NY Yankees welcome Filipino player

MANILA, Philippines – As the New York Yankees release their opening roster, a new addition: Filipino-American Clayton Rapada.

Rapada, 31, will play as left-handed reliever, a relief pitcher who throws left-handed for lefty batters.

It is a privilege.

The American East, where the Yankees play, is widely accepted as the toughest division in major league baseball, and the Yankees, with 27 World Series Titles, is far and beyond the ‘winningest’ team in all of professional sports.

Born to a Filipino father from Cabangan, Zambales and an American mother in Chesapeake, Virgina, Rapada has played major league baseball for 6 years.

The teams he has played for include the Detroit Tigers, the Texas Rangers, the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Oriloes. The Yankees is the 5th team he will be playing for.

The Yankee reliever has played a total of 40.2 innings in 44 games and has a career average of 3.76 earned run average (ERA). Batters have him at .263 average.

Rapada was invited by the prominent MLB team for spring training but was not included in the roster. His performance in training however, cemented his name in the opening list of 40 men.

During spring train, Rapada conceded only one run in 10 innings in 12 games, registering an impressive .90 ERA. He limited opponents to a .121 batting average. – Rappler.com