| Austin Jackson | |
|---|---|
 Jackson with the Cleveland Indians in 2017 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1987-02-01)February 1, 1987 (age 38) Denton, Texas, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 5, 2010, for the Detroit Tigers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 30, 2018, for the New York Mets | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .273 |
| Home runs | 65 |
| Runs batted in | 381 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Austin Jarriel Jackson (born February 1, 1987) is an American former professionalbaseballcenter fielder. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theDetroit Tigers,Seattle Mariners,Chicago Cubs,Chicago White Sox,Cleveland Indians,San Francisco Giants, andNew York Mets. Prior to playing professionally, he attendedBilly Ryan High School.
TheNew York Yankees selected Jackson in the2005 MLB draft and traded him to the Tigers at the end of the 2009 season, where he made his MLB debut in 2010. The next two seasons, he made thepostseason on both occasions with the Tigers. During those seasons, he led theAmerican League in hittingtriples, and won theFielding Bible Award forcenter field in 2011.
In 1999,Baseball America named Jackson the best 12-year-old baseball player in the nation, and the best 15-year-old baseball player three years later.[1]
Jackson attendedBilly Ryan High School in Denton, Texas.[2]
In basketball, he was listed as the #10-ranked high school point guard in the country byAthlon Sports after he averaged 22.5 points, five rebounds and three assists per game his junior year in high school. In baseball, he hit .423 with five homers and 34 RBI for his class AAAA Texas State runner-up baseball team and was rated the No. 14 draft prospect among high school players in the nation byBaseball America.[3]
Though Jackson committed to play both baseball and basketball forGeorgia Tech, theNew York Yankees drafted him in the eighth round (259th overall) in the2005 Major League Baseball draft. To convince him to sign instead of attending Georgia Tech, the Yankees offered Jackson $800,000, a record signing bonus for an eighth round pick.[1]
From 2005 to 2009 Jackson rose up the Yankees organization and after a slow start, he became a top prospect for the Yankees.[4] For the 2009 season he was the Yankees top prospect according toBaseball America.[5]
After the 2009 season, Jackson was added to the 40-man roster to protect him from theRule 5 draft.[6]
On December 9, 2009, Jackson was traded to theDetroit Tigers as part of a three-team trade that broughtCurtis Granderson to the Yankees.[7] Jackson entered the 2010 season as the Tigers third-best prospect, according toBaseball America.[8]
Jackson made his major league debut on April 5, 2010, against theKansas City Royals, going one for five. He hit his first major leaguehome run on April 25, 2010, off ofColby Lewis of theTexas Rangers.[9] Through the first month of the season Jackson led the majors inhits with 36, and was named the AL Rookie of the Month.[10] On June 2, 2010, against theCleveland Indians, Jackson made a difficult over-the-shoulder running catch in the ninth inning ofArmando Galarraga's near-perfect game. The perfect game eventually ended with two outs in the ninth after an incorrect call by umpireJim Joyce.[11] He was named an outfielder onBaseball America's 2010 All-Rookie Team.[12] He was also named an outfielder on the 2010ToppsMajor League Rookie All-Star Team.[13]
On November 15, 2010, Jackson came in second in the 2010American League Rookie of the Year voting, behind Rangers closerNeftalí Feliz.[14][15] Jackson finished his rookie season by playing 151 games with a .293 batting average, 10 triples, 4 home runs, 41 RBI, and an AL-leading 170 strikeouts.
Jackson was named the American LeaguePlayer of the Week for the week of August 29–September 4, 2011. In receiving the award for the first time, Jackson had a .529 batting average (18 for 34) during the week with three doubles, three triples, two home runs, five runs batted in, and 13 runs scored. The Tigers went 5–2 that week to increase their lead in the American League Central Division.[16] He won aFielding Bible Award in 2011 as the best fielding center fielder in MLB.[17] Jackson played 153 games in 2011 batting .249 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, an AL-leading 11 triples, and 181 strikeouts. In Game 6 of the2011 ALCS, Jackson hit his first career postseason home run. The Tigers would however lose the game and the series to theTexas Rangers.
On April 5, 2012, Jackson was the leadoff hitter and played center field on Opening Day for the Tigers, where he went 3–5 with an RBI and a run. Jackson hit a walk-off, bases-loaded single down the third base line to give the Tigers the win over the Red Sox, 3–2.[18] Jackson played 137 games in 2012, batting .300 with 16 home runs, 66 RBI, and an AL-leading 10 triples. Jackson went to the postseason with the Tigers for a second straight season, and he hit a home run in the series-clinching Game 4 against theNew York Yankees in theALCS. But the Tigers eventually got swept in 4 games by theSan Francisco Giants in the World Series.
Injuries limited Jackson to 129 games in 2013. Serving as the Tigers leadoff hitter again, he batted .272 with 12 home runs, 49 RBIs, and a career-low 8 stolen bases. On January 17, 2014, Jackson and the Tigers avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year deal for the 2014 season worth $6 million.[19]
On July 31, 2014, the Tigers traded Jackson to theSeattle Mariners in a three-team deal that sentDrew Smyly,Nick Franklin andWilly Adames to theTampa Bay Rays, andDavid Price to the Detroit Tigers.[20]
On May 3, 2015, Jackson sprained his ankle in a game against theHouston Astros, and was placed on the 15-daydisabled list the following day.[21]
On August 31, 2015, the Mariners traded Jackson to theChicago Cubs for aplayer to be named later and an international signing bonus slot.[22]
Jackson ended the 2015 season having played 136 games, stealing 17 bases with a .696 OPS.
On March 6, 2016, Jackson signed a one-year, $5 million deal with theChicago White Sox.[23] On August 25, White Sox GM Rick Hahn told the media that Jackson would miss the rest of the season after he had been out since June 10. He had surgery to repair a medial meniscus tear in his left knee. Over 54 games, he tallied a .254 batting average, 18 RBI, 12 doubles, and 24 runs scored.[24]
Jackson signed a minor league contract with theCleveland Indians on January 25, 2017.[25] The Indians purchased Jackson's contract on March 27, 2017. On August 1, 2017, Jackson robbedHanley Ramirez of a home run by making a spectacular catch over the right center field wall. He traveled approximately 97 feet and flipped over the wall into theRed Sox bullpen.[26] This was declared by broadcasters and MLB as the "play of the year" for 2017.
On January 22, 2018, Jackson signed a two-year deal with theSan Francisco Giants worth $6 million over two years.[27]
On July 8, 2018, Jackson was traded to theTexas Rangers along with pitcherCory Gearrin and minor league pitcherJason Bahr, in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations.[28] Three days later, he wasdesignated for assignment by the Rangers.[29] The Rangers released Jackson on July 14.[30]
On July 27, 2018, Jackson signed a one-year, major league contract with theNew York Mets.[31] On September 29, he hit a walk-off double in the 13th inning onDavid Wright's final career game, giving the Mets a 1–0 victory.[32] Jackson became a free agent after the season.
In April 2020, Jackson expressed interest in an MLB return. As of September 2021, he had not signed with an MLB team.
Starting on July 7, 2021, Jackson announced the three-game series between the Detroit Tigers andTexas Rangers game alongsideDan Dickerson on the Detroit Tigers Radio Network.
| Preceded by | MLB Player of the Week Award (American League) August 29 – September 4, 2011 | Succeeded by |
