Jason Stokes (born January 23, 1982) is an American former professional baseball player. Primarily a first baseman, he played in Minor League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics and Florida Marlins organizations.

Jason Stokes
First baseman
Born: (1982-01-23) January 23, 1982 (age 42)
Irving, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Biography

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As a senior for Coppell High School in Coppell, Texas, Stokes hit 25 home runs, which still stands as the state single-season home run record.[1] Stokes won the Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year Award in 2000.[2]

Stokes was selected in the second round of the 2000 Major League Baseball draft by the Florida Marlins.[1] His best season in the minor leagues was in 2002 with the Kane County Cougars, where he compiled a .341 batting average with 27 home runs and 75 runs batted in,[3] earning Stokes both The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year Award[4] and the Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award.[5] Stokes participated in the 2002 All-Star Futures Game during All-Star Weekend, playing for the United States team.[6] He was ranked as the Marlins number four prospect and "Best Power Prospect" entering the 2005 season according to Baseball America.[7]

Injuries plagued Stokes' career. His seasons with the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes in 2005 and 2006 were cut short due to hand and groin injuries.[8][9] After being traded to the Oakland Athletics organization in early 2007, Stokes played 18 games with the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats,[3] but again went on the disabled list with a back injury. Due to accumulating injuries, Stokes retired from baseball at the end of the 2007 season.

Attempting a comeback, Stokes signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers in January 2010.[10] He participated in spring training with the Tigers but was released on March 31 after suffering a groin injury. Later that season, after playing for the independent Grand Prairie AirHogs for 22 games,[3] Stokes again retired. He hit a total of 96 home runs in his minor league career.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Marlins sign 2nd-round pick". HighBeam Research. Associated Press. August 27, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
  2. ^ Quencher, Gatorade Thirst. "Texas' Jason Stokes Named Nation's Best High School Baseball Player". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
  3. ^ a b c d "Jason Stokes Minor, Fall & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  4. ^ Schwarz, Orrin (February 8, 2003). "Cougars excited about 2003 season". Chicago Daily Herald.[dead link]
  5. ^ "Marlins Notebook". Miami Herald. November 10, 2002. p. 5D. Retrieved December 13, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Bush, Joe (2002-07-09). "Stokes' slugging merits accolades". Chicago Daily Herald.[dead link]
  7. ^ Harrison, Randy (2005-04-07). "Baseball buzz". Albuquerque Journal.
  8. ^ Harrison, Randy (2006-04-02). "Isotopes' Burly Slugger Back in Swing of Things; No longer pained by an injured hand, Stokes building his confidence". Albuquerque Journal. p. D1.
  9. ^ Barron, James (2006-05-05). "Seabol, 'Topes rally". The Santa Fe New Mexican.
  10. ^ "Transactions". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. January 15, 2010. p. C4. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
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