Jon Rauch 60 | P
- Full Name: Jon Erich Rauch
- Born: September 27, 1978 in Louisville, KY
- Height: 6′ 11”
- Weight: 290
- Bats: Right
- Throws: Right
- College: Morehead State
- MLB Debut: April 2, 2002
Biography
Jon Erich Rauch…Married to Erica with daughters, Aubree and Haylee…Attended Morehead (Ky.) State where he was a preseason third-team All-America selection by Baseball America…led team with 6 complete games and 103 strikeouts in 88.0 innings in 1999…Graduated from Oldham County (Ky.) High, where he played baseball and basketball…earned all-region and all-district honors in baseball as a senior…earned first-team all-state academic honors all 4 years…At 6-foot-11, is the tallest pitcher in Major League history, trumping former D-backs pitcher Randy Johnson (6-10)…both Rauch and Johnson wore No. 51 with the Expos…Was a member of Team USA club that claimed the gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydneys…during Olympic tournament, went 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA (1 ER in 11.0 IP) with 21 strikeouts in 2 appearances (1 start)…his 21 strikeouts was 1 shy of the Olympic record (Ben Wallace, 22 in 1992)…threw a complete-game, 3-hitter with no walks and 13 strikeouts in a victory vs. South Africa on Sept. 18…allowed 1 run on 3 hits in 4.0 innings in loss on Sept. 23 vs. Cuba, striking out 8.
2009 Highlights
Began season with Arizona and went 2-2 with two saves in 58 relief appearances…posted a 1.17 ERA (15.1 ip, 2 er) in 14 appearances, holding opponents to a .157 (8-for-51) batting average, May 27-June 27…allowed just two earned runs in 11 (9.2 ip) July appearances (1.86 ERA)…acquired by the Twins in exchange for a player to be named later (Kevin Mulvey), August 28…recorded the win in his Twins debut, August 30 vs. Texas…according to the Elias Sports Bureau, he became the 16th pitcher in club history (since 1961) to win in his debut, but only the second in the last 22 seasons…the last Twins pitcher to win in his debut with the club was Todd Ritchie, April 3, 1997…won in his second appearance with the Twins, tossing 1.0 scoreless inning, September 1 vs. Chicago (AL)…made 17 appearances for Minnesota, going 5-1, 1.72 (15.2 ip, 3 er) with 14 strikeouts and six walks…16 of his 17 appearances with the Twins were scoreless, with the only three runs he allowed coming on a three-run homer by John McDonald, September 8 at Toronto…did not allow a run in his final 12 appearances (11.0 ip), September 11-October 6…his seven wins tied him for third in the Majors for victories by a reliever…appeared in 74-or-more games for the fourth consecutive season…his .833 (5-1) winning percentage Post-All-Star break was tied for third among all American League pitchers.
