Austin Jackson, Center Field


Date of Birth: 2/1/1987
Birthplace: Denton, Texas

Austin Jackson, center fielder, was first drafted by the New York Yankees in 2005. He played in the Yankees' minor league system from 2005 through 2009. In December, 2009, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers.

In 2010, his first season with the Tigers, Jackson batted .293 with career highs in hits (181), doubles (34), and stolen bases (27). He played in 151 games that season. The next year, he led the American League in triples with 11. He did the same in 2012, when he had 10 triples. That year, he batted a career high .300.

In 2013, Jackson suffered from injuries that limited his playing time to 129 games. He batted .272 with 150 hits and 30 doubles. As a center fielder, he made 300 putouts and 2 errors with a .993 fielding percentage.

In January, 2014, Jackson signed a one-year, $6 million contract with the Tigers. On July 31, 2014, he was traded to the Seattle Mariners. He finished the 2014 season with 153 hits, 30 doubles, 20 stolen bases, and a .256 batting average in 100 games with the Tigers and 54 games with the Mariners.

Jackson was traded to the Chicago Cubs on August 31, 2015. He finished the 2015 season with 131 hits, 25 doubles, 17 stolen bases, 48 RBIs, and a .267 batting average in 107 games with the Mariners and 29 games with the Cubs. As a center fielder in 115 games, he made 279 putouts and 3 errors. He had no hits and 5 strikeouts in 5 postseason games.

Jackson signed a one-year, $5 million contract with the Chicago White Sox on March 5, 2016. He missed most of the 2016 season with knee surgery, playing in just 54 games with the White Sox.

Jackson became a free agent on November 3, 2016. He signed a minor league contract with the Cleveland Indians on January 25, 2017. He played in 85 games in 2017 and he had a career high batting average of .318. He had 89 hits, 19 doubles, 35 RBIs, and 64 strikeouts to 33 walks. Defensively, he played 38 games in left field, 38 games in center field, and 18 games in right field. In 14 at-bats in 5 postseason games, he batted .214 with 3 hits, 1 stolen base, 6 strikeouts and 1 walk.

Jackson elected free agency on November 2, 2017. He signed with the San Francisco Giants on January 22, 2018. He was traded to the Texas Rangers on July 8, 2018, and released on July 14th. The New York Mets signed him on July 27th. He finished the 2018 season with 85 hits, 17 doubles, 32 RBIs, 133 strikeouts to 26 walks, and a .245 batting average in 59 games with the Giants and 57 games with the Mets. As a center fielder in 91 games, he made 196 putouts and 4 errors.

Jackson became a free agent on October 29, 2018. He hasn't played professional baseball since 2018.

Statistics for Jackson in nine seasons (2010-2018) in the major leagues include:

  • 4 seasons with 150 or more hits, with a high of 181 in 2010
  • 3 seasons with 30 or more doubles, with a high of 34 in 2010
  • 3 seasons with 10 or more triples, with a high of 11 in 2011
  • 3 seasons with 20 or more stolen bases, with a high of 27 in 2010

Career batting statistics for Jackson through 2018 include:

  • 1,115 games played
  • 1,145 hits
  • 218 doubles
  • 114 stolen bases
  • 381 RBIs
  • 1,120 strikeouts to 374 walks
  • .273 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Jackson as a center fielder through 2018 include:

  • 1,019 games played
  • 2,432 putouts
  • 28 errors
  • .989 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Austin Jackson
ESPN - Austin Jackson