Jason Stokes
Jason Stokes (born January 23, 1982 in Irving, Texas) is a former professional baseball player. Primarily a first baseman, he played in Minor League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics and Florida Marlins organizations.
Jason Stokes | |||
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First baseman | |||
Born: Irving, Texas | January 23, 1982|||
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Biography
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
- "Marlins sign 2nd-round pick". HighBeam Research. Associated Press. August 27, 2000. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015.
- Quencher, Gatorade Thirst. "Texas' Jason Stokes Named Nation's Best High School Baseball Player". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2016-09-20.
- "Jason Stokes Minor, Fall & Independent Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
- Schwarz, Orrin (February 8, 2003). "Cougars excited about 2003 season". Chicago Daily Herald. Questia Online Library.
- "Marlins Notebook". Miami Herald. November 10, 2002. p. 5D. Retrieved December 13, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- Bush, Joe (2002-07-09). "Stokes' slugging merits accolades". Chicago Daily Herald. Questia Online Library.
- Harrison, Randy (2005-04-07). "Baseball buzz". Albuquerque Journal.
- 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.
- Barron, James (2006-05-05). "Seabol, 'Topes rally". The Santa Fe New Mexican.
- "Transactions". The Modesto Bee. Modesto, California. January 15, 2010. p. C4. Retrieved December 18, 2020 – via newspapers.com.