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Patrick Leland Rapp, a right-handed pitcher from Sulphur, Louisiana, came to Hinds as a freshman in the fall of 1985. He was the workhorse for the Eagles for two seasons. He started 27 games, pitched 194 1/3 innings, won 21 games (9 wins in 1986 and 12 wins in 1987), and had a career ERA of 2.92.
He led Hinds to South Division Championships and post-season play in ’86 and ’87, including the Eagles first state championship in 37 years as a sophomore. The 1987 team also played in the Region 23 Tournament, for the first time, finishing second and advanced to the NJCAA Eastern District Tournament in Moorhead, also a first for Hinds.
Pat signed with Hill Denson‘s Golden Eagles at the University of Southern Mississippi where his pitched for two seasons. He said he didn’t do as well at USM as he did at Hinds, but tried to throw harder and get noticed by the scouts. His fastball was 94-95 mph, but had some control issues.
He was drafted in the 15th round by the San Francisco Giants on June 5, 1989 and signed with the Giants on June 9, 1989 and “learned how to pitch and made his way through the Giants organization quickly.”
Rapp made his major league debut against the Expos in Montreal on July 10th, 1992 on the day he was called up to the Giants, pitching 2 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, and walking one. He gave up his first major league hit to Hall-of-Famer Larry Walker; “1-2 count, served a change-up into left.” A week later in his first ML start, his first strikeout was against Larry Walker, “a backwards K, on a hammer.“
“I’ve seen Larry (Walker) a few times over the years and he never lets me forget he was my first hit!!!! And I always drop on him, ‘first K, too!!!!’ We have a good laugh. Super great player and great guy!”
Pat Rapp
Pat was chosen the 10th overall pick in the 1992 expansion draft by the Florida Marlins.
His best major league season was 1995 with Florida, 14-7 with a 3.44 ERA and 167 innings in 28 starts. He was an amazing 11-2 after the All-Star Break. I remember him giving the Atlanta Braves a difficult time during that run.
The Marlins record-setting 17-0 win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 17, 1995 was a memorable night on the mound for the right-hander.
He went the distance for Florida, allowing just one hit, one walk and struck out seven while pitching a shutout at the highest scoring stadium in baseball. The lone hit was a bloop single by Dante Bichette in the fourth inning.
Rapp became the first member of the Marlins to toss a one-hitter in the victory.
He would pitch another shutout at Coors Field in April, 1997.
Pat was traded back to San Francisco on July 18, 1997. The Marlins went on to defeat the Cleveland Indians and won the World Series in seven games and the team voted Pat a share of the World Series bonus, including a championship ring.
Rapp entered the free agent market at the end of the 1997 season.
He had a career record of 70-91 with an ERA of 4.68 in 239 big league starts and pitched 1387.1 innings and had 825 strikeouts.
He played for 6 major league teams over 10 seasons; (Giants, Marlins, Royals, Red Sox, Orioles, and Angels).
As a hitter, he hit .117, with 1 home run and 13 RBI in his career.
Questions for Pat:
Best experience in the big leagues? “It was just being in the big leagues, being able to meet and play with superstars of our generation and from time-to-time meeting older stars from when I was a kid. And just going to battle with your boys day in and day out throughout the years.”
Who was the toughest hitter you faced in the big leagues? “Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent, for a bunch of years.”
Your notable teammates through the years? “Will Clark, Jeff Brantley, Barry Bonds, Lee Smith, Charlie Hough, Kevin Brown, Andre Dawson, Johnny Damon, Cal Ripkin, Jr., Pedro Martinez, Tim Wakefield, Nomar Garciaparra, Walt Weiss, Terry Pendleton, Mike Mussina, Al Leiter, Alex Fernandez, Dave Righetti, to name a few.”
Rick Clarke's Diary of a Mad Baseball Coach 