Geoff Jenkins

:"This article is about the baseball player; see also Geoff Jenkins (climatologist)."Infobox MLB player


name=Geoff Jenkins
position= Outfielder
team=Philadelphia Phillies
number=10
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1974|7|21
birthplace=city-state|Olympia|Washington
debutdate=April 24
debutyear=1998
debutteam=Milwaukee Brewers
statyear=September 18, 2008
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.275
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=221
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=733
teams=
*Milwaukee Brewers (by|1998-by|2007)
*Philadelphia Phillies (by|2008-present)
awards=
* All-Star selection (2003)

Geoff Jenkins (born July 21, 1974 in Olympia, Washington) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. He previously played for the Milwaukee Brewers from mlby|1998 until mlby|2007. Jenkins is 2nd on the Brewers all-time career home run list trailing only Hall-of-Famer Robin Yount. Jenkins bears a striking resemblance and is occasionally mistaken for Brett Favre and has had fans pay for his dinner thinking he was the former Packers star.

High school

Jenkins attended Cordova High School in Rancho Cordova, California, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He was selected for the all-state baseball team as a junior and senior before graduating in 1992. [http://milwaukee.brewers.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/team/player_career.jsp?player_id=132961]

College career

At USC, Jenkins had a standout career from by|1993 through by|1995. In his final season, he batted .399 with 78 RBI and a .748 slugging percentage in 70 games, also scoring 75 runs to tie the school record held by Rich Dauer and Mark McGwire; his 23 home runs and 193 total bases ranked second in school history behind McGwire's by|1984 totals of 32 and 216. He led the Trojans to the College World Series, where they reached the championship game; Jenkins was named to the all-CWS team, and also earned team co-MVP honors and was named a consensus All-American. In by|1996, the year of the CWS' 50th tournament, Jenkins was named to the all-decade team for the 1990s. He finished his USC career with a .369 batting average, 45 home runs (second only to McGwire's 54), a .652 slugging percentage, 180 runs, and school records for runs batted in (175) and total bases (444). The Brewers selected him with the 9th pick of the first round in the 1995 amateur draft.

Professional career

Jenkins had a strong start to his career with the Brewers. On April 24, 1998, he hit a home run off Orel Hershiser in his first career plate appearance against the San Francisco Giants. He is the second player in Milwaukee baseball history (Chuck Tanner, mlby|1955, Milwaukee Braves) to accomplish the feat. Jenkins would go on to bat over .300 in his 2nd and 3rd seasons, driving in 90 or more runs three times for one of the perennially weaker teams in the league. In mlby|2000, he was the Brewers' team MVP. He led the Brewers in batting average (.303) and home runs (34). His mlby|2002 season was cut short when on June 17 in a game against the Houston Astros he suffered a horrific-looking dislocated ankle when sliding into third base feet first during a game. He was safe on the play. He was selected to the National League's All-Star team in mlby|2003 via the MLB's All-Star Final Vote contest where a player is selected from both leagues by fans to join their respective team after the initial roster is announced. On June 8, mlby|2004, he became the 8th player in major league history to strikeout six times in a single game. After playing in left field for virtually his entire career, he moved to right field for the mlby|2005 and mlby|2006 seasons when Milwaukee acquired Carlos Lee. In 2006, Jenkins experienced a prolonged offensive slump, struggling in particular against left-handed pitching. In August 2006, the Brewers benched Jenkins, one of their highest-paid players at the time, in favor of the younger Corey Hart. In 2007, Jenkins returned to left field to platoon with Kevin Mench. On October 30, 2007, the Brewers officially declined their $9 million option on Jenkins' contract, making him a free agent for the mlby|2008 season. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3086562 ESPN - Brewers decline Jenkins' $9M option for 2008 - MLB ] ]

On December 20, 2007, he signed a two-year, $13 million deal with a vesting option for 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies [Cite web|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3162819|title=Former Brewers outfielder Jenkins agrees with Phils|accessdate=2008-04-09] . Jenkins returned to Miller Park in a Phillies uniform on April 23, 2008, to a crowd of just over 30,000. He was welcomed back with a tribute video, highlighting his ten-year career with the Brewers, and the standing ovation that followed. He received a second ovation while leading off the second inning. Philadelphia would go on to lose the game, 5-4. He went 0 for 3, with a walk and a stolen base.

ee also

* Top 500 home run hitters of all time
* Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game

References

External links