Jason Carl Botts (born July 26, 1980) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering sy ...

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

and

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

. 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) ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers, and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formatio ...

(NPB) for the

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...

Early life

As a senior for

Paso Robles High School Paso Robles High School (PRHS) is the only comprehensive high school located in the city of Paso Robles, California. The school receives its students from George H. Flamson Middle School and Daniel E. Lewis Middle School, both located in Paso Roble ...

in 1998, Botts had a .413 batting average and went 9-2 as a pitcher with a 2.13 earned-run average, winning

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Missio ...

Player of the Year honors from the '' San Luis Obispo Tribune''. He was drafted in the 28th round by Baltimore out of high school before going on to play for Glendale College.

Professional baseball career

Texas Rangers

Botts was called-up after hitting .326 against left-handed pitching while with Oklahoma at the Triple-A level. He made his major league debut for the Texas Rangers on September 14, , against the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and had a total of 27

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s in that month. His fortunes at the plate were somewhat mixed: he produced 8

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

and 3

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

, but also struck out 13 times. On May 28, , Botts started as the DH against 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 t ...

. He hit his first major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

into the upper deck at

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas R ...

against A's righthander

Kirk Saarloos Kirk Craig Saarloos (born May 23, 1979) is an American baseball coach and former pitcher, who is the current head baseball coach of the TCU Horned Frogs. He played college baseball at Cal State Fullerton for coach George Horton from 1999 to 2001 ...

in the 2nd inning. On August 1, , Botts was called-up again by the Texas Rangers to be the designated hitter for the remainder of the 2007 season. Through his first eight games, he had a .219

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average i ...

with one home run and four RBI. On April 29, , the Rangers designated Botts for assignment, giving them 10 days to trade, release, or outright him to the minors. On May 7, 2008, the Rangers outrighted Botts to Triple-A Oklahoma.

Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters

On June 4, 2008, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's

Pacific League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

acquired him from the Texas Rangers. After the season, he also played in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

for the

Yaquis de Obregón The Yaquis de Obregón ( en, Obregón Yaquis) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Ciudad Obregón, Sonora. The “Yaquis” are the only team in league history to have won three consecutive league championship ...

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán ( en, Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league titles and two Caribbean World Series in and . The ...

and most recently for Cañeros de Los Mochis.

Chicago White Sox

Botts was signed to a minor league contract on December 17, 2009, by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. Botts was released on March 17, 2010.

Camden River Sharks

Botts started the 2010 season with the Camden River Sharks of the Atlantic League.

Washington Nationals

On June 9, 2010, he was signed to a minor league contract by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

Colorado Rockies

On March 26, 2011, Botts signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

. He was released on April 7.

New York Mets

Botts signed with the

York Revolution The York Revolution is an American professional minor-league baseball team based in York, Pennsylvania. It is a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, an independent "partner league" of Major League Baseball ...

of the Atlantic League for 2011. However, on May 19, he signed a minor league contract with the New York Mets.Mets Sign Jason Botts
MLBTradeRumors.com, May 19, 2011.

Grand Prairie AirHogs

Botts signed with the Grand Prairie AirHogs of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

and played for them during the 2014 season.

Personal

While two more PRHS grads have also reached the MLB level, Botts is one of two major leaguers to have been born in Paso Robles, California, with the other native of the city being Hal Rhyne.

References

External links

Yaquis de Obregón
{{DEFAULTSORT:Botts, Jason 1980 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona League Rangers players Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Camden Riversharks players Charlotte Rangers players Frisco RoughRiders players Glendale Vaqueros baseball players Grand Prairie AirHogs players Gulf Coast Rangers players Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball designated hitters Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Oklahoma RedHawks players Piratas de Campeche players Savannah Sand Gnats players Stockton Ports players Sugar Land Skeeters players Syracuse Chiefs players Texas Rangers players York Revolution players