1931–1937 Bernie DeViveiros, who played
shortstop for the
Oakland Oaks of the
Pacific Coast League (PCL) and managed Raimondi's semi-professional team, recommended Raimondi to Oaks' management. They assigned him to their
farm team, the
Phoenix Senators of the
Class D Arizona–Texas League, for the season. In 75
games played, Raimondi had a .304
batting average. In 1932, the Oaks assigned Raimondi to the
Bisbee Bees of the Arizona–Texas League. After Raimondi batted .312 in 73 games for Bisbee, the league collapsed due to the
Great Depression. The Oaks released
Alex Gaston so they could recall Raimondi, and he caught 45 of the Oaks' 60 remaining games. and batted .289 in 101 games. The
Pittsburgh Pirates of the
National League (NL) acquired Veltman before the 1934 season, leaving Raimondi as the Oaks' only catcher until they acquired
Johnny Pasek from the
Chicago White Sox of the
American League (AL) in May. The White Sox recalled Pasek in July. Raimondi batted .284 Oakland signed
Hugh McMullen in September 1934 to help finish the season and to backup Raimondi for the 1935 season. Raimondi batted .256 in 1935. and then conditionally sold him and
George McQuinn to the NL's
Cincinnati Reds for $25,000 ($ in current dollar terms). He went to spring training with the Reds, who also had
Ernie Lombardi,
Gilly Campbell, and
Hank Erickson as catchers. Raimondi's throwing arm was not in condition at the start of the 1936 season, and the Reds returned him to the Yankees. After he missed the entire 1936 season, the Yankees optioned Raimondi to the Oaks before the 1937 season. He spent the 1937 season as Oakland's first-string catcher, catching 107 games. Though the PCL's
Los Angeles Angels and
San Francisco Seals sought to acquire Raimondi from the Yankees, the Oaks bought his contractual rights outright.
1938–1948 In 1938, the Oaks acquired
Bill Conroy to share catching duties with Raimondi. They played together in 1939 and 1940 as well. Raimondi batted .304 in the 1939 season. In 1940, Raimondi caught 103 games, including almost 30 consecutively while Conroy was out with an injured finger. Raimondi wore down over the season, finishing with a .237 batting average. He gained an additional to increase his durability for the 1941 season, and he batted .283 for the year. With Conroy drafted by the
Boston Red Sox after the season, Raimondi was paired with
Joe Glenn for the 1942 season. Raimondi also played as a
right fielder during the 1942 season when
Fred Tauby left the team to join the
United States Navy. In 132 games in 1943, Raimondi batted .277. The Oaks fired
Dolph Camilli, their manager, in June 1945 and named Raimondi their interim manager. The Oaks finished the season in fifth place, and they hired
Casey Stengel to succeed Raimondi as manager. Raimondi batted .300 in 1946. The NL's
Chicago Cubs tried to acquire Raimondi to serve as their third catcher before the 1947 season, but he decided that it was not worth it for him to move his family. He batted .297 in 152 games in 1947. In 1948, Raimondi batted .285 in 126 games played. However, he broke his wrist when he collided with the
first baseman of the
San Diego Padres during a mid-September game, ending his season. The 1948 Oaks won the PCL championship. The team was known as the "Nine Old Men", as Lombardi was 40, Raimondi,
Cookie Lavagetto,
Floyd Speer, and
Nick Etten were 35,
Jack Salveson and
Les Scarsella were 34,
Dario Lodigiani was 32, and Mel Duezabou was 30.
1949–1953 baseball card of Billy Raimondi. In 1949,
Charlie Dressen succeeded Stengel as the Oaks' manager, and
Don Padgett was brought in to catch alongside Raimondi. Though Raimondi began the year as the starting catcher, Padgett began to receive more playing time than Raimondi as the season progressed. Raimondi batted .272 for Oakland and .263 for Sacramento. He had the second-best
fielding percentage among PCL catchers in 1949, trailing only
Mike Sandlock of the
Hollywood Stars. Raimondi shared catching duties for Sacramento with
Red Steiner in 1950. In June 1950, the Solons fired manager
Red Kress and
coach Lindsay Brown. The Solons hired
Joe Marty as their new manager, and Marty chose Raimondi to serve as a
player-coach. Raimondi batted .242 in 110 games in 1950, spending time on the
injured list. Belieiving that Raimondi could not be relied upon as a starting catcher, and having acquired
Vinnie Smith and
Al Lakeman to pair with Steiner, Sacramento released Raimondi after the 1950 season. In 1951, Raimondi signed with the
Los Angeles Angels. He opened the season as the Angels' regular catcher, but began to lose playing time by late April, after the Angels acquired
Les Peden. In May 1951, he was elected to the
PCL Hall of Fame. Angels' manager
Stan Hack had Raimondi catch
Bill Moisan's starts. Raimondi played in 52 games during the 1951 season, batting .290. Raimondi returned to the Angels as a backup to Peden in 1952, but was removed from the active roster in June. He remained with the Angels as a coach, though he was activated in July while Peden recovered from an injury. Peden began the 1953 season with the
Washington Senators of the AL, and Raimondi was brought back to the active roster to share catching duties with
El Tappe and
Al Evans. At the end of April, the Angels again deactivated Raimondi and had him serve as a coach. The Angels released Raimondi after the 1953 season. He finished his PCL career with a .274 batting average, 1,937
hits, 99
stolen bases, seven
home runs, and 212
strikeouts in 6,532
at bats and 2,041 games caught. ==Post-playing career==