Geoffrey Scott Jenkins (born July 21, 1974) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

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 cat ...

, who 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 (A ...

(MLB) for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(1998–2007) and

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(2008). He is fourth on the Brewers’ all-time career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

list, trailing only Hall-of-Famer Robin Yount, 2011

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

(NL) MVP

Ryan Braun Ryan Joseph Braun (born November 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played his entire career for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2007 to 2020. Braun also played right field and fi ...

, and former All-Star

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Prince Fielder. Following his playing career, Jenkins was on the coaching staff of the 2013

Peoria Explorers The Peoria Explorers were a professional baseball team in the United States founded in 2012. The team was based in Peoria, Arizona and a member of the independent Freedom Pro Baseball League, which is not affiliated with Minor League Baseball. ...

of the now-defunct

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

Freedom Pro Baseball League The Freedom Pro Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in Arizona that played in 2012 and 2013. The league started with four teams, the Scottsdale Centennials, Peoria Explorers, Phoenix Prospectors, and the Prescott Federals in ...

Amateur career

High school

Jenkins attended Cordova High School in

Rancho Cordova Rancho Cordova is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States which was incorporated in 2003. It is part of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area. The population was 64,776 at the 2010 census. In 2010 and 2019, Rancho Cordova was named ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, where he played football,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

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 ...

. He was selected for the all-state baseball team as a junior and senior before graduating in 1992.

College career

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses ** South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

, Jenkins had a standout career from through . In his final season, he batted .399 with 78 RBI and a .748 slugging percentage in 70 games, also scoring 75 runs to tie the school record held by

Rich Dauer Richard Fremont Dauer (born July 27, 1952) is an American baseball former infielder and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent his entire 10-year MLB playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the 1983 World Series. He was primar ...

and Mark McGwire; his 23 home runs and 193 total bases ranked second in school history behind McGwire's totals of 32 and 216. He led the Trojans to the College World Series, where they reached the championship game; Jenkins was named to the all-CWS team, and also earned team co-MVP honors and was named a consensus All-American. In , the year of the CWS' 50th tournament, Jenkins was named to the all-decade team for the 1990s. He finished his USC career with a .369 batting average, 45 home runs (second only to McGwire's 54), a .652 slugging percentage, 180 runs, and school records for runs batted in (175) and total bases (444).

Professional career

Minor leagues

Jenkins was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round (9th overall) in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. He spent the 1995–1998 seasons within the Milwaukee

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, and made his big league debut with the Brewers as an early season call-up, on April 24, 1998.

Milwaukee Brewers

On April 24, 1998, he singled off Orel Hershiser, in his first career plate appearance against the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

and hit a fifth-inning home run off Hersheiser in his third career plate appearance. On September 23 that same year, in the midst of a tense Wild Card race, Jenkins hit the routine fly ball that

Brant Brown Brant Michael Brown (born June 22, 1971) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current hitting coach for the Miami Marlins. Brown played in Major League Baseball from 1996 through 2000 for the Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirat ...

of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

dropped allowing three runs to score and the Brewers to win. Jenkins would go on to bat over .300 in his 2nd and 3rd seasons, driving in 90 or more runs three times for one of the perennially weaker teams in the league. In , he was the Brewers' team MVP. He led the Brewers in batting average (.303) and home runs (34). His season was cut short when on June 17 in a game against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

he suffered a horrific-looking dislocated ankle when sliding into

third base 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 scoring system us ...

feet first during a game. He was safe on the play. He was selected to the

's All-Star team in via the MLB's All-Star Final Vote contest where a player is selected from both leagues by fans to join their respective team after the initial roster is announced. On June 8, , he became the 8th player in Major League history to strike out six times in a single game. After playing in left field for virtually his entire career, he moved to

right field A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In t ...

for the and seasons when Milwaukee acquired Carlos Lee. In 2006, Jenkins experienced a prolonged offensive slump, struggling in particular against left-handed pitching. In August 2006, the Brewers benched Jenkins, one of their highest-paid players at the time, in favor of the younger Corey Hart. In 2007, Jenkins returned to left field to

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

with Kevin Mench. On October 30, 2007, the Brewers officially declined their $9 million option on Jenkins' contract, making him a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who i ...

for the season.

Philadelphia Phillies

On December 20, 2007, Jenkins signed a two-year, $13 million deal with a vesting option for 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. He returned to Miller Park in a Phillies uniform on April 23, 2008, to a crowd of just over 30,000. Jenkins was welcomed back with a tribute video, highlighting his ten-year career with the Brewers, and the standing ovation that followed. He received a second ovation while leading off the second inning. Philadelphia would go on to lose the game, 5–4. Jenkins went 0 for 3, with a walk and a

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 o ...

. In the postseason, his only hit came on a leadoff double in the bottom of the 6th inning of Game 5 of the World Series. Jenkins‘ hit set the tone for the finale of the World Series as the Phillies won the World Series and earned Jenkins the first and only

World Series ring A World Series ring is an award given to Major League Baseball players who win the World Series. Since only one Commissioner's Trophy is awarded to the team, a World Series ring is an individual award that players and staff of each World Series ...

of his 11-year career. Jenkins was released by the Phillies at the end of spring training on March 31, .

Retirement

On July 9, 2010, Jenkins retired from baseball as a Milwaukee Brewer.

After baseball

Jenkins has been a franchise partner in Phoenix-area F45 Training Centers since March 2, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenkins, Geoff 1974 births Living people Major League Baseball left fielders Baseball players from Washington (state) Major League Baseball right fielders Milwaukee Brewers players National League All-Stars Sportspeople from Olympia, Washington Philadelphia Phillies players USC Trojans baseball players Helena Brewers players Stockton Ports players El Paso Diablos players Tucson Toros players Louisville Redbirds players Beloit Snappers players Huntsville Stars players All-American college baseball players Anchorage Bucs players