John Emil Jaha (born May 27, 1966) is a former

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 ...

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), ...

who had a 10-year career from 1992 to 2001. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics, playing in both the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

and

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 ...

. He was elected to the American League All-Star team in 1999. Jaha graduated from David Douglas High School in Portland, Oregon, in 1984. He still holds most offensive baseball records for the school. Jaha was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1984 and made his Major League debut with the Brewers on July 9, 1992. He also had success playing with the

Daikyo Dolphins The Daikyo Dolphins were formerly the Gold Coast Clippers, a foundation team in the now defunct Australian Baseball League. The Clippers changed their name to the Daikyo Dolphins following the signing of a major sponsorship deal with Japanese r ...

in the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

in 1991 and 1992 alongside Brewers and 1999 All-Star teammate,

Dave Nilsson David Wayne Nilsson (born 14 December 1969) is an Australian retired professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits. He played for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers ...

. Earlier in 1992, while playing for Brewers Triple-A affiliate

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Jaha became only the second player (after Joey Meyer) to hit a ball into the upper deck at

Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of the ...

. In 1996, Jaha enjoyed his finest season with the Brewers, batting .300 with 34 home runs and 118 RBI. Despite the strong season, he was not selected to the All-Star team, having to contend with Frank Thomas,

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

, and

Mo Vaughn Maurice Samuel Vaughn (born December 15, 1967), nicknamed "The Hit Dog", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Boston Red Sox, Anaheim Angels, and New York Mets from 1991 to 2003. He was a three-time All-Sta ...

for the first base position. After an injury-plagued Major League career with the Brewers, Jaha signed a minor-league contract with the Oakland Athletics in 1999. Although Jaha wasn't expected to make the team - in fact, he was left out of the team's media guide that spring - he turned in a remarkable comeback season. Earning his first All-Star berth along the way, he finished the season with 35

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 (tying

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 career hom ...

for most by an Oakland

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

) and 111 RBIs and was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year. It was his last season of significant productivity. Jaha played in just 33 games in 2000, fewer the following year. A popular figure in the Oakland Athletics clubhouse, he drew a standing ovation from his A's teammates when he announced his retirement on June 30, 2001. Jaha is of Syrian and Lebanese descent. In 826 games over 10 seasons, Jaha posted a .263

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 ...

(730-for-2775) with 470 runs, 126 doubles, 5 triples, 141 home runs, 490 RBI, 36 stolen bases, 430 bases on balls, .369 on-base percentage and .465 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .993 fielding percentage as a first baseman.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaha, John 1966 births Living people Major League Baseball first basemen American League All-Stars Milwaukee Brewers players Oakland Athletics players Tri-Cities Triplets players Denver Zephyrs players Stockton Ports players Beloit Brewers players Helena Gold Sox players New Orleans Zephyrs players Beloit Snappers players Modesto A's players Sacramento River Cats players Baseball players from Portland, Oregon American people of Lebanese descent David Douglas High School alumni American expatriate baseball players in Australia Sportspeople of Lebanese descent