Robert McClure Bowen (born February 24, 1981) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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), ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

from 2003 to 2008 for the Minnesota Twins,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

, Chicago Cubs and the Oakland Athletics.

High school years

Bowen attended Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His senior year (), he earned All-State honors and was named the Indiana State Player of the Year by Gatorade and ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

''.

Career

Minnesota Twins

Shortly after graduating from Homestead, Bowen was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the second round of the amateur draft, and made his debut with the Twins as a September call-up in . He combined to play 24 games in the 2003 & seasons before spending the entire season in the Twins' farm system.

Detroit Tigers

During spring training , he was placed on waivers by the Twins, and selected by the Detroit Tigers.

San Diego Padres

Later the same spring, he was again placed on waivers, and was this time claimed by the

Chicago Cubs

On June 20, , the Chicago Cubs acquired Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke from the Padres in exchange for catcher Michael Barrett.

Oakland Athletics

Bowen was designated for assignment by Chicago and traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for fellow catcher

Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 through 2010 for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, and Ka ...

on July 16 of that year. He was released by the Oakland Athletics on March 17, .

Personal life

As of 2019, Bowen had been working as a K-9 handler for the Dooly County Sheriff's office in

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References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Rob 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Texas Minnesota Twins players San Diego Padres players Chicago Cubs players Oakland Athletics players People from Bedford, Texas Baseball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Rochester Red Wings players Lake Elsinore Storm players