Jason William Grabowski (born May 24, 1976) is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder who played for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

and Los Angeles Dodgers from 2002 to 2005.

Amateur career

Grabowski graduated from The Morgan School in Clinton, Connecticut in 1994. He was drafted by the New York Yankees in the 17th round of the 1994 MLB Draft but did not sign and went to play college baseball at the University of Connecticut. In 1995 and 1996, Grabowski played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the Chatham A's of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. He was then drafted by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the

1997 MLB Draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

Professional career

The Seattle Mariners selected Grabowski off waivers from the Rangers on December 18, 2000 and he was drafted by the

in the Rule V Draft on December 13, 2001. Grabowski made his Major League debut for the Athletics on September 22, 2002, against the Rangers, with one strikeout and one walk in his two plate appearances. His first hit was a double to right field off

Chan Ho Park Chan Ho Park (; ; born June 30, 1973) is a South Korean former professional baseball pitcher. Park was the first South Korea-born player in MLB history. He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, ...

of the Rangers on September 27. Grabowski played in a total of 12 games for the Athletics between the 2002 and 2003 seasons and had three hits in 16 at-bats. On March 29, 2004, Grabowski was sold to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He spent the entire season with the Dodgers, as their primary left-handed pinch hitter. Grabowski hit his first Major League home run, off Kerry Wood 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 located ...

, on May 11, 2004. In 113 games with the Dodgers that season, he hit .220 with 7 homers and 20 RBI. Grabowski split 2005 between the Dodgers and the AAA Las Vegas 51s. With the Dodgers, Grabowski appeared in 65 games, compiling a .161 batting average, 4 homers and 12 RBI. In Las Vegas, Grabowski played in 52 games and hit .292 with 6 homers and 33 RBI. In the 2005 offseason, Grabowski's contract was sold to the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

of Japan's Pacific League. He hit .146 in 39 games for the Buffaloes. Grabowski was a 2007 non-roster invitee to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, but did not make the team and was reassigned to the minors. He was released on April 23, 2007 without appearing in any games in the Devil Rays system.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grabowski, Jason 1976 births Living people Oakland Athletics players Los Angeles Dodgers players Orix Buffaloes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball players from Connecticut Major League Baseball left fielders Pulaski Rangers players Savannah Sand Gnats players Charlotte Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players Tacoma Rainiers players Sacramento River Cats players Arizona League Athletics players Las Vegas 51s players UConn Huskies baseball players Chatham Anglers players Baseball players from New Haven, Connecticut American people of Polish descent