Jason Joseph "J. J." Furmaniak (born July 31, 1979) is a former American 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 ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, who played in the major leagues for 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 ...

and 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 ...

Early life and career

Furmaniak was born in

Bolingbrook, Illinois Bolingbrook is a village in Will County, Illinois, Will and DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwest suburb of Chicago on Interstate 55 in Illinois, I-55 and U.S. Route 66 in Illinois, Historic Rou ...

After graduating from

Bolingbrook High School Bolingbrook High School or The Brook is a public four-year high school located in Bolingbrook, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Bolingbrook High School is the second high school in the Valley View Community ...

, Furmaniak attended college at

Lewis University Lewis University is a private Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois, United States. It enrolls around 6,600 students in more than 80 undergraduate programs, 35 graduate programs, and accelerated programs for working adults. It is al ...

Romeoville, Illinois Romeoville is a village in Will County, Illinois, United States. The village is located southwest of Chicago on the Gateway Wetlands, directly west of the Des Plaines River. Per the 2020 census, the population was 39,863. It is located in the s ...

. He was drafted by 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. ...

in the 22nd round of the

2000 Major League Baseball draft The 2000 Major League Baseball draft, was the annual choosing of high school and college baseball players, held in June 2000. A total of 1,452 players were drafted. First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins ...

. He was a Minor League All-Star in 2000, 2003 and 2005. Furmaniak made his major league debut with the

on September 13, 2005, and played with the Pirates for the 2005 season. He played for the

during the 2007 Season. Furmaniak became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on October 7, , after refusing an outright assignment to the minors. He signed with the

Yokohama BayStars The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its current ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

during the offseason, and played with the team for the 2008 season. On December 17, , Furmaniak signed a minor league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. He appeared in 118 games with the Phillies' AAA affiliate in 2009, hitting .230 with five home runs while driving in 48 runs. He later signed 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 February 4, 2010, as a free agent. Furmaniak played in the minors in 2010 and 2011.

Personal life

He is married to Jen Furmaniak and they have one son and one daughter together.

References

External links

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J.J. Furmaniak hopes for a little more baseball heaven
1979 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Japan Fort Wayne Wizards players Idaho Falls Padres players Indianapolis Indians players Lake Elsinore Storm players Lewis Flyers baseball players Major League Baseball second basemen Mobile BayBears players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Nippon Professional Baseball shortstops Oakland Athletics players People from Bolingbrook, Illinois Pittsburgh Pirates players Portland Beavers players Sacramento River Cats players Sportspeople from Naperville, Illinois Baseball players from DuPage County, Illinois Yokohama BayStars players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub

Early life and career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links