Darrell Wayne Rasner, Jr. (born January 13, 1981) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

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) Am ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

(NPB) for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.

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 university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the Nevada Wolf Pack. 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. In 2015, Rasner was inducted into the Wolf Pack's Hall of Fame. Rasner was selected by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

with the 5th pick in the second round (46th overall) of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. Rasner also has a cousin, Jacob Rasner, who played professional baseball. Jacob was drafted in the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft 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 Baron ...

, 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

Professional career

Major League Baseball

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

. 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 Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

, Rasner was struck on the right hand by a ball hit by Endy Chávez, 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 or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on December 12, 2007, but was re-signed a few days later on December 18 to a minor league deal. 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. The Mariners 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 ...

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

Nippon Professional Baseball

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. Rasner was traveling with his teammates on a shinkansen when he felt the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

. He played with the Golden Eagles for five years (2009-2013), the last three as a closer and setup man, before going down with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He won the 2013 Japan 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 professional baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Atlanta Braves. Jones also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Tex ...

and Casey McGehee. The team's ace was Masahiro Tanaka, who would sign with the

in the 2013 offseason. After finishing his playing career, Rasner went on to 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 21st-century American sportsmen Politicians from Carson City, Nevada Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players