Edward James Jurak (born October 24, 1957) is an American retired baseball player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for parts of six seasons, from 1982 through 1989. Jurak played for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

from 1982 to 1985, the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in 1988 and the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

in 1989. After Boston released him in spring training of 1986, he played on the independent San Jose Bees of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

that season. Jurak spent 1987 in the minor leagues for the Texas Rangers organization before returning to the big leagues in 1988. One of the finest moments of Jurak's career occurred during the Triple A All Star game in 1988. The game was nationally televised as a way to introduce the baseball audience to the best prospects in the sport. That night, Jurak, at the age of 30 and was hitting .314 for Tacoma, the top farm club of the Oakland A's, tripled and scored in the ninth inning as the American League defeated the National League 2-1. The National League had tied the game at one via a home run hit by

Gregg Jefferies Gregory Scott Jefferies (born August 1, 1967) is a retired infielder/outfielder in Major League Baseball who had a 14-year career from 1987 to 2000. He was a highly touted prospect who became the first two-time winner of the ''Baseball America ...

. Jurak was a utility player, playing in the field at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and as an

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In cricket, baseball and ...

er in his major-league appearances. As a minor leaguer, Jurak won the 1981 Eastern League batting title with the

Bristol Red Sox The Bristol Red Sox baseball club was an American minor league baseball franchise. Based in Bristol, Connecticut, it was the Double-A Eastern League farm system affiliate of the Boston Red Sox for ten seasons (1973–82) and played at Muzzy Fi ...

(AA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox). Because of his

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n ancestry, Jurak's 1989 Giants teammates nicknamed him "Croatian Man" in the clubhouse.

References

External links

Sons of Sam Horn wiki: Ed Jurak
– Red Sox-centric wiki resource. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurak, Ed 1957 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico American people of Croatian descent Baseball players from Los Angeles Boston Red Sox players Bristol Red Sox players Calgary Cannons players Diablos Rojos del México players Elmira Pioneers players Indianapolis Indians players Major League Baseball infielders Mobile Baysharks players Oakland Athletics players Oklahoma City 89ers players Pawtucket Red Sox players Phoenix Firebirds players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Bees players Tacoma Tigers players Tulsa Drillers players Winston-Salem Red Sox players Winter Haven Red Sox players