Jason Ryan Jennings (born July 17, 1978) 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He pitched 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), ...

with the Colorado Rockies (2001-2006), Houston Astros (2007) and Texas Rangers (2008-2009).

High school/college years

Jennings attended Poteet High School in

Mesquite, Texas Mesquite is a suburban city located east of the city of Dallas, Texas, in the United States. Most of the city is located in Dallas County, though a small portion extends into Kaufman County. As of 2019 census estimates, the population was ...

, and was a standout in both football and

. In football, he won All-District honors at both

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

and punter. In baseball, as a senior, he was named the District

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

and posted a .410

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 ...

, hit seven

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 ...

s, and pitched his way to a 10–3 record and a 0.92

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

with 132 strikeouts. After graduating from Poteet, he attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the ...

, where he played baseball from to . Following his junior season at Baylor, Jennings was named by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball as the 1999 National Player of the Year. In what would be his final season at Baylor, he struck out 172 hitters in 146.2 innings and hit .382 with 17 homers and 68

RBIs A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

. He also won the Golden Spikes Award, the Dick Howser Trophy, his second consecutive

Big 12 The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its f ...

Player of the Year, consensus

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors, the Outstanding Player on the 1999 Big 12 All Tournament Team, and a spot on the 1999 All-Big 12 Academic First Team.

Professional career

As a member of the Colorado Rockies, Jason posted his most impressive numbers in the season when he won the

Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The a ...

in the

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 ...

, beating out

Brad Wilkerson Stephen Bradley Wilkerson (born June 1, 1977) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball for eight seasons. Wilkerson played college baseball for the University of Florida, and was selected ...

and

Austin Kearns Austin Ryan Kearns (born May 20, 1980) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2002 through 2013 for the Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees, and ...

. In his major league debut, Jennings hit a home run and tossed a complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, becoming the first major leaguer to accomplish that feat. On May 8, 2004, Jennings became the only pitcher in history to hit a home run off of Hall of Fame pitcher Greg Maddux. From to , Jennings had three losing seasons and posted an ERA above 5 each year. In , Jennings pitched much better, ending the season with a 3.78 ERA, but had only a 9–13 record due to a lack of run support that ranked near the bottom of the league. From May 29 to the end of the season, Jennings had a 3.17 ERA, which was 4th in the Majors and 2nd in the NL behind

Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...

. He also finished with over 200 innings pitched. He ended his career with the Rockies as the franchise's all-time winningest pitcher. He was surpassed in wins by a Rockies pitcher on June 23, 2009 by former teammate

Aaron Cook Aaron Cook may refer to: *Aaron Cook (baseball) (born 1979), Major League Baseball pitcher * Aaron Cook (footballer) (born 1979), Welsh footballer * Aaron Cook (politician), Nauruan politician *Aaron Cook (taekwondo) Aaron Arthur Cook (born 2 ...

. On December 12, 2006 the Rockies traded Jennings, along with

Miguel Asencio Miguel DePaula Asencio (born September 29, 1980) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He began his pro-career in in the Dominican Republic. In 11 games, he went 0–2 with a 6.55 Earned run average, ERA. Asencio was signed by the Philadel ...

, to the Houston Astros for

Willy Taveras Willy Taveras (born December 25, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. A center fielder, Taveras has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Washington Nationals. Pr ...

Taylor Buchholz Taylor Buchholz (born October 13, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Biography Buchholz stands 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weighs 220 lbs. He bats and throws right-handed. He grew up and lives in Springfield, Pe ...

and

Jason Hirsh Jason Michael Hirsh (born February 20, 1982) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. He stands at 6' 8" and weighs . He batted and threw right-ha ...

. The deal seemed to work in favor of the 2007 Rockies, who made it to the

2007 World Series The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American L ...

with Taveras at the top of the order. Both Buchholz and Hirsh pitched decently in their first season with the Rockies. was a lackluster year with the Astros for Jennings. In a game against the

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 pennan ...

, he gave up 11

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s on 8 hits in two-thirds of an inning with three walks and no strikeouts. In doing so, he set the record for the most earned runs allowed by a starting pitcher in a game while pitching less than one inning. On January 17, , he signed a one-year contract with the Texas Rangers. Jennings ended up going on the DL after just six starts, all in April (missing the rest of the season), in which he struggled mightily. He went 0–5 with an 8.56 ERA, allowing eight home runs in 27 innings of work, and he made it past the fifth inning only once. On February 6, , he re-signed with the Rangers to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. On August 27, 2009, Jennings was designated for assignment, then given his outright release by the Rangers. During the 2009–2010 MLB offseason, Jennings was signed by the Oakland Athletics to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training. On May 25, 2011, the

Grand Prairie AirHogs The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Be ...

of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

signed Jennings to a contract for the remainder of their season. On September 12, 2011, Jennings started Game 5 of the AA Championship and pitched 6 innings to pick up the win and help lead the AirHogs to their first American Association Championship - his first championship at any level. Jennings officially retired in 2012.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Jason 1978 births Living people Baseball players from Dallas Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball Rookie of the Year Award winners Baylor Bears baseball players Golden Spikes Award winners Colorado Rockies players Houston Astros players Texas Rangers players Asheville Tourists players Portland Rockies players Carolina Mudcats players Salem Avalanche players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Round Rock Express players Corpus Christi Hooks players Sacramento River Cats players Grand Prairie AirHogs players All-American college baseball players

High school/college years

Professional career

See also

References

External links