Jacob Dwayne Goebbert (born September 24, 1987) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 ...

. He played for the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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) in 2014.

Career

Amateur

Goebbert attended Hampshire High School in Hampshire, Illinois, where he played for the school's baseball and football teams. He then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

, where he played college baseball for the Northwestern Wildcats baseball team in the Big Ten Conference. During his collegiate career, Goebbert played for the Southern Ohio Copperheads of the

Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League The Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League (GLSCL) is a collegiate summer baseball league in the Great Lakes region of the United States. It is affiliated with the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball and comprises teams with college baseb ...

in collegiate summer baseball. In 2009, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

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 ...

Houston Astros

The

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

drafted Goebbert in the 13th round (401st overall) of the

2009 Major League Baseball Draft The 2009 Major League Baseball draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in Secaucus, New Jersey. The drafting order is as follows: First-round selections Key Supplemental first-round selections From Baseball Americ ...

. Playing in

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

, the Astros promoted Goebbert from Single–A to Triple–A during the 2011 season. They invited him to

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 ...

in 2012. He finished the 2012 season with the

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

of the Double–A

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

Oakland Athletics

At the end of spring training in 2013, the Astros assigned Goebbert to the

Oklahoma City RedHawks Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

of the Triple–A

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Before he could play for Oklahoma City, the Astros traded Goebbert to 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 ...

in exchange for Travis Blackley. He played for the Double-A Midland RockHounds of the Texas League and Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

of the

in 2013.

San Diego Padres

On May 15, 2014, the Athletics traded Goebbert to the Padres for Kyle Blanks and a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

, later identified as Ronald Herrera. On June 19, 2014, Goebbert was called up from Triple-A

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

to replace the injured first baseman Yonder Alonso. Goebbert was primarily an outfielder in the minor leagues after having played first base at Northwestern University, but El Paso had been occasionally playing him at first base after his acquisition by the Padres. At the time of his call-up, Goebbert was hitting .270 with 5 HR and 18 RBI at El Paso. Goebbert had a pinch-hit RBI single in his first Major League plate appearance on June 20 and made his first start in left field the next day. He was optioned back to El Paso on July 25 when Alonso returned. Goebbert returned to the Padres on August 12 when Everth Cabrera went to the disabled list, and he remained with the team for the rest of the season. Goebbert batted .218 with one home run in 101 at-bats, starting 19 games at first base and 4 in left field. He was designated for assignment by the Padres on January 7, 2015, but remained with the club, attending Padres spring training in 2015 as a non-roster invitee.

Pittsburgh Pirates

On November 25, 2015, Goebbert signed to a major league contract with the

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

. He was designated for assignment on April 3, 2016.

Tampa Bay Rays

He was claimed off waivers by the

Tampa Bay 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) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

on April 6. He became a free agent after the 2016 season.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On January 27, 2017, Goebbert signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released on March 28, 2017.

Personal life

Goebbert and his wife, Heather, reside in Pingree Grove, Illinois during the offseason. When he is not playing, Goebbert hosts youth baseball clinics and works on the family farm in Hampshire. Goebbert's Pumpkin Patch includes exotic animals and a train ride. Goebbert delivered the

commencement address In the United States, a commencement speech or commencement address is a speech given to graduating students, generally at a university, although the term is also used for secondary education institutions and in similar institutions around the ...

at Judson University in December 2013.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goebbert, Jake 1987 births Living people Baseball players from Kane County, Illinois Major League Baseball outfielders San Diego Padres players Northwestern Wildcats baseball players Harwich Mariners players Tri-City ValleyCats players Lexington Legends players Lancaster JetHawks players Corpus Christi Hooks players Oklahoma City RedHawks players Midland RockHounds players Salt River Rafters players Sacramento River Cats players El Paso Chihuahuas players Caribes de Anzoátegui players People from Hampshire, Illinois American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toros del Este players