Junk Wax Jay: EDWIN JACKSON HANGS UP THE CLEATS by Russell Streur

EDWIN JACKSON HANGS UP THE CLEATS

It won’t be the same this year when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. For the first time this century, Edwin Jackson won’t be warming up.

Edwin Jackson made baseball history on May 15, 2019, when he took the mound for the Toronto Blue Jays against the San Francisco Giants. The Jays were the 14^th team Jackson played for, and the appearance broke the previous record held by Octavio Dotel. Jackson worked five innings, gave up three runs, and left without a decision.

The durable right-hander told a reporter what the travels meant. "It says I have a lot of perseverance. I'm not one to give in. I feel like out of those 14 teams, some of those teams have had situations that would probably make people want to go home and quit and cry. For me, the tougher it gets, the harder I work and the harder I come to prove myself that I can come get outs in the major leagues."

Jackson’s tenure with the Jays didn’t last long. After posting a single win against five losses, the Jays released him. A second stint with the Tigers didn’t go much better, and the book seemed to close on Jackson at the end of the 2019 season with a lifetime line of 107 wins, 133 losses and one save over 17 years in the majors.

Jackson was a high-school outfield prospect when the Los Angeles Dodgers selected him in the sixth round of the 2001 draft. The Dodgers liked his arm better than his bat and converted him into a pitcher. After a couple sparkling years in the minors, Jackson made his major league debut on his 20^th birthday in 2003 against the Diamondbacks, outdueling an injury-hampered version of Randy Johnson, 4 to 1.

The game capped a meteoric rise through the Dodger system for the young pitcher. Ranked the fourth highest prospect in the game by Baseball America in the spring of 2004, Jackson couldn’t keep pace with the expectations and he was traded to Tampa Bay in 2006. Used mainly in relief that season by the Rays, Jackson was promoted to the starting rotation the following year. He reversed a 5 and 15 campaign in 2007 with a 14 and 11 record in 2008. The Rays went to the World Series and Jackson caught the eye of the Detroit Tigers. Traded north in exchange for outfielder Matt Joyce, Jackson earned All Star honors with the Tigers in 2009 on his way to a 13 and 9 record.

During the off-season, the Tigers composed a three-team blockbuster deal that sent Jackson to Arizona for Matt Scherzer on one half of the ticket and Curtis Granderson to the Yankees for Austin Jackson on the other half. The Tigers got the better return on the parlay, but Jackson threw a no-hitter for the Diamondbacks in June against the Rays at Tropicana Field. It wasn’t pretty. Jackson put nine runners on base, eight by walks and one by hitting B. J. Upton, and the Arizona bats weren’t much help, either. He ended up throwing 149 pitches that night, the most ever thrown during a no-hitter. Somehow, he escaped it all with a 1 to 0 win.

Dumping salary later in the season, the Diamondbacks traded Jackson to the White Sox, who followed suit in 2011 and traded the pitcher to Toronto on July 27.

That same day, Toronto traded him to St. Louis in a package that also sent Octavio Dotel to the Cardinals. Jackson won five games down the stretch and Dotel added three plus a pair of saves as the Cardinals edged the Atlanta Braves by a game to earn the Wild Card slot in the postseason. The Cardinals made the most of their chances. Jackson defeated the Phillies in Game 4 of the divisional round and the Cardinals outlasted the Brewers to reach the World Series against the Texas Rangers. Jackson took a loss in Game Four, and Dotel the loss in Game 5, but the Cardinals came back to win Games 6 and 7 and claim the championship.

Jackson signed with the Washington Nationals as a free agent in 2011. He went 10 and 11 with the club and pitched just under 190 innings. Short on pitching depth, the Chicago Cubs sensed an opportunity and signed Jackson to a four-year, $52 million deal over the winter.

"I think the most assuring part is you have a chance to relax and have a chance to know you're going to be somewhere for a while, and you don't have to feel like you have to prove yourself every year," Jackson said after the signing. "I feel like it's definitely going to help for myself just to go out and have fun and not worry about anything else."

Some writers rank the signing as among the Cub’s worst free agent moves of all time. Jackson lost a league leading 18 games in 2013 and added 15 more defeats the next year. The Cubs moved Jackson to the bullpen in 2015 and released him in July. Then the whistle stops began. The Braves to finish the season. The Marlins and the Padres in 2016. The Orioles and Nationals in 2017. The Nationals and Athletics in 2018.

“I want to leave the game on my own terms,” Jackson told an Oakland reporter. “That’s why I continue to do what I do, just because I’m not ready to leave. I still have some life in me. I still have fun, and I know I can still get outs.”

The Blue Jays came next in 2019, and then a second time around with the Tigers. Jackson never lost his passion for the game.

"I'm not playing for the money,” Jackson said along the way. “I'm not playing for anything else but to come have fun. I've been blessed in my career. I've made enough money to have my family set and now I'm just having fun."

The Diamondbacks took a quick look at Jackson in 2020 but released him before the virus-shortened season started.

Later that year, Dontrelle Willis, a one-time teammate on the Diamondbacks, reflected on Jackson’s no-hitter. “Guys were diving all over the place and making plays. It was a real credit to the ballclub. They wanted it for him, and that’s the type of guy he was. He’s played for 392 teams, and you’ve never heard one bad word about him.”

The book might have looked done with Jackson after the 2019 season, but Jackson’s arm wasn’t done with the book.

In the spring of 2021, the pitcher received an invitation to try out for the US Olympic baseball team. Jackson hemmed and hawed, but his wife Erika told him to get his glove. “Are you crazy?” she said. “This is the Olympics!”

Jackson’s win in relief on June 5 against Venezuela at the Americas Qualifying Event clinched a spot for the team in Tokyo. The team played Japan for the gold medal, but came up just short, falling 2 to 0. Jackson and the other Team USA players took home silver medals.

“It’s a lifetime experience,” Jackson said. “I’m definitely grateful to call myself an Olympic medalist. It’s something I couldn’t have imagined.

Jackson was ready to answer another call to the mound in 2022 but minor league realignment and roster rule changes blocked a path. He announced his retirement from the professional game on September 9, 2022, his 39^th birthday and the 19th anniversary of his major league debut.

“19 years ago today I was blessed with an opportunity to tie up my laces and step on the field to make my debut with Los Angeles Dodgers…today I am happily hanging up my cleats and closing a 22 year Baseball career.” Jackson said that day on an Instagram post. “I’m super grateful to have had 14 different organizations allow me the opportunity to represent them. I was once told by a mentor that you are only as strong as the team you have around you, and I have an amazing team. I want to start by thanking my wife. She’s been by my side through the ups and downs of this journey. I love you E! I want to thank my parents for always believing in me and always making ANY sacrifices that had to be made in order for me to be able to get out on the field and play. My sisters have always been in my corner no matter what and their love and support has never changed! Love all of yall! Thanks to my kids for being my biggest cheer squad. To my in-laws, friends, and other family members, all of y’all have been nothing short of amazing for all of the motivation throughout all of these years. I want to thank all of my coaches, trainers, and doctors, on the field and off, for all of the hours of hard work put in to help me have an amazing career. This game has taught me many life lessons and allowed me to evolve into the person I am today! I will forever have memories that will live within me from the game that I loved and dedicated my life to. Thank you baseball for an amazing life experience that I will never forget!!”

The game won’t be the same without you, Mr. Jackson.

Edwin Jackson’s complete career stats can be found here:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=jackso004edw

With a career as long as Edwin Jackson had, there are plenty of cards to choose from. Here’s a selection.