{{short description|American baseball player (born 1961)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography |name=Jim Traber |position=First baseman |image=1987 Rob Broder Rookies Jim Traber.jpg |bats=Left |throws=Left |birth_date={{Birth date and age|1961|12|26}} |birth_place=Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |debutleague = MLB |debutdate=September 21 |debutyear=1984 |debutteam=Baltimore Orioles |finalleague = MLB |finaldate=October 1 |finalyear=1989 |finalteam=Baltimore Orioles |debut2league = NPB |debut2date=April 8 |debut2year=1990 |debut2team=Kintetsu Buffaloes |final2league = NPB |final2date=October 10 |final2year=1991 |final2team=Kintetsu Buffaloes |statleague = MLB |stat1label=Batting average |stat1value=.227 |stat2label=Home runs |stat2value=27 |stat3label=Runs batted in |stat3value=117 |stat2league = NPB |stat21label=Batting average |stat21value=.287 |stat22label=Home runs |stat22value=53 |stat23label=Runs batted in |stat23value=184 |teams= * Baltimore Orioles ({{mlby|1984}}, {{mlby|1986}}, {{mlby|1988}}–{{mlby|1989}}) * Kintetsu Buffaloes ({{npby|1990}}–{{npby|1991}}) }}

'''James Joseph Traber''' (born December 26, 1961)<ref name="Cube">[http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?ID=18986 Jim Traber] at thebaseballcube.com</ref> 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.

Traber was born in Columbus, Ohio, but grew up in Columbia, Maryland.<ref name="About">[http://jimtraber.com/about.htm About Jim] at jimtraber.com</ref> 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)<ref name="About"/> and football.<ref name="Mexico"/>

Traber was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 21st round (544th overall) of the 1982 Major League Baseball draft.<ref name="Reference">[https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/t/trabeji01.shtml Jim Traber Stats] at Baseball-Reference.com</ref> and played parts of four seasons for the Orioles between 1984 and 1989,<ref name="Reference"/> where his nickname was "'''The Whammer'''".<ref name="Rosenthal">[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-19-sp-2185-story.html "Jim Traber Finds Comfort a Long Way From Home"] by Ken Rosenthal at latimes.com. Retrieved August 3, 2009</ref> 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.<ref name="Post">{{cite news|url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1986/08/02/dodd-traber-hit-home-runs-in-orioles-7-3-win/d0380c1c-78d2-43b6-af3a-92c7d398121f|title=Dodd, Traber Hit Home Runs in Orioles' 7-3 Win|date=August 2, 1986|last=Justice|first=Richard|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=March 8, 2020}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Post"/> Thus, Traber's options were limited to being a reserve-first baseman, DH, and pinch hitter.

Traber sang the national anthem at Memorial Stadium the night of his MLB debut.<ref name=":0">1987 Topps baseball card # 484</ref>

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.<ref name="Mexico">{{cite web|url=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okst/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/08mediaguide-sectionA.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112102103/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/okst/sports/m-basebl/auto_pdf/08mediaguide-sectionA.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 12, 2012|title=Oklahoma State University Hall of Fame Bios|access-date=March 1, 2010|author=Oklahoma State University}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Video">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSrRxHhfHKc Traber Charging Mound] at youtube.com</ref>

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.<ref name="About" /> Currently, Traber hosts "The Afternoon Sports Beat" and "Total Dominance Hour," shows on WWLS-FM radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.<ref name="Schedule">[http://jimtraber.com/schedule.htm Radio Schedule], at jimtraber.com</ref> He sometimes refers to callers as Yardbirds.

Traber has two sons with his ex-wife, and three daughters with his second wife Julie.<ref>{{Cite web |last=admin |title=Jim Traber – Society for American Baseball Research |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jim-traber/ |access-date=November 11, 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== <references/>

==External links== {{Baseballstats|br=t/trabeji01|fangraphs=1013150|retro=T/Ptrabj001}} *[https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/jim-traber-1.html College Football Statistics]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Traber, Jim}} Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Japan Category:American football quarterbacks Category:American television talk show hosts Category:Arizona Diamondbacks announcers Category:Baltimore Orioles players Category:Baseball players from Columbus, Ohio Category:Kintetsu Buffaloes players Category:Hagerstown Suns players Category:Major League Baseball broadcasters Category:Major League Baseball first basemen Category:Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Category:Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Category:Sportspeople from Columbia, Maryland Category:Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio Category:Bluefield Orioles players Category:Charlotte O's players Category:Rochester Red Wings players Category:Sultanes de Monterrey players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Category:20th-century American sportsmen