Clayton Anthony Rapada (born March 9, 1981) is a

Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...

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 ...

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

. 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

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, Texas Rangers,

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 ...

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

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. He is currently an assistant pitching coordinator for the

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

organization. He has appeared in 152 major league

games A game is a Structure, structured type of play (activity), play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an Educational game, educational tool. Many games are also considered to be Work (human activity), work (such as p ...

(none of which he started), but has pitched only 93

innings An innings is one of the divisions of a cricket match during which one team takes its turn to bat. Innings also means the period in which an individual player bats (acts as either striker or nonstriker). In cricket and rounders, "innings" is ...

in that time, averaging about of an inning per appearance. He does, however, hold a unique major league record; he has a career

win-loss record In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the tot ...

of 8–0 for a

winning percentage In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...

of 1.000. This marks the most wins for a pitcher without ever being charged with a loss.

Early life

Rapada was born in

Chesapeake, Virginia Chesapeake is an independent city in Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, making it the second-most populous city in Virginia, the tenth largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 92nd-most populous city in the ...

to a Filipino father whose roots traces to

Cabangan Cabangan, officially the Municipality of Cabangan, is a municipality in the province of Zambales, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 28,118 people. History Cabangan is a coastal town that was originally located ...

Zambales Zambales, officially the Province of Zambales (; ; ; ; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Regions of the Philippines, region. Its capital is Iba, Zambales, Iba, which is located in t ...

and an American mother. He graduated from

Deep Creek High School Deep Creek High School is a public secondary school in Chesapeake, Virginia. It is part of Chesapeake City Public Schools and is located on 2900 Margaret Booker Drive. History In 1845, Norfolk County, Virginia constructed the first public scho ...

in 1999 and was a fan of the

. He then attended

Virginia State University Virginia State University (VSU or Virginia State) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically Black land-grant university, land-grant university in Ettrick, Virginia, United States. Founded on , Vi ...

and played on the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

Trojans baseball team. As a freshman, Rapada went 7-1 and was planning on transferring to Old Dominion before he was approached by a

scout.

Playing career

Chicago Cubs

Rapada signed with the

as an undrafted free agent in 2002. Rapada made his professional debut with the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

Boise Hawks The Boise Hawks are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. Home games are played at Memorial Stadium in unincorporated Ada County, Idaho, near ...

in 2002 and spent part of the 2003 season with the team as well. He was promoted to the Single-A

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics (baseball), Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Fie ...

, where he posted a 4.96

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and recorded 27

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 over innings pitched, primarily in relief. In 2004, Cubs coaches suggested that Rapada try a sidearm delivery. Rapada showed improvement that season for the Lugnuts, going 6–6 with an ERA of 2.33 in 57 appearances. He was a Midwest League Post-Season All-Star. In 2005, the Cubs moved Rapada up to the High-A

Daytona Cubs Daytona may refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach, Florida * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as Daytona, the region around Daytona Beach Motor racing * Day ...

, where he went 1–3 with an ERA 3.83 in 27 appearances. In 2006, he pitched for both the Double-A

West Tenn Diamond Jaxx The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Marin ...

and the Triple-A

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. T ...

. Between the two teams, he appeared in 61 games and posted an ERA of 1.59. He was selected as a Southern League All-Star while with the Diamond Jaxx. Rapada made his major league debut with the

on June 14, 2007, 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 ...

. He faced one batter,

Raúl Ibañez Raúl Javier Ibañez (; born June 2, 1972) is an American former professional baseball left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) now serving as vice president of baseball development and special projects for the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played ...

, who lined out to Cubs

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Cliff Floyd Cornelius Clifford Floyd Jr. (born December 5, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for 17 seasons, most notably for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins and New York Mets. He is currently a baseball analyst wh ...

. Rapada was sent back to the Iowa Cubs without making another appearance.

