JockBio Vital Stats
  • Boston Red Sox
• Left Field • #44
  • Height: 6' 2"
• Weight: 205 • Born: 9/20/78
  • In 2004, Jason broke Al Martin’s club record for strikeouts by a rookie with 129.
  • Jason was the first Canadian to be named Rookie of the Year. He was also the first Pirate to win the award. The team has had four second-place finishers: Donn Clendenon, Johnny Ray, Mike Dunne and Orlando Merced.
  • When Ben Roethlisberger won the NFL Rookie of the Year award in 2004, it marked just the eighth time in history that a city had the top NFL and MLB rookies in the same season.
  • Jason was named Sport BC Athlete of the Year in 2004, and won the Tip O’Neill Award, which is given to the top Canadian baseball player each season.
  • In 2005 Jason finished second in the NL to Derrek Lee in extra-base hits, and second to Andruw Jones in road home runs.
  • In 2005, Jason became the first Pirate since Johnny Ray in 1982 to start all 163 games.
  • In 2006, Jason became the first Pirate elected to start an All-Star Game since Andy Van Slyke in 1993 and the first to start an All-Star Game in the city of Pittsburgh since Bob Elliott in 1944.
  • Jason set a new career-high with 13 outfield assists in 2007.
  • Jason has had two 8-RBI games in his brief major league career. The only other Canadian to knock in eight was Larry Walker.
  • Jason was the 26th Little League World Series participant to reach the major leagues, but the first to be named Rookie of the Year. He was not the first Padre to compete in the LLWS. Third baseman Sean Burroughs was the star of tournament in 1989.
  • The Trail Little League team that made it to Williamsport in 1990 drew from a population of less than 10,000. The team they beat, from Monterrey, Mexico, drew from a population of 1.1 million.
  • Jason’s sister played softball for Oklahoma State and represented Canada in the 2004 Olympic softball competition. She was jennie Finch’s teammate on the Chicago Bandits in 2005.
  • Although Jason never pursued hockey seriously, he had friends in Trail who went pro, including Steve McCarthy, a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • Jason played for Canada in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
  • Jason married his longtime girlfriend Kristen after the 2004 season.

 



Ben Roethlisberger, 2005 SI for Kids

 

 

 


Orlando Merced, 1992 Stadium


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