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William Angel Rariden (February 4, 1888 – August 28, 1942), was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1909 to 1920 for the Boston Doves/Rustlers/Braves, Indianapolis Hoosiers/Newark Pepper, New York Giants, and Cincinnati Reds.[1]

Bill Rariden
Catcher
Born: (1888-02-04)February 4, 1888 Bedford, Indiana
Died: August 28, 1942(1942-08-28) (aged 54) Bedford, Indiana
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
August 9, 1909, for the Boston Doves
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1920, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
Batting average	.237
Home runs	7
Runs batted in	275
Teams
Boston Doves / Rustlers / Braves (1909–1913) Indianapolis Hoosiers (1914) Newark Pepper (1915) New York Giants (1916–1918) Cincinnati Reds (1919–1920)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1919)

Major League career

A light-hitting defensive specialist, Rariden set the major league record for most assists by a catcher in a single season with 215 while playing for the Newark Pepper of the Federal League in 1915.[2] He broke his own record the following season when he had 238 in 1915.[2] Major League status was retroactively applied to the Federal League in 1968.

Before Rariden's career, most catchers were large, slow-footed players.[3] Rariden's small size and agility helped him become one of the best catchers in major league baseball.[3] In the Deadball Era during which Rariden played, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, therefore catchers of his era usually accumulated higher assist totals than did those of subsequent eras.[4]

Rariden had his best year offensively with the New York Giants in 1917 when he posted a .271 batting average in 101 games as, the Giants won the National League pennant before being defeated by the Chicago White Sox in the 1917 World Series.[5] Rariden was also a member of the 1919 Cincinnati Reds team which won the scandal-plagued 1919 World Series against the Chicago White Sox.[6]

Career statistics

In a twelve-year major league career, Rariden played in 982 games, accumulating 682 hits in 2,877 at bats for a .237 career batting average along with 7 home runs and 275 runs batted in.[1] He ended his career with a .972 fielding percentage.[1] Rariden led Federal League catchers twice in putouts, twice in assists and twice in baserunners caught stealing.[1] He led National League catchers once in putouts.[1]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
• Bill Rariden at Find a Grave

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