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Dave Rader (baseball)
David Martin Rader (born December 26, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1971 through 1980, with the San Francisco Giants (1971–1976), St. Louis Cardinals (1977), Chicago Cubs (1978), Philadelphia Phillies (1979) and Boston Red Sox (1980).[1] He batted left-handed and threw right-handed.[1] Major League careerRader was selected by the San Francisco Giants as their number one pick in the 1967 Major League Baseball Draft.[2] He became the Giants' starting catcher in 1972, posting a .259 batting average in 127 games.[1] Rader finished as runner-up to Jon Matlack for the 1972 National League Rookie of the Year Award, and won The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award.[3][4] The next season, he posted career-highs in home runs (9), runs (59), runs batted in (41) and fielding percentage (.991) but hit for only a .229 batting average in 148 games.[1] In 1974 and 1975 he averaged .291 each season.[1] In October 1976, Rader was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals where he served as a reserve catcher working behind Ted Simmons during the 1977 season.[1][5] After one year with the Cardinals, he was traded to the Chicago Cubs in December 1977.[5] Rader became the Cubs' regular catcher during the 1978 season, playing in 114 games but, only managed to post a .203 batting average and, in February 1979, he would be traded to the Philadelphia Phillies.[1][5] He served as a third string catcher with the Phillies, backing up Bob Boone and Tim McCarver. Rader would be traded a final time in March 1980 to the Boston Red Sox where he backed up regular Red Sox catcher, Carlton Fisk.[5] In November 1980, the Red Sox granted Rader free agency. He signed with the California Angels in February 1981 but was released two and a half months later.[1] Career statisticsIn a ten-year major league career, Rader played in 846 games, accumulating 619 hits in 2,405 at bats for a .257 career batting average along with 30 home runs and 235 runs batted in.[1] Rader had a career .983 fielding percentage.[1] Rader was the Giants catcher on August 24, 1975 when Ed Halicki pitched a no-hitter against the New York Mets.[6] References
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