Jason William Grabowski (born May 24, 1976) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB)

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

who played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

from 2002 to 2005.

Amateur career

Grabowski graduated from The Morgan School in

Clinton, Connecticut Clinton is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. The population of the town was 13,185 at the 2020 census. The town center along the shore line was liste ...

in 1994. He was drafted by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in the 17th round of the

1994 MLB Draft The 1994 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1994. The draft saw the New York Mets select Paul Wilson first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Supplem ...

but did not sign and went to play college baseball at the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. In 1995 and 1996, Grabowski played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Chatham A's The Chatham Anglers, more commonly referred to as the Chatham A's and formerly the Chatham Athletics, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Chatham, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. He was then drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the

1997 MLB Draft The 1997 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections Supplemental first ...

Professional career

The

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

selected Grabowski off waivers from the Rangers on December 18, 2000 and he was drafted by the

in the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

on December 13, 2001. Grabowski made his Major League debut for the Athletics on September 22, 2002, against the Rangers, with one strikeout and one walk in his two plate appearances. His first hit was a double to right field off

Chan Ho Park Chan Ho Park (; ; born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Park was the first South Korean-born player in MLB history, and the first South Korean player to be named an MLB All-Star. He played for the Los A ...

of the Rangers on September 27. Grabowski played in a total of 12 games for the Athletics between the 2002 and 2003 seasons and had three hits in 16 at-bats. On March 29, 2004, Grabowski was sold to the

. He spent the entire season with the Dodgers, as their primary left-handed pinch hitter. Grabowski hit his first Major League home run, off

Kerry Wood Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is an American former baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and New York Yankees. Wood first came to prominence as a 20-year-old rookie, ...

of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, on May 11, 2004. In 113 games with the Dodgers that season, he hit .220 with 7 homers and 20 RBI. Grabowski split 2005 between the Dodgers and the AAA Las Vegas 51s. With the Dodgers, Grabowski appeared in 65 games, compiling a .161 batting average, 4 homers and 12 RBI. In Las Vegas, Grabowski played in 52 games and hit .292 with 6 homers and 33 RBI. In the 2005 offseason, Grabowski's contract was sold to the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefecture ...

of Japan's

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, 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 a ...

. He hit .146 in 39 games for the Buffaloes. Grabowski was a 2007 non-roster invitee to the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, but did not make the team and was reassigned to the minors. He was released on April 23, 2007 without appearing in any games in the Devil Rays system.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Jason 1976 births Living people Oakland Athletics players Los Angeles Dodgers players Orix Buffaloes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Major League Baseball left fielders Pulaski Rangers players Savannah Sand Gnats players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Tacoma Rainiers players Sacramento River Cats players Arizona League Athletics players Las Vegas 51s players UConn Huskies baseball players Chatham Anglers players Baseball players from New Haven, Connecticut