Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Who is the tallest baseball player in the USA?
Jon Erich Rauch (born September 27, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. At 6feet 11inches (2.11m), he is the tallest player in Major League Baseball history.[1] He is also an Olympic Gold Medalist.
Competing in its first World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-15 Baseball World Cup in 2014, Team USA traveled to Mazatlan, Mexico, and went 9–1 overall and claimed the silver medal. The 2014 campaign also saw the 15U National Team's Brice Turang bring home the 15U's first-ever USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award. The award is given to the athlete who is not only an outstanding player on the field, but also exemplified sportsmanship and love of the game. The full list of winners can be found here.
The USA Baseball Sport Development team aims to grow the game of baseball through youth programs, player development, safety and educational initiatives. The Sport Development website – SportDev.org – houses all USA Baseball's development initiatives, educational resources, certifications and blog material. The website provides free online education courses and resources, development initiatives such as Hit and Run, Fun At Bat and the Prospect Development Pipeline, coach and umpire certification and the Sport Development Blog. 
The Prospect Development Pipeline (PDP) is a collaborative effort between Major League Baseball (MLB) and USA Baseball. The program established an official identification and player assessment pathway for elite high school age amateur baseball players in the United States to all 30 MLB Clubs for the amateur draft.
In the seventh round, the Golden State Warriors used the 171st pick to selected Yasutaka Okayama, a Japanese basketball player who was measured at and . Okayama, who attended and played junior varsity basketball at the University of Portland for one and a half years in 1976 as an exchange student, declined to try out for the Warriors and never played in the NBA. He is the tallest person ever drafted and would have been the tallest player in the NBA had he played in the league. The San Diego Clippers used their last pick in the draft, the 210th pick, to draft Tony Gwynn, who starred at both baseball and basketball at San Diego State University. Gwynn was also selected in the 1981 MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. He opted to play baseball and ended up playing 20 seasons with the Padres. He received multiple awards and honors during his playing career, is one of only 28 players in MLB history with 3,000 career hits, and was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame at his first opportunity in . Kenny Easley, a college football star from the University of California, Los Angeles, was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 216th pick in the 10th round. Easley, who was selected fourth in the 1981 National Football League (NFL) Draft by the Seattle Seahawks, played seven seasons with the Seahawks and received several awards and honors before retiring in 1988 due to kidney problems that eventually led to a transplant.
In 2009, Smoak again represented his country in the IBAF Baseball World Cup. Smoak hit nine home runs and drove in 22 runs, and was named to the 2009 IBAF World Cup All-Tournament Team along with fellow Team USA players Terry Tiffee and Jon Weber. He was also named the 2009 Baseball World Cup's Most Valuable Player. He won the USA Baseball Richard W. "Dick" Case Player of the Year Award in 2009.
Presented annually in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee and the Rod Dedeaux Foundation, the USA Baseball Rod Dedeaux Coach of the Year award is given to the National Team manager or coach who expects excellence out of his players. A coach who not only strives for his players to succeed but to become better human beings as well. The award was first presented in 1996.
Presented annually in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the USA Baseball Developmental Coach of the Year Award is given to the manager or coach who most prepares his players for the next level of baseball and as well as their future outside of the sport. The award was first presented in 1996.
Presented on a year-by-year basis in conjunction with the U.S. Olympic Committee, the USA Baseball Volunteer Coach of the Year Award is given to the coach who does not receive payment in any form for his or her involvement in assisting USA Baseball with coaching and growing the game of baseball at any level.
From 1984–2002, the USA Baseball Player of Year Award was given to the athlete who was not only an outstanding player on the field, but also exemplified sportsmanship and love of the game as well. Beginning in 2003, the award was renamed the Richard W. “Dick” Case Award in honor of the organization's founding Executive Director/CEO.
The USA Baseball International Performance of the Year Award recognizes the athlete who authors the greatest single-game performance on an international stage while wearing the Team USA uniform in a given year. The annual award was first presented in 2009.
The USA Baseball Sportswoman of the Year Award is presented in years when the organization fields a Women's National Team to the top female athlete who was not only an outstanding player on the field, but also exemplified sportsmanship and love of the game.
Finally, the USA Baseball Team of the Year is one whose success reaches far beyond the medal it wins. It is a team that teaches the game of baseball wherever it goes while embodying the ideals, standards and principles of USA Baseball and Team USA. The annual award was first presented in 1996.
The games were played between the Australian All-Stars, USA All-Stars and the 1997 Japanese Industrial League Champions the Mitsubishi Juko Kobe. The Australian and USA All-Star teams were selected from players who were at the time playing in the Australian Baseball League.
The province enjoys a rarely disputed reputation as the capital of Dominican baseball, providing a relatively high number of professional baseball players. Many of these players are drafted to play in the USA's Major Leagues of Baseball, with Sammy Sosa being the most notable player from SPM in recent years (see a full list of Dominican players). Baseball players from this city often come from poor homes and use baseball as a way to earn money for their families. Many ball players from this city are major philanthropists as well.
