Jason Repko

Jason Edward Repko was born on December 27, 1980 in East Chicago, Indiana.

The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him in round one of the 1999 MLB Draft. He suffered many injuries throughout the minor leagues, including a torn ACL at extended spring training in 2000 and a broken vertebra on the right side of his back in 2001. Repko finally reached the Major League level in 2005. He played 129 games for the Dodgers as a rookie, batting .221 with eight home runs and 30 RBI. An ankle injury limited him to just 69 games in 2006, and he missed the entire 2007 season after tearing his hamstring during a spring training game.

He finally returned to action in 2008, but ineffectivness kept him in Triple-A for most of 2008 and 2009. The Dodgers designated Repko for assignment at the end of spring training in 2010, and he elected free agency after clearing waivers.

The Minnesota Twins signed him to a minor league deal, and called Repko up in late June. His outfield defense instantly became an asset for the club. He was worth seven defensive runs saved in 306 outfield innings that season. This made him the only Twins outfielder in 2010 to have a positive number in that category. Regular left fielder Delmon Young was worth -13 defensive runs saved, and regular center fielder Denard Span was worth -5. Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel, who split duties in right field for most of the year, were both worth -10. There were a handful of other players who were worth zero defensive runs saved in smaller samples.

Repko slashed .228/.324/.346 in a 146 plate appearance sample that year. He made the Twins playoff roster, and appeared late in game one of the ALDS as a pinch runner. Minnesota was swept in three games by the New York Yankees.

Minnesota brought Repko back in 2011. It was the first time he had made an Opening Day roster since 2006. Repko was once again a bright spot in a bad defensive outfield, but he was even worse offensively than the year before.

The Boston Red Sox signed Repko to a minor league deal ahead of the 2012 campaign. He appeared in five big league games for them that season. Repko continued to play professionally until 2016, spending three of those final few years with the York Revolution of the Atlantic League.