Hal Raether

{{Short description|American baseball player (1932–2020)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name =Hal Raether

| position =Pitcher

| birth_date ={{birth date|1932|10|10}}

| birth_place =Lake Mills, Wisconsin

| death_date ={{death date and age|2020|9|26|1932|10|10}}

| death_place =Spring Park, Minnesota

| bats =Right

| throws =Right

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate =July 4

| debutyear =1954

| debutteam =Philadelphia Athletics

|finalleague = MLB

| finaldate =May 19

| finalyear =1957

| finalteam =Kansas City Athletics

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label =Win–loss record

| stat1value =0–0

| stat2label =Earned run average

| stat2value =6.75

|stat3label=Innings pitched

|stat3value=4

|teams=

• Philadelphia / Kansas City Athletics ({{baseball year|1954}}, {{baseball year|1957}})

}}

Harold Herman Raether (October 10, 1932 – September 26, 2020), nicknamed "Bud", was an American Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He appeared in only two games in MLB, one for the {{mlby|1954}} Philadelphia Athletics, and one for the {{mlby|1957}} Kansas City Athletics three years later, after the franchise moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Raether threw and batted right-handed, stood {{convert|6|ft|1|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|185|lb}}.

Raether played at the collegiate level at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.{{cite web|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=raethha01|title=Hal Raether|publisher=Baseball-Almanac.com|accessdate=2011-03-31}} His pro career began in 1954 and lasted for four seasons (1954–55 and 1957–58).{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/raethha01.shtml|title=Hal Raether|publisher=Baseball-Reference.com|accessdate=2011-03-31}} In the majors, he allowed three earned runs and three hits in four full innings pitched; he issued four bases on balls and did not record a strikeout. One of the hits he surrendered was a home run, hit by eventual Baseball Hall of Famer George Kell on May 19, 1957.Retrosheet [https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1957/B05191BAL1957.htm box score: 1957-05-19]

Raether died on September 26, 2020, at the age of 87.{{cite web|url=https://www.startribune.com/obituaries/detail/0000370041/|title=Harold 'Hal' Raether Obituary|publisher=Star Tribune|accessdate=2020-10-04}}