Jerry Lee Owens (born February 16, 1981) is an American former professional baseball player. He played parts of four seasons 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) with 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 p ...

from 2006 to 2009. Owens announced his retirement from professional baseball in November 2016 while playing for the

Naranjeros de Hermosillo The Naranjeros de Hermosillo ( en, Hermosillo Orange Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Hermosillo, Sonora. The Naranjeros are one of the most successful teams in the league with 16 titles and they we ...

of 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 ...

Amateur career

Owens graduated from Hart High School in California, where he played wide receiver on the championship football team with

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

quarterback

Kyle Boller Kyle Bryan Boller (born June 17, 1981) is a former American football quarterback. After playing college football for California, he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first round (19th overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft. He played for the Rav ...

. In high school, Owens was named to numerous All-America teams and was an elite recruit. Owens originally attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

, but later transferred to

The Master's College The Master's University is a private non-denominational Christian university in Santa Clarita, California. History The college was founded in 1927. It was originally named Los Angeles Baptist College and Seminary. In 1961, it moved to Newhal ...

in California after several injuries and a revelation. At The Master's College, he was named the Small College All-American Outfielder for 2003.

Professional career

Montreal Expos minor league system

Owens was selected by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

in the second round (57th overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft. Owens first was sent to play Single-A baseball with the

Vermont Expos Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

of the

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

in 2003. However, he only played two games with the team, going 1-for-8 (.125) with a stolen base. In , Owens advanced to the Single-A

Savannah Sand Gnats The Savannah Sand Gnats were a minor league baseball team based in Savannah, Georgia. They were a member of the A-level South Atlantic League. The Sand Gnats were an affiliate of the New York Mets in their final nine seasons. The team relocated ...

of the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. Owens burst onto the scouting scene by posting some impressive numbers, including a .292 batting average and 30

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s in 108 games.

Chicago White Sox

On February 13, 2005, Owens was traded to the

for outfielder

Alex Escobar Alexander José Escobar ss-COE-bar(born September 6, 1978) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. Career Escobar was signed by the Mets as a non-draft amateur free agent in and made his debut in . At the end of the season, he was tra ...

. Owens spent with the Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

of the Southern League. He had a sensational season, batting .331 with two home runs, 52 RBI and 38 stolen bases in 130 games. Owens was named a Southern League All-Star outfielder and he also led the league in

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 is ...

. In

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

for the White Sox in 2006, Owens had to compete with Brian Anderson for the job of center fielder, but White Sox general manager Kenny Williams stated that Owens would probably not get the job because he had a shoulder injury a few years before. Owens was put on the White Sox' extended 40-man roster, and was optioned back to the International League with the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. He batted .262 with four home runs and 48 RBI in 112 games, and showed development in his base-stealing, stealing 40 bases and being caught only 12 times. Owens was called up and made his major league debut as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

on September 11, 2006 against the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. His first start came on September 27, a game in which he collected both his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

and stole his first base as a major leaguer. Owens started the 2008 regular season on the fifteen-day

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

after an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

revealed a slight tear in his right

adductor muscle A adductor muscle is any muscle that causes adduction. It may refer to: Humans * Adductor muscles of the hip, the most common reference in humans, but may also refer to ** Adductor brevis muscle, a muscle in the thigh situated immediately behind ...

Seattle Mariners

Owens was considered for the center field job vacated by

Ken Griffey Jr. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Marin ...

for the 2009 season, but the White Sox released him on May 2 after he batted .083 in 12 games. He then signed a minor league contract with 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) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

the next day. Playing for the Mariners' Triple-A affiliate, the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

, he went on to lead the Rainiers with a .323 average, and also hit three home runs, recorded 37 RBI and stole 23 bases in 100 games.

Washington Nationals

On December 8, 2009, 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 Stadiu ...

signed Owens to a minor league contract with an invitation to

Spring Training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He did not play during the 2010 season.

Lancaster Barnstormers

After three years out of baseball, Owens signed with the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league ...

for the 2013 season. He finished the season batting .341 with two home runs and 48 RBI in 117 games.

Mexican Baseball League (LMB)

Owens first signed with the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

in May 2013. He appeared in seven games for them during the 2013 season, batting .194 before he was released in early June. Owens later was assigned to the

Tigres de Quintana Roo The Quintana Roo Tigers (), formerly known as the Mexico (City) Tigers () are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The team is part of the Southern Division (). The team has won twelve champio ...

for both the 2014 and 2016 seasons, appearing in 19 and 23 games, respectively.

Mexican Pacific League (LMP)

Owens played with the

of the

(Winter League) for four seasons, starting in 2013-14. The club won the league championship that year, with Owens playing a key role in the team's success. He won the league batting title, impressing in his first year with a .361 average, 90 hits, 10 doubles, four triples, a home run and 29 RBI in 61 games played. Owens announced his retirement from professional baseball in the middle of his fourth season with the team on November 14, 2016, citing that he wasn't at the physical level necessary to continue his playing career.

References

External links

CBS Sportsline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, Jerry 1981 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from California Birmingham Barons players Charlotte Knights players Chicago White Sox players Lancaster Barnstormers players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Naranjeros de Hermosillo players People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Peoria Javelinas players Piratas de Campeche players Savannah Sand Gnats players Scottsdale Scorpions players Tacoma Rainiers players Tigres de Quintana Roo players The Master's Mustangs baseball players UCLA Bruins baseball players UCLA Bruins football players Vermont Expos players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people