th overall) of the

2002 Major League Baseball Draft The 2002 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 4 and 5. It is featured in Michael Lewis' 2003 book '' Moneyball''. First round selections Supplemental first round compensation selections * ...

. Rasner also has a cousin, Jacob Rasner, who played professional baseball. Jacob was drafted in the

2005 Major League Baseball Draft The 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft, was held on June 7 and 8. It was conducted via conference call with representatives from each of the league's 30 teams. It is widely considered to be one of the best ...

and played for the AA

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

, an affiliate of 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 ...

Professional career

Rasner began his major league career with the

, pitching in a few games late in the season. He was claimed off waivers by the

on February 11, 2006. Rasner recorded his first major league win on September 3, , in a game he started for the Yankees against 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 ...

. Rasner went six innings, allowing four hits, one earned run, two strikeouts and no walks in a 10-1 victory. On May 19, , in a start against 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 ...

, Rasner was struck on the right hand by a ball hit by

Endy Chávez Endy de Jesus Chávez Meza (; born February 7, 1978), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies, New ...

, a former teammate with the Nationals. He fractured his right index finger and did not pitch in the major leagues again that season, though he pitched at several levels of the minor leagues on rehab assignments. Rasner was not offered a new contract by the Yankees and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on December 12, 2007, but was re-signed a few days later on December 18 to a minor league deal. AAAA4589 Darrell Rasner (cropped)

On May 4, , Rasner was recalled by the Yankees, and made his season debut against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

. Rasner worked six innings, allowing only two runs and stayed in the Yankee rotation until September, when he was replaced by

Alfredo Aceves Alfredo Aceves Martínez (born December 8, 1982) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Aceves used a fastball, which could reach the mid 90s, a ...

Japanese career

On November 15, 2008, the Yankees sold Rasner to the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles for $1 million. Rasner signed a two-year deal with the Golden Eagles. He played with the Golden Eagles for five years (2009-2013), the last three as a closer and setup man. He won the Japanese series championship as a member of the

Rakuten Golden Eagles The , often shortened as the , are a baseball team based in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It has played in Nippon Professional Baseball's Pacific League since the team's formation in November 2004. The team is owned by the Internet shopping c ...

with former Yankees

Andruw Jones Andruw Rudolf Jones (; born April 23, 1977) is a Curaçaoan former baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, ...

Casey McGehee Casey Michael McGehee (born October 12, 1982) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in NPB for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Yomiuri Giants, and also played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, ...

and future Yankee

Masahiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional baseball player for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). From 2007 through 2013, he played for the Eagles in NPB. Tanaka was posted by the Eagles after the 2013 season to be si ...

who would sign with the

in the 2013 offseason. After finishing his playing career, he would become an international scout for the Eagles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasner, Darrell 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Nevada Major League Baseball pitchers Vermont Expos players Savannah Sand Gnats players Brevard County Manatees players Harrisburg Senators players Gulf Coast Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Columbus Clippers players Staten Island Yankees players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees players Washington Nationals players New York Yankees players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles players Politicians from Carson City, Nevada Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players