Detroit Tigers

On August 30, 2007, Rapada was announced as the

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in the trade between the Tigers and Cubs involving outfielder

Craig Monroe Craig Keystone Monroe (nicknamed "C. Mo") (born February 27, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder and current sportscaster. He played for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota T ...

. He was assigned to Triple-A Toledo. Rapada made his Tigers debut on September 9, 2007. In a coincidence, he faced Ibáñez again, giving up a three-run

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

. He was pulled immediately after, without getting an out, giving him the distinction of facing the same batter (and only that batter) twice in his first two major league appearances. He pitched in four games for the Tigers. He earned his first major league

victory The term victory (from ) originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes a strategic vi ...

on April 15, 2008, as the Tigers beat 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 ...

6–5. Rapada did not make the Tigers 25-man roster and began the 2009 season playing for the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A baseball team nicknamed the ...

Texas Rangers

On December 7, 2009, Rapada was traded to the Texas Rangers for a player to be named later or cash considerations. On December 16, Rapada was outrighted off the 40-man roster to Triple-A. Rapada played most of the 2010 season with the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. On September 3, 2010, Texas called up Rapada to the major league roster. Rapada was listed as an alternative during the postseason when the Texas Rangers would make it to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. The Rangers would eventually lose the 2010 World Series against the

. On January 14, 2011, Rapada was placed on release waivers by the Rangers.

Baltimore Orioles

On January 25, 2011, Rapada was signed by the

and invited to spring training to compete for a roster spot. After being sent to the minors after spring training, Rapada was called up by Baltimore on April 17. He made his Orioles debut on April 18 with two outs in the seventh inning against the

. He was designated for assignment on June 29. In innings with Baltimore, Rapada had a 6.06 ERA. After being designated for assignment on February 6, Rapada was released by the Orioles on February 15. He leads the major leagues in left-handers' batting average who face him since 2010.

New York Yankees

Rapada signed a minor league contract with the

on February 18, 2012, with an invitation to spring training. Rapada made the Yankees Opening Day roster. He had a 2.82 ERA in 70 appearances. After 2013 Spring Training, he was designated for assignment. He cleared waivers and was released on April 3. He was re-signed to a minor league deal on April 9 and released on June 3.

Cleveland Indians

Rapada signed a minor league contract with the

on June 13, 2013. After spending most of the season with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, he was added to the Indians' major league roster as a September call-up. He was designated for assignment on October 2, 2013. After being outrighted to Triple-A Columbus on October 7, Rapada elected free agency on October 16.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Rapada signed a minor league deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in December 2013. He was released before the end of Spring Training.

Seattle Mariners

Rapada signed a minor league deal with the

in April 2014, and was assigned to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers. He pitched in 14 games, going 4–1 with a 4.12 ERA before his release on June 16.

Baltimore Orioles (second stint)

On June 16, 2014, Rapada signed a minor league contract with the

. He reported to the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. Rapada was released by the Orioles organization on August 5.

San Francisco Giants

On February 5, 2015, Rapada signed a minor league deal with the

Philippine national team

Due to his Filipino heritage, Rapada is eligible to play for the Philippines national baseball team, Philippine national team. He was to participate for the Philippines at the 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualification, 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers in 2012 but did not participate citing personal reasons. Rapada led the Philippines at the 2017 World Baseball Classic – Qualification, 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers in February 2016.

Coaching career

After the 2015 season Rapada was hired as a pitching coach for the

Low-A affiliate Augusta GreenJackets. He served in that role until 2021, when the Giants moved him to a role as the assistant pitching coordinator.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapada, Clay 1981 births Living people American baseball players of Filipino descent Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Chesapeake, Virginia Boise Hawks players Chicago Cubs players Columbus Clippers players Cleveland Indians players Daytona Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Iowa Cubs players Lansing Lugnuts players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Minor league baseball coaches Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela New York Yankees players Norfolk Tides players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Sacramento River Cats players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tacoma Rainiers players Texas Rangers players Toledo Mud Hens players Virginia State Trojans baseball players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players