Traber attended Oklahoma State University in the early 1980s, where he played both baseball (appearing twice in the College World Series)[2] and football.

[5] He soon found himself on a career-best hot streak that saw him crank out six homers and 17 runs batted in (RBI), while hitting .340, in his first 13 games, after being recalled in the summer of 1986.

[7] After his MLB career, Traber played baseball in Japan for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1990 and 1991, and one season for Monterrey of the Mexican League in 1993.

[3] His time in Japan is perhaps most memorable for an incident in which Traber rushed the mound subsequent to being hit by a pitch, chasing the retreating Lotte Orions pitcher Kazumi Sonokawa into the outfield at the Akita Yabase Baseball Stadium.

After charging the pitcher a second time, he was knocked off balance by the catcher while running and was kicked in the face on the way down by the Orions' manager, Masaichi Kaneda.