Jon Rauch

A right-handed pitcher with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Jon Erich Rauch is also an Olympic Gold medalist. Standing at 6'11", he is also the tallest played in the history of major league baseball. Rauch attended and graduated from Oldham County High School, and began his tryst with baseball in college, at Morehead State University. He was double majoring in Physics and Business. He was also a member of the social fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Drafted in the third round of the 1999 amateur draft, by the Chicago White Sox, Rauch made his debut with the White Sox in 2002. His stint in the big leagues resulted in a 6.59 ERA in eight games and six starts. He did not play in the majors in 2003, but returned the next year following a strong Triple-A campaign. But he posted a high ERA of 6.23 against major league batters, and in 2004 he was traded to the Montreal Expos, along with the Triple-A reliever Gary Majewski, in exchange for Carl Everett.

On the 13th of August, Rauch hit a home run, in a match against the Houston Astros, off Roger Clemens, making him the tallest man to ever hit a home run in the major league. Even though he posted a strong finish to the season, Rauch was sent to the minors, when the Expos moved to Washington. But his good performance in the minors saw Rauch finish the 2005 season with the Nationals, though he was mostly used as a reliever, and went with 2-4 with a 3.60 ERA.

In the 2006 season, Rauch posted his career high, a 4-5 record, a 3.35 ERA and appeared in 85 games, the second most in the NL. Becoming Washington's most reliable reliever on a team that finished last in the NL in ERA, Rauch finished the highest in the bullpen in games, strikeouts, batters faced and innings pitched. He also finished second in saves, ERA+ and ERA, with first spot being claimed by Chad Cordero.

In the 2007 season, Rauch had the highest number of league appearance, numbering at 88, and he finished the year with a 8-4 record, a 3.61 ERA and four saves. Leading the team in wins, Rauch had eight victories, which is rare in baseball.
In 2008, Rauch signed a two-year contract with the Nationals, reportedly worth $3.2 million. Rauch then spent most of the season as the closer, to substitute Chad Cordero, who had been injured. The same year, in July, Rauch was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks, in exchange for second base prospect Emilio Bonifacio.