Jeremy Owens

Jeremy Scott Owens (born December 9, 1976) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and current manager in the professional ranks. Per records available, he hit nearly 250 professional home runs and stole nearly 400 bases in his 17-year career. Though he spent more than two seasons at Triple-A, he never reached the major leagues.

He was born in Johnson City, Tennessee. Prior to playing professionally, he attended Science Hill High School and then Middle Tennessee State University, where he played from 1996 to 1998. His first year there, he hit .253/.320/.395 with five home runs and 15 stolen bases in 50 games; in 1997, he batted .346/.408/.517 with five home runs and 20 stolen bases and in 1998, he hit .293/.356/.483 with six home runs and 24 steals.^[1] He was drafted in the eighth round of the 1998 Major League Baseball Draft, ahead of future major league pitchers Joe Kennedy and Andrew Good.

Playing for the Idaho Falls Braves his first year, he slashed .278/.372/.447 with eight home runs, 52 RBI and 30 stolen bases in 69 games. He played for the Fort Wayne Wizards and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes slashing a combined .272/.354/.414 with nine home runs, 67 RBI, 67 steals and 12 triples in 138 games in 1999. He led the Midwest League in runs scored (111) and strikeouts (153). He spent all of 2000 with the Quakes, slashing .256/.333/.426 with 16 home runs, 10 triples, 63 RBI, 54 stolen bases and 183 Ks in 138 games. He led the league in plate appearances (650), at-bats (570) and strikeouts, and tied Joe Thurston for the lead in games played. After the season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. Going into 2001, he was on the Padres' 40-man roster.^[2] In 2001, he was with the Lake Elsinore Storm and Mobile Bay Bears and slashed a combined .212/.302/.346 with 10 home runs, 35 RBI, 37 stolen bases and 188 strikeouts in 131 matches. In 2002, playing for Lake Elsinore and the Portland Beavers (his first taste of Triple-A), he hit a combined .227/.297/.399 with 15 home runs, 59 RBI, 24 stolen bases and 157 strikeouts in 123 games.

He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 2002 Rule 5 Draft. Playing for the Portland Sea Dogs in 2003, he hit .263/.326/.484 with 21 home runs, 68 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 136 games, earning a spot on the Eastern League All-Star team.^[3] He led the league in strikeouts with 161. He played for the Mesa Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League that year. With the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in 2004, he hit .228/.303/.383 with 12 home runs, 41 RBI and, in only 347 at-bats, 140 strikeouts (leading the league) in 112 games.

Owens joined the independent baseball ranks for 2005, playing for the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League. He hit .290/.343/.505 with 24 home runs, 77 RBI and 29 stolen bases in 137 games, earning a spot on the All-Star team. He led the league in games and strikeouts with 157. He returned to affiliated ball for 2006, playing for the Montgomery Biscuits in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. He hit .237/.299/.394 with 14 home runs, 41 RBI and 24 stolen bases in 125 games, striking out 142 times. He led the league in whiffs. With the Triple-A Durham Bulls in 2007, Owens hit .261/.298/.405 with seven home runs, 32 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 111 games. His 123 strikeouts were the fewest since his rookie season. He played briefly (18 games) for the Bulls in 2008, then spent the majority of the campaign with the independent Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Combined, he hit .232/.316/.403 with 18 home runs, 54 RBI and 19 stolen bases in 125 games, striking out 150 times.

He remained with Southern Maryland for the rest of his career. In 2009, he slashed .240/.350/.484 with 28 home runs, 80 RBI, 15 stolen bases and 181 strikeouts in 137 games, leading the league in home runs and strikeouts. He slashed .228/.320/.422 with 18 home runs, 64 RBI, 18 stolen bases and a career-high 193 strikeouts in 2010, leading the league in strikeouts. In 2011, he hit .236/.320/.401 with 13 home runs, 48 RBI and 10 stolen bases in 110 games. He struck out 103 times. In 2012, he batted .260/.348/.465 with 22 home runs, 65 RBI, 17 steals and a league-leading 151 strikeouts. He followed that by hitting .220/.317/.358 with 8 home runs, 34 RBI and 20 stolen bases in 2013 and .115/.148/.231 in nine games in 2014, his final campaign as a player.

Overall, he batted .246/.319/.409 with 115 home runs, 465 RBI, 272 stolen bases and 1,362 strikeouts in 1,101 affiliated minor league games and .247/.334/.442 with 129 home runs, 417 RBI, 127 stolen bases and 1,054 strikeouts in 874 independent league games. He hit over 20 home runs four times and, led the league in strikeouts nine times. If he played at the major league level, he would rank third all-time in career strikeouts.^[4] He finished as the Blue Crabs' career leader in games played, home runs, extra-base hits, runs scored, stolen bases and walks.^[5]

He was named the Blue Crabs' manager in December 2015.^[6] He had also worked as the team's hitting coach.^[7]

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