Douglas Michael Waechter (born January 28, 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, ...

for the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

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 ...

. He graduated from Northeast High School and was then drafted by the Devil Rays in the 3rd round of the

1999 Major League Baseball Draft The 1999 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1999. A total of 1,474 players were drafted over the course of 50 rounds. First round selections Supplemental fir ...

. During his minor league career he threw a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

when he was with the Single-A short season club, the

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

. Since making his major league debut in 2003, he was shuffled back and forth between Triple-A Durham and Tampa Bay, making 54 starts with the Devil Rays. In his first major league start at home, and second overall, on September 3, 2003 against the Seattle Mariners, he threw a 2-hit complete game shutout, which would remain the best single-game performance of his career. Over four seasons with the Devil Rays, from 2003 through 2006, he was 14-25 with a 5.62 ERA. After having shoulder surgery in October 2006, he was released by the team on November 22. He then made a comeback with the D-Rays, being put on the 60-day DL. His season has compiled of two rehab starts with the Hudson Valley Renegades, Tampa Bay's single A short season affiliate. His rehab starts were against the Staten Island Yankees, 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) Am ...

affiliate, and the Brooklyn Cyclones, 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 ...

affiliate. He has compiled a 1-1 record giving up three runs in the two rehab starts. During the 2007 offseason, he was signed to a minor league contract by the

. After spring training, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an ...

. His contract was purchased on April 18, 2008, and he was promoted to the Marlins as a

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 ...

. In 2007, he had arguably his most successful major league season as a relief pitcher, appearing in 48 games for Florida with a 4-2 record and a 3.69 ERA. Having played most of his career in the American League, with the National League Marlins, he got the only hit of his major league career on June 6, 2008 against the Cincinnati Reds. The Marlins, however, parted ways with him after the season, granting him his free agency on October 1, 2008. On December 11, 2008, Waechter signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Royals. He pitched for Kansas City during the 2009 season and appeared in only 5 games as a relief pitcher with a 0-0 record and an 8.77 ERA. He was released on November 21, 2009, and became a free agent. After failing to draw interest from any major league clubs in 2010 or 2011, he announced his retirement on June 25, 2011. For his six-year major league career, he finished with 18 wins and 27 losses, in 113 appearances, including 54 starts with one complete game shutout and a career ERA of 5.34. Waechter has occasionally appeared as a sportscaster alongside Dewayne Staats covering Rays games for Bally Sports Sun (formerly Fox Sports Sun). He also serves as a realtor for DMK Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate.

References

External links

Minor League Baseball-reference.com page for Waechter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waechter, Doug 1981 births Living people Baseball players from Florida Major League Baseball pitchers Hudson Valley Renegades players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Florida Marlins players Kansas City Royals players Princeton Devil Rays players Charleston RiverDogs players Orlando Rays players Bakersfield Blaze players Durham Bulls players Vero Beach Devil Rays players Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Gulf Coast Marlins players Jupiter Hammerheads players Omaha Royals players Indios de Mayagüez players American television sports announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters Tampa Bay Rays announcers American real estate brokers