• The scouts definitely had their thinking caps on in the 43rd round of the 1989 draft. Although the Milwaukee Brewers were unable to sign Jason, two future All-Stars (Eric Young and Jorge Posada) were unearthed in the same “throw-away” round.
• In 2005, Jason was named AL Player of the Month twice, and his .440 on-base percentage led the league.
• Jason was named Comeback Player of the Year in 2005.
• From July of 2005 through June of 2006, Jason and David Ortiz each hit 51 home runs to lead the major leagues.
• Jason knocked in his 1,000th run in 2005. He scored the 1,000th run of his career in 2006.
• Jason had 113 RBIs on 113 hits in 2006. No one else in AL history has knocked in more than 100 runs with the same number of hits (or less).
• Jason’s extra-inning game-winning home run against the Oakland A's in 2007 was the ninth of his career. Among active players, only Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa had more.
• In 2007, Jason his the first pinch-hit homer of his career.
• Jason owns an Australian shepherd named Slugger. He fought for custody of the dog when he and his first wife, Dana, divorced. They finally agreed to a joint arrangement.
• Jason is involved in singer Garth Brooks’s Touch Em All Foundation. He also has worked with the National Kidney Foundation, helping children who are chronic bed-wetters.
• One of Jason’s best friends on the A’s was strength and conditioning coach Bob Alejo. He was added to the Yankee payroll in 2002.
• Jason adores Las Vegas. He and his brother own a house there, and in the off-season they love to hit the casinos.
• Jason loves fast cars and motorcycles. Among his stable is a purple Lamborghini, a Mercedes Benz, and two Harley Davidsons. He showed up at training camp in 2001 with a hat that read “Drive it like you stole it.”
• Jason lists his “pet peeve” as people who are too nice.
• Jason’s first big-league home run came off David Cone. He got the righty to sign the ball for him after the game.
• In 2001 Jason and Jeremy bought their parents a 7,200 square foot, seven-bedroom home in Claremont, California.
• Since Jason’s number with the A’s (16) was retired by New York in honor of Whitey Ford, he chose 25 because the digits add up to 7, the number worn by Mickey Mantle. Jason joins an elite group of Bronx Bombers who have worn 25 on their backs, including Hank Bauer, Irv Noren, Joe Pepitone, and Tommy John.
• In his Grand Jury testimony in December of 2003, Jason said that he did not notice a “huge” difference after using BALCO products, though he continued to do so. He also admitted to taking human growth hormone, a substance only legal as a treatment for dwarfism.

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