James Joseph Traber (born December 26, 1961) is an American former
professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League
Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and in Nippon Professional
Baseball (NPB) for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. After retiring from
baseball, he pursued a career in broadcast media.Traber was born in
Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Columbia, Maryland. While attending
Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, he was an All-American â€" playing
football, baseball, and other sports. Traber attended Oklahoma State
University in the early 1980s, where he played both baseball
(appearing twice in the College World Series) and football.Traber was
drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round (544th overall) of
the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. and played parts of four seasons
for the Orioles between 1984 and 1989, where his nickname was "The
Whammer". During the biggest slump of his career for Baltimore, Traber
found success by switching to a V-neck jersey. He soon found himself
on a career-best hot streak that saw him crank out six homers and 17
runs batted in (RBI), while hitting .340, in his first 13 games, after
being recalled in the summer of 1986. Traber's success with Baltimore
was hindered by unfortunate timing â€" as veteran first baseman, Eddie
Murray, wasn't ready to retire and Traber was anxious to play in that
position â€" and he had not received any instruction as an outfielder
in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), as his manager Earl Weaver lamented.
Thus, Traber’s options were limited to being a reserve-first
baseman, DH, and pinch hitter.After his MLB career, Traber played
baseball in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1990 and 1991, and one
season for Monterrey of the Mexican League in 1993. His time in Japan
is perhaps most memorable for an incident in which Traber rushed the
mound subsequent to being hit by a pitch, chasing the retreating
pitcher into the outfield at the Akita Yabase Baseball Stadium. After
charging the pitcher a second time, he was knocked off balance by the
catcher while running and was kicked in the face on the way down by
the manager, Masaichi Kaneda. Grainy footage of this incident is still
widely distributed on the Internet.
professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League
Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and in Nippon Professional
Baseball (NPB) for the Kintetsu Buffaloes. After retiring from
baseball, he pursued a career in broadcast media.Traber was born in
Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Columbia, Maryland. While attending
Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, he was an All-American â€" playing
football, baseball, and other sports. Traber attended Oklahoma State
University in the early 1980s, where he played both baseball
(appearing twice in the College World Series) and football.Traber was
drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round (544th overall) of
the 1982 Major League Baseball draft. and played parts of four seasons
for the Orioles between 1984 and 1989, where his nickname was "The
Whammer". During the biggest slump of his career for Baltimore, Traber
found success by switching to a V-neck jersey. He soon found himself
on a career-best hot streak that saw him crank out six homers and 17
runs batted in (RBI), while hitting .340, in his first 13 games, after
being recalled in the summer of 1986. Traber's success with Baltimore
was hindered by unfortunate timing â€" as veteran first baseman, Eddie
Murray, wasn't ready to retire and Traber was anxious to play in that
position â€" and he had not received any instruction as an outfielder
in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), as his manager Earl Weaver lamented.
Thus, Traber’s options were limited to being a reserve-first
baseman, DH, and pinch hitter.After his MLB career, Traber played
baseball in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1990 and 1991, and one
season for Monterrey of the Mexican League in 1993. His time in Japan
is perhaps most memorable for an incident in which Traber rushed the
mound subsequent to being hit by a pitch, chasing the retreating
pitcher into the outfield at the Akita Yabase Baseball Stadium. After
charging the pitcher a second time, he was knocked off balance by the
catcher while running and was kicked in the face on the way down by
the manager, Masaichi Kaneda. Grainy footage of this incident is still
widely distributed on the Internet.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.