Robert McClure Bowen (born February 24, 1981) 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 ...

player. He played in

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 ...

as a

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

from 2003 to 2008 for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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. ...

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

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

Bowen attended Homestead High School in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His senior year (), he earned All-State honors and was named the Indiana State Player of the Year by

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and ''

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''.

Career

Minnesota Twins

Shortly after graduating from Homestead, Bowen was drafted by the

in the second round of the amateur draft, and made his debut with the Twins as a September call-up in . He combined to play 24 games in the 2003 & seasons before spending the entire season in the Twins' farm system.

Detroit Tigers

During

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, he was placed on waivers by the Twins, and selected by the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

San Diego Padres

Later the same spring, he was again placed on waivers, and was this time claimed by the

Chicago Cubs

On June 20, , the

acquired Bowen and minor league outfielder Kyler Burke from the Padres in exchange for catcher Michael Barrett.

Oakland Athletics

Bowen was designated for assignment by Chicago and traded to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for fellow catcher

Jason Kendall Jason Daniel Kendall (born June 26, 1974) is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played for the Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, Mil ...

on July 16 of that year. He was released by the

on March 17, .

Personal life

As of 2019, Bowen had been working as a K-9 handler for the Dooly County Sheriff's office in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Rob 1981 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Baseball players from Tarrant County, Texas Minnesota Twins players San Diego Padres players Chicago Cubs players Oakland Athletics players People from Bedford, Texas Baseball players from Fort Wayne, Indiana Rochester Red Wings players Lake Elsinore Storm players