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

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)

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 c ...

who played for the Oakland Athletics 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 (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

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 population of the town was 13,185 at the 2020 census. The town center along the shore line was listed as a census-designated place (CDP) by the U.S. Census Bureau in the 2020 ...

in 1994. He was drafted by the

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

in the 17th round of the

1994 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1994 Major League Baseball draft. Compensation picks Compensation Picks Other notable players *Troy Glaus, 2nd round, 37th overall by the San Diego Padres, but did not ...

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 in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

. In 1995 and 1996, Grabowski played collegiate summer baseball 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 t ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He was then drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the

1997 MLB Draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

Professional career

The

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

selected Grabowski off waivers from the Rangers on December 18, 2000 and he was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the Rule V Draft 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 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 rook ...

of the Chicago Cubs, 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 of 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 cons ...

. 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 St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...

spring training, 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 Baseball players from Connecticut 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 American people of Polish descent