All-Time MLB Players From Louisiana: Pat Rapp

There have been a number of individuals from Lafayette, and the Acadiana area, that have played in Major League Baseball over the years.

Obviously, the entire state of Louisiana has produced even more.

As a matter of fact, 246 people born in the state of Louisiana have appeared in a Major League Baseball game, beginning in 1874, with John Peters of New Orleans, who played 11 years, with the likes of the Chicago White Stockings, Milwaukee Grays, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, and Pittsburgh Alleghenys.

All summer, we’ll preview a player from the state of Louisiana that appeared in Major League baseball, starting with players from Lafayette, before spotlighting players from the Acadiana area, and then a few from the state itself.

Yesterday, we spotlighted Ray Fontenot.

Today, we feature Pat Rapp.

Born in Jennings in 1967, Rapp, a right-handed pitcher, played ten seasons in Major League Baseball, with the San Francisco Giants (1992 & 1997), Florida Marlins (1993-1997), Kansas City Royals (1998), Boston Red Sox (1999), Baltimore Orioles (2000), and the Anaheim Angels (2001).

After playing his high school baseball at Sulphur High School, and then his college baseball at Southern Mississippi, Rapp was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 15th round of the 1987 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Rapp made minor league stops in Pocatello, Idaho, Clinton Iowa, San Jose, California, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Phoenix, Arizona, before getting called up to the big leagues by the Giants in 1992 at the age of 24.

In his major league debut, on July, 10, 1992, Rapp threw two scoreless innings against the Montreal Expos.

In his rookie campaign, Rapp went on to go 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA. over 10 innings pitched.

In November of 1992, Rapp was taken by the Florida Marlins in the MLB expansion draft, becoming a member of that organizations inaugural team.

In the first season of MLB baseball in Miami, Rapp went 4-6 with a 4.02 ERA. in 94 innings.

Rapp remained in Florida for 4 more seasons, as a fulltime starting pitcher, going 33-37, before being traded back to the Giants, where he went 1-2 with an ERA. of 6.00 in 8 games.

Over the next four seasons, Rapp became a journeyman starting pitcher, spending one year each with the Royals, Red Sox, Orioles, and Angles, going a combined 32-42, prior to retiring.

In 8 seasons in the minor leagues, Rapp went 49-36 with a 3.27 ERA.

In 10 MLB seasons, Rapp went 70-91 with a 4.68 ERA., while allowing 1,468 hits and 721 earned runs over 1,387.1 innings pitched.