Jon Rauch

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**Jon Rauch**
Major League Baseball debut
Washington Nationals — No. 51
Relief pitcher
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
April 2, 2002 for the Chicago White Sox
Selected MLB statistics (through 2006)
ERA	3.81
Strikeouts	150
Win-loss	12 - 11
Former teams
Chicago White Sox (2002, 2004) Montréal Expos (2004) Washington Nationals (2005-present)

For the gay freelance writer, activist, and National Journal columnist, see Jonathan Rauch.

For the American football player and coach, see John Rauch.

Jon Erich Rauch (born September 27, 1978 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Washington Nationals. At 6'11" (2.11 m), he is the tallest player in the history of the major leagues.

He attended and graduated from Oldham County High School.

1 Early Career
2 2002-2005 Seasons
3 2006 Season
4 External link

[edit] Early Career

Rauch played baseball in college at Morehead State University where he was double majoring in physics and business while being a member of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon. He was drafted in the third round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Chicago White Sox. He debuted with the White Sox on April 2, 2002.

[edit] 2002-2005 Seasons

In 2002, Rauch's first stint in the big leagues resulted in a 6.59 ERA in eight games and six starts. He would not play in the majors in 2003, then returned to the majors in 2004 after a strong AAA campaign. However, against major league batters he again posted a high ERA of 6.23. In July 2004, Rauch was traded to the Montréal Expos along with promising AAA reliever Gary Majewski for a struggling Carl Everett. Despite a strong finish to the season in Montréal, Rauch was sent to the minors when the Expos moved to Washington. After putting up better numbers in the minors, Rauch finished the 2005 season with the Nationals, going 2-4 with a 3.60 ERA used mostly as a reliever.

[edit] 2006 Season

In 2006, Rauch had his best season, posted a 4-5 record, a 3.35 ERA, and appearing in the 2nd most games in the NL (85). He was Washington's most reliable reliever on a team that finished last in the NL in ERA. He finished highest in the bullpen in games, innings pitched, strikeouts, and batters faced. He [finished second only to closer Chad Cordero in saves, ERA, and ERA+.