Traber was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round (544th overall) of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft.[4] and played parts of four seasons for the Orioles between 1984 and 1989,[4] where his nickname was "The Whammer".[5] 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.[6] Traber's success with Baltimore was hindered by unfortunate timing — as veteran first baseman, Eddie Murray, wasn't ready to retire and Traber was anxious to play in that position — and he had not received any instruction as an outfielder in Minor League Baseball (MiLB), as his managerEarl Weaver lamented.[6] Thus, Traber's options were limited to being a reserve-first baseman, DH, and pinch hitter. Jim Traber's career ended as quickly as it began with his baseball stats making him "the worst player in the American League in 1988".[7]
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.[3] 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 Lotte Orionspitcher Kazumi Sonokawa 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 Orions' manager, Masaichi Kaneda. Grainy footage of this incident is still widely distributed on the Internet.[8]
Traber's involvement with sports talk radio began after his retirement from professional sports. He served as a television color analyst for Fox Sports' regional coverage of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the team's World Series victory season of 2001, for which he was awarded a World Series ring. Traber was also part-time color analyst for the 2001 World Series radio broadcast. He can be heard cheering in celebration behind Greg Schulte during the famous play-by-play call of "A little blooper... Base hit! Diamondbacks Win!" for Luis Gonzalez's game-winning hit. Traber continued announcing in 2002 and 2003.[2] Currently, Traber hosts "The Afternoon Sports Beat" and "Total Dominance Hour," shows on WWLS-FM radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[9] He sometimes refers to callers as Yardbirds.
Traber has 2 sons, Trabes and Beau, with his ex-wife, and three daughters, Chelsea, Courtney and Katelyn, with his second wife Julie, who were her children from a prior marriage and whom Traber ended up adopting.[10] Traber is estranged from both his biological children.[11] Traber credits his wife Julie with making him realize he needed to be a Christian.[12] Traber has appeared in court 12 times in the last decade[13] for failure to wear a seatbelt[14] and speeding violations.[15]
^admin. "Jim Traber – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^Tramel, Berry. "Collected wisdom: Jim Traber says 'when I explode on callers it's good radio'". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^Tramel, Berry. "Collected wisdom: Jim Traber says 'when I explode on callers it's good radio'". The Oklahoman. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^"OSCN Search Results". www.oscn.net. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^"OSCN Case Details". www.oscn.net. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
^"OSCN Case Details". www.oscn.net. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
External linksedit
Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Retrosheet
College Football Statistics
March 14, 2024
traber, james, joseph, traber, born, december, 1961, american, former, professional, baseball, first, baseman, played, major, league, baseball, baltimore, orioles, nippon, professional, baseball, kintetsu, buffaloes, after, retiring, from, baseball, pursued, c. James Joseph Traber born December 26 1961 1 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 Jim TraberFirst basemanBorn 1961 12 26 December 26 1961 age 62 Columbus Ohio U S Batted LeftThrew LeftProfessional debutMLB September 21 1984 for the Baltimore OriolesNPB April 8 1990 for the Kintetsu BuffaloesLast appearanceMLB October 1 1989 for the Baltimore OriolesNPB October 10 1991 for the Kintetsu BuffaloesMLB statisticsBatting average 227Home runs27Runs batted in117NPB statisticsBatting average 287Home runs53Runs batted in184TeamsBaltimore Orioles 1984 1986 1988 1989 Kintetsu Buffaloes 1990 1991 Traber was born in Columbus Ohio but grew up in Columbia Maryland 2 While attending Wilde Lake High School in Columbia he was an All American 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 2 and football 3 Traber was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round 544th overall of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft 4 and played parts of four seasons for the Orioles between 1984 and 1989 4 where his nickname was The Whammer 5 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 6 Traber s success with Baltimore was hindered by unfortunate timing as veteran first baseman Eddie Murray wasn t ready to retire and Traber was anxious to play in that position and he had not received any instruction as an outfielder in Minor League Baseball MiLB as his manager Earl Weaver lamented 6 Thus Traber s options were limited to being a reserve first baseman DH and pinch hitter Jim Traber s career ended as quickly as it began with his baseball stats making him the worst player in the American League in 1988 7 Traber sang the national anthem at Memorial Stadium the night of his MLB debut 7 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 3 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 Lotte Orions pitcher Kazumi Sonokawa 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 Orions manager Masaichi Kaneda Grainy footage of this incident is still widely distributed on the Internet 8 Traber s involvement with sports talk radio began after his retirement from professional sports He served as a television color analyst for Fox Sports regional coverage of the Arizona Diamondbacks during the team s World Series victory season of 2001 for which he was awarded a World Series ring Traber was also part time color analyst for the 2001 World Series radio broadcast He can be heard cheering in celebration behind Greg Schulte during the famous play by play call of A little blooper Base hit Diamondbacks Win for Luis Gonzalez s game winning hit Traber continued announcing in 2002 and 2003 2 Currently Traber hosts The Afternoon Sports Beat and Total Dominance Hour shows on WWLS FM radio station in Oklahoma City Oklahoma 9 He sometimes refers to callers as Yardbirds Traber has 2 sons Trabes and Beau with his ex wife and three daughters Chelsea Courtney and Katelyn with his second wife Julie who were her children from a prior marriage and whom Traber ended up adopting 10 Traber is estranged from both his biological children 11 Traber credits his wife Julie with making him realize he needed to be a Christian 12 Traber has appeared in court 12 times in the last decade 13 for failure to wear a seatbelt 14 and speeding violations 15 References edit Jim Traber at thebaseballcube com a b c About Jim at jimtraber com a b Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame Bios PDF Retrieved March 1 2010 permanent dead link a b Jim Traber Stats at Baseball Reference com Jim Traber Finds Comfort a Long Way From Home by Ken Rosenthal at latimes com Retrieved August 3 2009 a b Justice Richard August 2 1986 Dodd Traber Hit Home Runs in Orioles 7 3 Win Washington Post Retrieved March 8 2020 a b 1987 Topps baseball card 484 Traber Charging Mound at youtube com Radio Schedule at jimtraber com admin Jim Traber Society for American Baseball Research Retrieved November 11 2022 Tramel Berry Collected wisdom Jim Traber says when I explode on callers it s good radio The Oklahoman Retrieved November 11 2022 Tramel Berry Collected wisdom Jim Traber says when I explode on callers it s good radio The Oklahoman Retrieved November 11 2022 OSCN Search Results www oscn net Retrieved November 11 2022 OSCN Case Details www oscn net Retrieved November 11 2022 OSCN Case Details www oscn net Retrieved November 11 2022 External links editCareer statistics and player information from Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Retrosheet College Football Statistics Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jim Traber amp oldid 1194880139, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
