Jordan Schafer

Jordan James Schafer (born September 4, 1986) is a former American professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins as a center fielder.

Jordan Schafer
Schafer with the Atlanta Braves
Center fielder
Born: (1986-09-04) September 4, 1986
Hammond, Indiana
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 5, 2009, for the Atlanta Braves
Last MLB appearance
May 10, 2015, for the Minnesota Twins
Career statistics
Batting average.228
Home runs12
Runs batted in85
Stolen bases103
Teams

Baseball career

Atlanta Braves

Schafer was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in the third round of the 2005 Major League Baseball Draft out of Winter Haven High School.[1] In April 2008 he was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball after being accused of HGH use.[2] He was the first player to be suspended by Major League Baseball's Department of Investigations.[3]

Schafer was named the Braves' starting center fielder for the 2009 season on April 3, 2009,[4] despite never having played at a higher level than Double-A.[5] He made his major league debut on April 5, 2009, becoming the 99th player in Major League Baseball history to hit his first career home run in his first major league at bat, off Brett Myers of the Philadelphia Phillies.[6] He finished the game 2 for 3, with the home run, a single, an intentional walk, and a strikeout.[7]

On June 2, 2009, Schafer was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett Braves after batting only .204 with 63 strikeouts in 167 at-bats.[8] He was called back up to the major league team on May 24, 2011.[9]

Houston Astros
Schafer during his tenure with the Houston Astros in 2012

On July 31, 2011, Schafer was traded with Juan Abreu, Paul Clemens, and Brett Oberholtzer to the Houston Astros in exchange for Michael Bourn.[10]

On April 29, 2012, Schafer was ejected from a game by umpire Marvin Hudson after disputing an out call on an attempted steal.[11]

Second stint with Braves

On November 1, 2012, the Atlanta Braves reacquired Jordan Schafer from the Houston Astros on waivers.[12] Schafer was placed on the disabled list on July 4, 2013 with a stress fracture in his ankle.[13] He was designated for assignment by the Braves on August 1, 2014.[14]

Minnesota Twins
Schafer during his tenure with the Minnesota Twins in 2014

Schafer was claimed off waivers by the Minnesota Twins on August 3, 2014.[15] He was named the Twins' 2015 Opening Day center fielder. The team released him on June 18 to make room for an influx of outfield prospects.[16]

Los Angeles Dodgers

Schafer signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 13, 2016.[17] The Dodgers converted him to a pitcher and assigned him to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League.[18] He performed well enough that he was selected to participate in the mid-season Texas League All-Star Game.[19] He pitched in 31 games for Tulsa, six for the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers and another three for the Arizona League Dodgers. Overall, he was 1–1 with a 4.93 ERA in 49 ​1⁄3 innings.[20]

St. Louis Cardinals

On December 12, 2016, he signed a minor league contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.[21] He joined the team for spring training, during which, on March 14, 2017, it was announced that Schafer would undergo surgery on his left elbow.[22] He missed the entire season.

Invited to spring training in 2018, he was among six cut to minor-league camp on March 4.[23] He was released on March 12.[24]

San Francisco Giants

On April 3, 2018, Schafer signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants.[25] He was released on June 9, 2018.[26]

See also
  • List of players with a home run in first major league at-bat

References
  1. Dorado, Juan; Lezotte, Dave (August 3, 2013). "Jordan Schafer Joins Gwinnett on Rehab Assignment". MILB.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  2. Crasnick, Jerry (April 9, 2008). "Braves prospect Schafer suspended 50 games for HGH use". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  3. "Braves' Schafer denies using HGH". ESPN.com. January 25, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  4. "Braves set 2009 Opening Day roster". MLB.com. April 3, 2009. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  5. O'Brien, David (March 19, 2013). "Why Schafer? Why do pitchers lose velocity?". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  6. Bowman, Mark (April 6, 2009). "Schafer homers in first career at-bat". MLB.com. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  7. "Braves 4, Phillies 1 - Boxscore". MLB.com. April 5, 2009.
  8. Bowman, Mark (June 2, 2009). "Braves send struggling Schafer to Minors". MLB.com. MLB.com. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  9. "Jordan Schafer could return Sunday". ESPN.com. Associated Press. June 4, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2014.
  10. Bowman, Mark (July 31, 2011). "Braves fill leadoff void, acquire Astros' Bourn". MLB.com. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
  11. "Ejection 014: Marvin Hudson (1)". Close Call Sports. Retrieved April 30, 2012.
  12. O'Brien, David (November 1, 2012). "Schafer is back, but not to replace Bourn". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012.
  13. Rogers, Carroll (July 12, 2013). "MRI reveals stress fracture for Schafer". Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  14. Bowman, Mark (August 1, 2014). "Schafer designated for assignment after Deadline". MLB.com. Retrieved August 2, 2014.
  15. "Twins claim OF Schafer off waivers from Braves". ESPN.com. Associated Press. August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  16. "Bad fit caused Twins to release Jordan Schafer".
  17. Plunkett, Bill (January 13, 2016). "Dodgers reach agreement with reliever Chris Hatcher, add Jordan Schafer". Orange County Register. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  18. Lewis, Barry (April 4, 2016). "Drillers' roster set for season opener". Tulsaworld.com. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  19. Lewis, Barry (June 28, 2016). "Texas League All-Star Game filled with Drillers". Tulsa World. Retrieved June 28, 2016.
  20. "Jordan Schafer Register Statistics & History". Baseball Reference.
  21. Hummel, Rick (December 13, 2016). "Cardinals get Fryer back, sign four other players". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  22. "Cardinals pitcher Jordan Schafer to have elbow surgery Friday". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 14, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  23. "Cardinals cut six, give Schafer a chance to make call on pitching". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 4, 2018.
  24. "Jordan Schafer: Released by Cardinals". cbssports.com. March 19, 2018. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  25. "Giants' Jordan Schafer: Lands MiLB deal with Giants". cbssports.com. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  26. Eddy, Matt (June 18, 2018). "Minor League Transactions: June 8–15". Baseball America. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
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