Richard "Stubby" Clapp (born February 24, 1973 in Windsor, Ontario) was formerly a Canadian baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Edmonton Cracker-Cats. Clapp also had a brief career in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Clapp graduated from Texas Tech University, where he played for the Red Raiders baseball team. He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 36th round (1,058th overall) of 1996 amateur entry draft. He was part of Team Canada in the 2004 Summer Olympics who finished in fourth place. He also played for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. In 3 games, Clapp hit .154, with a triple and an RBI.

Clapp played 23 games in 2001 for the St. Louis Cardinals. Clapp had 5 hits in 25 at bats, including 2 doubles and 1 RBI.^[1]

Clapp became a popular figure in the City of Memphis during his four-year stint (1999-2002) with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. He was often referred to as the "Mayor of Memphis." During the 2002 season, The 5-foot-8 Clapp was featured on a growth chart for kids, sponsored by a Memphis-area medical group. He was also a fairly popular figure among those who followed Arkansas Travelers baseball during his time there in the 1998 season.

In 911 minor league games, Clapp had a .270 batting average, 48 home runs, 50 triples, 196 doubles, 365 RBI, and 83 steals. Clapp also pitched in 3 games. In 2.1 innings, Clapp has given up 2 hits and no earned runs.

In 2006, Clapp played for Canada in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. He was one of two second basemen on the roster and drove in a run.

On April 21, 2007, Clapp's jersey #10 was the first number ever retired by the Memphis Redbirds.

Clapp is currently a hitting coach for the Greenville Astros^[2], although he has come out of retirement to represent Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics^[3] and has been named to the roster for the 2009 World Baseball Classic^[4].

In his youth, Stubby Clapp could be considered a two-sport athlete. Having distinguished himself through the Windsor minor hockey system, he played an important role for the Windsor Bulldogs (currently, LaSalle Vipers) from 1990 to 1992. In 1991, the Bulldogs clinched 1st place during the regular season and Clapp scored 5 goals during the playoffs. For the 1991-1992 team, he was named captain of the team^[5].

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
• Richard Clapp on Real Champions