Jacob Daniel McGee (born August 6, 1986) 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 ...

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, ...

. McGee was selected by

Tampa Bay Devil 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) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

in the fifth round of the 2004 MLB draft and made his

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) debut in 2008. He played in MLB for 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 ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

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

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

, and

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 ...

Early life

McGee was born in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. He grew up in

Sparks, Nevada Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States. It was founded in 1904, incorporated on March 15, 1905, and is located just east of Reno, Nevada, Reno. The 2020 U.S. Census counted 108,445 residents in the city. It is the List of citi ...

, where he attended Edward C. Reed High School. McGee was selected by the

in the fifth round (135th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft.

Professional career

Tampa Bay Rays

McGee made his minor league debut in , and spent 2004 and with the

Princeton Devil Rays Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and the

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

. In , McGee spent the year with the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. He played with both the Vero Beach Devil Rays and the

Montgomery Biscuits The Montgomery Biscuits are a Minor League Baseball team based in Montgomery, Alabama. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and play in the Southern League. The team was founded in Orlando, Florida, in 1973 as the Orlando Twins ...

in . He spent the entire with the Montgomery Biscuits, going 6–4 with 3.94 ERA. McGee was rated by ''

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

'' as the third-best organizational prospect for Tampa Bay Rays and 15th overall MLB prospect in 2008. In 2007, he was ranked 5th in the Rays' organization and 37th overall in all of baseball. McGee is nicknamed "Clockhands". He earned the nickname due to his unconventional windup. McGee had

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's body, ...

on July 8, 2008. McGee was promoted to the MLB for the first time on September 14, 2010. He made his MLB debut that night against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

, walking three batters and striking out

Derek Jeter Derek Sanderson Jeter ( ; born June 26, 1974), nicknamed "the Captain", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, businessman, and baseball executive. As a player, Jeter spent his entire 20-year Major League Baseball (MLB) caree ...

for his first MLB strikeout. McGee made the Rays MLB roster after spring training in 2011, but he was sent down to the team's Class AAA minor league affiliate after 11 appearances. In the last few months of the 2014 season, McGee became the Rays' closer. He finished the season with 19 saves. After undergoing elbow surgery to remove "loose bodies" in December 2014, McGee spent the early portion of the 2015 season with the Class AAA

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

. He underwent knee surgery for a torn meniscus in late August, ending his season.

Colorado Rockies

On January 28, 2016, McGee and Germán Márquez were traded to the

for

Corey Dickerson McKenzie Corey Dickerson (born May 22, 1989) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies (2013–2015), Tampa Bay Rays (2016–2017), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018–2019 ...

and Kevin Padlo. McGee had a 4.73 ERA in the 2016 season. McGee and the Rockies avoided salary arbitration on December 3, 2016, by agreeing to a $5.9 million contract for the 2017 season. In 2017, McGee had an 0–2 win–loss record, a 3.61 ERA, and three saves in 62 games. McGee signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Rockies after the 2017 season. In 2018, McGee posted a career-worst 6.49 ERA in 61 games. McGee spent time on the disabled list in 2019, posting an ERA of 4.35 in 45 games. McGee was released by the Rockies on July 17, 2020.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 21, 2020, McGee signed a one-year contract with the

. In the pandemic shortened season, he appeared in 24 games with a 3–1 record and 2.66 ERA. McGee allowed one run in innings over three games in the

2020 NLCS The 2020 National League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series in Major League Baseball’s 2020 postseason between the two National League Division Series winners, the second-seeded Atlanta Braves and the overall #1 seed Los Angeles ...

and pitched one scoreless inning in the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los An ...

as the Dodgers won the championship.

San Francisco Giants

On February 17, 2021, McGee signed a two-year contract with the

worth $7 million, with a club option for the 2023 season. McGee was named National League Reliever of the Month for July 2021, after not allowing a run in 11 innings and recording seven saves. He finished the 2021 season with 31 saves in 36 chances, as well as a 2.72 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. In 2022, McGee made 24 appearances for San Francisco but struggled to a 7.17 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 3 saves in 21.1 innings pitched. On July 9, 2022, McGee was designated for assignment after Luis González was activated off of the injured list. On July 14, McGee was released by the Giants.

Milwaukee Brewers

On July 22, 2022, McGee signed a one-year contract with the

. On August 7, 2022, McGee was designated for assignment.

Washington Nationals

On August 9, 2022, McGee was claimed off waivers by the

. On September 9, McGee was designated for assignment. He was released on September 11, 2022. McGee announced his retirement from professional baseball on February 3, 2023.

Personal life

Jake and Morgan McGee have been married since December 2009. As of late 2015, they live in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. For the last several years, the couple has purchased Christmas presents for foster children in Reno and Tampa.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGee, Jake 1986 births Living people Baseball players from San Jose, California Charlotte Stone Crabs players Colorado Rockies players Gulf Coast Rays players Hudson Valley Renegades players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Montgomery Biscuits players Princeton Devil Rays players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Southwest Michigan Devil Rays players Tampa Bay Rays players Vero Beach Devil Rays players Washington Nationals players 21st-century American sportsmen World Baseball Classic players of the United States 2017 World Baseball Classic players