Jacob Michael Smolinski (born February 9, 1989) 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 ...

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. He played in

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) for the Texas Rangers and

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 in the

KBO League The KBO League () is a professional baseball league in South Korea. The league comprises ten teams. The KBO League was founded with six franchises in 1982 and is the most popular sports league in South Korea. The Kia Tigers are the most success ...

for the

NC Dinos The NC Dinos () are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Changwon. They are a member of the KBO League. Since 2019, their home stadium is Changwon NC Park. NC Dinos are owned by video game developer NCSoft Corporation. History On ...

Amateur career

Born and raised in

Rockford, Illinois Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...

, Smolinski attended

Boylan Catholic High School Boylan Central Catholic High School is a private Catholic high school located in Rockford, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1960, Boylan is the only Catholic high school in the city. At the start of the 20102011 school year, there were 1187 st ...

where he also starred in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. In baseball, Smolinski was a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. As a senior, Smolinski batted .441 with 13 home runs and 49 RBIs.

Professional career

Washington Nationals

Smolinski was drafted as a

and

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

by the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

in the second round of the

2007 Major League Baseball Draft The 2007 Major League Baseball draft, was an annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held on June 7, 2007 and June 8, 2007. The first day session of the draft included the first 25 rounds and was scheduled to be broadcast "l ...

, out of high school.

Florida Marlins

On November 10, 2008, he was traded to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

along with Emilio Bonifacio and P. J. Dean for Josh Willingham and

Scott Olsen Scott Matthew Olsen (born January 12, 1984) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Florida Marlins and Washington Nationals between 2005 and 2010. Early life Olsen was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended Cr ...

Texas Rangers

He signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers in December 2013. Smolinski was called up to the majors for the first time on July 7, 2014.

Oakland Athletics

Smolinski was claimed off waivers by the

on June 21, 2015. He declared free agency on October 15, 2018.

Tampa Bay Rays

On November 15, 2018, Smolinski signed a minor-league contract with 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 July 2, 2019, Smolinski was granted a release from Triple-A

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

to pursue options in Korea.

NC Dinos

On July 2, 2019, Smolinski signed with the

of the

. He became a free agent following the season.

References

External links

1989 births Living people Baseball players from Rockford, Illinois Major League Baseball left fielders Texas Rangers players Oakland Athletics players Gulf Coast Nationals players Vermont Lake Monsters players Hagerstown Suns players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Suns players Gulf Coast Marlins players New Orleans Zephyrs players Frisco RoughRiders players Round Rock Express players Nashville Sounds players Durham Bulls players American expatriate baseball players in South Korea NC Dinos players 21st-century American sportsmen Yaquis de Obregón players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Stockton Ports players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1980s-stub