In 1998, the paper also began naming an annual USA Today" All-USA High School Baseball Team of nine to 11 players, with one member of the team designated the USA Today" High School Baseball Player of the Year.
The USA Baseball National Team Identification Series (NTIS) is the most comprehensive player identification program offered by Team USA. Players from across the country will participate in selection events and tryouts on the regional level with the aim of ultimately being named to their regional team. Those regional teams will then compete in their respective age groups against the 15 other regions from across the country at the culminating National Team Identification Series Champions Cup event at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, North Carolina, in the fall of 2019.
Rory Elias Rhodes (born 28 July 1991) is an infielder for the Minnesota Twins organisation. He has also played for the Brisbane Bandits in Australia. Rhodes is one of the tallest players in the Australian Baseball League and the tallest position player at 208 cm (6'10") and although primarily is a third baseman, plays first base regularly.
Utilizing the successful Breakthrough Series instructional model incorporating multiple seminars, Major League Baseball, USA Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association teamed up to develop the revolutionary Elite Development Invitational.
In 1989, "USA Today" began naming an annual USA Today" High School Baseball Player of the Year and an annual USA Today" High School Baseball Coach of the Year.
The Golden Spikes Award is bestowed annually to the best amateur baseball player in the United States. The award, created by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association, was first presented in 1978. It is given to an amateur player who best exhibits and combines "exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship." The award is considered the most prestigious in amateur baseball.
Listed below in chronological order are the Minor League Baseball players chosen by "USA Today" as recipients of the USA Today Minor League Player of the Year Award. Since , the award has been given annually to the minor-league player who is judged by "USA Today" baseball experts as having had the most outstanding season. Of the thirteen votes cast each year, two votes go to the player selected by fans in the online voting at USATODAY.com.
The Breakthrough Series, established in 2008, is a joint effort on behalf of USA Baseball and Major League Baseball. This unique program focuses on developing the player on and off the field through seminars, mentorship, gameplay, scout evaluations, video coverage, and the highest level of instruction all while providing a platform for the players to perform for scouts and collegiate coaches. The events are completely cost free with USA Baseball covering expenses for the players.
Held in various locations throughout the country, the 12U NTIS will offer athletes across the U.S. the opportunity to become involved with Team USA, while providing instruction, evaluation and fun. Players from the 12U NTIS will be recommended to USA Baseball officials and, from those recommendations, USA Baseball will invite 128 players to participate in the 12U National Open.
Each year, USA Today, an American newspaper, awards outstanding high-school baseball players with a place on its All-USA High School Baseball Team. The newspaper names athletes whom they believe to be the best baseball players from high schools across the United States. The newspaper has named a team every year since 1998.
Moustakas attempted to be a two-sport player for Chatsworth, but a broken ankle suffered in his first game as quarterback for the Chancellors ended his high school football career, and nearly ended his baseball career as well. However, after three months of rehabilitation Moustakas was able to resume playing baseball. In 2006 Moustakas was a member of USA Baseball's Junior National Team, competing in the World Junior Championships in Cuba. He topped off his prep career by being named "Baseball America" 's High School Player of the Year in 2007, an honor previously bestowed on MLB stars like Joe Mauer, Homer Bailey and Josh Hamilton. Moustakas was also selected to the USA Today All-USA high school baseball team in 2007. He was offered a scholarship to USC, but turned it down and decided to enter the 2007 MLB Draft.
USA Baseball will once again field a Professional National Team in 2019 for the WBSC Premier12. The event is a qualifier for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and will be held in November.
Following the removal of baseball from the Olympic program in 2005, the World Baseball Classic was proposed by Major League Baseball, the Major League Baseball Players Association and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. Subsequently, the tournament was created and the first installment was played in 2006. Unique to the event is the use of Major League players on the rosters, marking the first team in USA Baseball history to feature MLB-level athletes.
Since 1978, USA Baseball has honored the top amateur baseball player in the nation with the Golden Spikes Award. The award is presented in partnership with the Rod Dedeaux Foundation and is given each year to the player who best exhibits exceptional on-field ability and exemplary sportsmanship.
The AWBF now keeps a database of players interested in trying out for the USA Baseball women's national team. Interested players are directed to tryout sites and their names are sent to USA Baseball which holds tryouts and select a women's national team each year.
At six feet, nine inches, Gee became the tallest player in organized baseball. Before Gee's debut, the tallest player to appear in the major leagues had been "Big Jim" Weaver, a six-foot, seven inch pitcher who debuted for the Washington Senators in 1928. Gee held the record as the tallest person ever to play Major League Baseball until Randy Johnson debuted for the Montreal Expos in September 1988.
The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12 and Pan American Games teams (and all other USA Baseball Professional Teams); the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U and 12U National Teams; and the USA Baseball Women's National Team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. In addition, USA Baseball selects players for the 14U, 16U and 17U National Team Development Programs.