Jason Stokes
American baseball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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: January 23, 1982 Irving, Texas, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Stats at Baseball Reference |
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]