Aaron James Rakers (born January 22, 1977) is an American former professional baseball

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 attended

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) is a public university in Edwardsville, Illinois, United States. Located within the Metro East of Greater St. Louis, SIUE was established in 1957 as an extension of Southern Illinois University Ca ...

and was drafted by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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) East Division. As one of the America ...

in the 23rd round (697th overall) in 1999. Rakers made his

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) debut on September 8, , pitching in three MLB games that season. In , Rakers spent most of the year pitching for the Orioles Triple-A affiliate, the

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...

, where he had 92

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and 21 walks in 77 innings with an

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of 2.57. Rakers missed the entire season because of a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder and was non-tendered during the offseason. He was invited to

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in February , but did not make the team and was optioned to the Padres Triple-A affiliate, the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams h ...

. Rakers appeared in only one major league game and became a minor league free agent at the end of the season. Rakers signed with the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

for the season, but was released shortly after and signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Basebal ...

of the Atlantic League for the 2008 season. In 2009, Rakers joined the La New Bears, one of the teams of

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

(CPBL) in Taiwan. On March 31, Rakers won his first CPBL game, throwing 65 strikes and 36 balls over 6 innings. His career concluded in 2010 with the La New Bears.

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1977 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Baltimore Orioles players Bluefield Orioles players Bowie Baysox players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players La New Bears players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Ottawa Lynx players People from Highland, Illinois Baseball players from Madison County, Illinois Portland Beavers players San Diego Padres players SIU Edwardsville Cougars baseball players York Revolution players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1970s-stub