Seattle Rainiers players

Charles Henry Rabe (born May 6, 1932) is an American former professional baseball player. The left-handed pitcher and native of Boyce, Ellis County, Texas, appeared in 11 games in Major League Baseball for the 1957–1958 Cincinnati Redlegs. He was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 185 pounds (84 kg).
Rabe graduated from Waxahachie High School, alma mater of prominent baseball manager and front-office executive Paul Richards, and began his 12-year, ten-season pro career in the Cincinnati organization in 1952. After winning 16 of 26 decisions in 1957 for the top-level Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, he was recalled in September by the Redlegs and used in two games. In the second, on September 27, he started against the eventual world champion Milwaukee Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium and held them to only five hits and two runs, striking out six, in seven full innings pitched. But the Redlegs could not solve Milwaukee's ace right-hander, Lew Burdette, and went down to defeat, 2–1. He began 1958 with Cincinnati and worked in nine games, including his second and last start, May 25 against the St. Louis Cardinals at Crosley Field; however, he lasted only three innings, gave up eight hits and four runs, and absorbed the 4–2 defeat. He made only one more MLB appearance before returning to the minors for the remainder of his career, which lasted through 1963.
In his 11 games with Cincinnati, Rabe posted an 0–4 won–lost record and 3.67 earned run average, allowing 30 hits and nine bases on balls in 27 innings pitched. He struck out 16.

Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the 1956 season. He had two at-bats and scored two runs as a pinch runner.
Listed at 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m), 160 pounds (73 kg), Balcena batted right-handed and threw left-handed. He was born in San Pedro, California.
Prior to playing professional baseball, Balcena served in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II with the United States Navy.Balcena became the first player of Asian American and Filipino ancestry to appear in a major league game. He had a long distinguished Triple-A career with the Seattle Rainiers as a center fielder in the 1950s; one paper described him as a "popular miniature dynamo of almost infallible perpetual motion" after his Rainier team won the 1955 Pacific Coast League title.He also played from 1952 through 1962 in the Minor Leagues, including stints with the Leones del Caracas and the Industriales de Valencia in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
He batted .284 with 134 home run and 441 runs batted in in 1948 minor league games. In a VPBL two-season career, he posted a .306 average with five homers and 44 RBI in 87 games.
After his baseball career ended, he worked as a longshoreman in Seattle where he had played parts of four seasons in the minor leagues.Despite being the first Filipino-American to play in the major leagues, Balcena kept company with Slavs during his life. His union president told the Los Angeles Times that he was an "honorary Slav. He always r[a]n around with the San Pedro Slavs. He speaks Slav. He sings Slav." Outside of his professional career, he also played baseball with an amateur team of Yugoslav Americans.Balcena died in his hometown of San Pedro, California at the age of 64.

Rachel Wayne "Rac" Slider (born December 23, 1933) is an American former infielder and manager in American minor league baseball who also spent four seasons (1987–1990) as a Major League Baseball coach with the Boston Red Sox. In his playing days, Slider stood 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall, weighed 160 pounds (73 kg), batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Slider graduated from James Bowie High School in Simms in 1951, and signed his first professional baseball contract in 1954. During an 11-year playing career (1954–1956; 1958–1964; 1966) he never reached the Major League level, although he spent four seasons in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. In his finest year in the PCL, with the 1961 Hawaii Islanders, Slider batted .300 with 154 hits, 75 runs scored, and a career-high seven home runs. In 1962, the Kansas City Athletics sold Slider's contract to the Red Sox, and he spent the remainder of his career in the Boston organization.
He managed Bosox farm clubs for 21 consecutive seasons, from 1965 through 1985, beginning with the Harlan Red Sox and Covington Red Sox in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. His next assignment, in 1967–1968 as skipper of the Class A Waterloo Hawks, saw the professional debut of eventual Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk. Slider spent nine seasons at the helm of the Red Sox' Winter Haven affiliate in the Class A Florida State League. He won pennants in 1970 (in the Class A Western Carolinas League) and 1979 (in the Florida State League). In 1983, his New Britain Red Sox won the Double-A Eastern League playoffs behind first-year pitcher Roger Clemens.
In all, Slider spent three seasons in Double-A and reached the highest minor league level as the pilot of the 1985 Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. Overall, his managerial record was 1,275–1,405 (.476) in 2,680 games.
Slider was promoted to the MLB Red Sox' coaching staff after the 1986 season. He served under John McNamara as Boston's bullpen coach, and under Joe Morgan as the Red Sox' third-base coach, from 1987 to 1990. He was a minor league infield instructor with the Red Sox in 1986 and from 1991 to 1994.

Thomas Oscar "Tod" Davis (July 24, 1924 – December 31, 1978) was an American professional baseball player of the 1940s and 1950s. The native of Los Angeles appeared in 42 games as an infielder and pinch hitter in Major League Baseball during the 1949 and 1951 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics. Davis was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighed 190 pounds (86 kg) and threw and batted right-handed.
During his trials with the Athletics, Davis collected 21 hits. His only big-league home run, hit September 5, 1949, came off Vic Raschi of the New York Yankees at Shibe Park during a 13–4 New York victory. The remainder of Davis' nine-year career (1943–1944; 1947–1953) was spent in the top-level Pacific Coast League. He appeared in 782 games in the PCL for both Los Angeles–based teams, the Angels and the Hollywood Stars, as well as for the Seattle Rainiers.
Davis served in the United States Army during World War II and its aftermath, and missed the 1945–46 seasons.

Jack Wayne Lohrke (February 25, 1924 – April 29, 2009) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball. During his playing career, he stood 6' (183 cm) tall, weighed 180 pounds (81.7 kg) and threw and batted right-handed.

Alan Cochrane Strange (November 7, 1906 – June 27, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A shortstop, he appeared in 314 Major League Baseball games during all or parts of five seasons (1934–35; 1940–42) with the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators. He was born in Philadelphia, and attended Northeast High School, alma mater of fellow big leaguers Benny Culp, Bill Hoffman, Bert Kuczynski, Jesse Levis and Eddie Stanky. He also attended Penn State University.
As a baseball player, he threw and batted right-handed, and was 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) tall and weighed 162 pounds (73 kg). After five full seasons in the minor leagues, Strange made his Major League debut on April 17, 1934, at the age of 27 as a member of the Browns.
Strange would go on to hit .223 during a big-league career spent mostly with the Browns, although he did spend 20 games in 1935 with the Senators. He hit his lone Major League home run on September 2, 1934, against Phil Gallivan of the Chicago White Sox at Sportsman's Park. In the field, Strange had a .960 career fielding percentage.
Strange played his final MLB game on August 16, 1942, and served in the United States Army during World War II. Much of his minor league career occurred in the top-level Pacific Coast League for the Hollywood Stars, Seattle Rainiers and Portland Beavers. He managed the Rainiers for the final half of the 1959 PCL season.
On June 27, 1994, Strange died in Seattle, Washington. He is buried there at Calvary Cemetery.

Billy Arnold Muffett (September 21, 1930 – June 15, 2008) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He pitched in the Major Leagues for all or parts of six seasons (1957–1962) for the St. Louis Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox. In his playing days, he stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall, weighed 198 pounds (90 kg), and threw and batted right-handed. He was born in Hammond, Indiana.
Beginning his professional career in 1949, Muffett missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service. He returned to minor league baseball in 1954.Muffett came to the major leagues with St. Louis in 1957 and fashioned his best overall season, winning three of five decisions, posting an earned run average of 2.25 and notching eight saves. Over his career, he won 16 and lost 23 (.410) with a 4.33 ERA in 125 games. He threw seven complete games and one shutout and was credited with 15 career saves.
After retiring as a player, Muffett was a longtime MLB pitching coach for the Cardinals, California Angels and Detroit Tigers between 1967 and 1994, as well a minor league instructor. He coached on the Cardinals' 1967–68 National League pennant-winning clubs, and their 1967 World Series champion edition. He survived a bout with cancer in 1987, but continued in his role as Tiger pitching coach during his recovery.
Billy Muffett died June 15, 2008, at his home in Monroe, Louisiana.

Dee Virgil Fondy (October 31, 1924 – August 19, 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played first base in the Major Leagues from 1951 to 1958. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, and Chicago Cubs.
Fondy was 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and weighed 195 pounds. He spent a portion of his youth in
San Bernardino, California.Fondy was the last player to bat at Ebbets Field. The Pirates lost to the Dodgers 2–0 on September 24, 1957. He grounded out to shortstop Don Zimmer who threw to first baseman Jim Gentile for the final out of the game. He batted above .300 three times, twice for the Cubs and the Pirates during the 1950s.

Clarence James Maddern (September 26, 1921 – August 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball outfielder who appeared in 104 Major League games for the Chicago Cubs in 1946, 1948 and 1949, and the Cleveland Indians in 1951. His minor league career extended from 1940 through 1957. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and weighed 185 pounds (84 kg).
Maddern attended the University of Arizona on a baseball scholarship and signed a contract with the Cubs' minor league affiliate Bisbee Bees, in the Arizona–Texas League. His career was interrupted by service from 1943 to 1945 in the United States Army during World War II, when he served in the 76th Infantry Division. Maddern served in France and participated in the Battle of the Bulge.In 1946 Maddern was leading the Texas League in hitting with the Tulsa Oilers before being called up by the parent Cubs. He also was a stalwart in the postwar Pacific Coast League as a star for the Los Angeles Angels and a member of four other PCL clubs. The biggest moment in his career came the night of September 29, 1947, before a sellout crowd in Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. The Angels and the San Francisco Seals had finished in a dead heat for the PCL pennant and met in a one-game playoff. The game was a scoreless tie until Maddern broke it up with a grand slam home run in the eighth inning to give the Angels a 5–0 win over the Seals.Maddern left baseball in 1957, returned to Bisbee and became an insurance agent. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Bisbee, Arizona

Edward Terrance Kazak (July 18, 1920 – December 15, 1999) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1948 to 1952, most prominently as a member of the St. Louis Cardinals.
After suffering serious injuries during World War II, Kazak recovered to become a Major League Baseball player where, he played in the 1949 All-Star Game as a 28-year-old rookie. Injuries prematurely ended his playing career after just five seasons. He played his final season with the Cincinnati Reds.