John Jaha

[Michael Trzinski]

John Emil Jaha was born in 1966 in Portland, Oregon, ‘Jaws’ was drafted by the Brewers in the 14th round of the 1984 MLB Amateur Draft. After seven long years in the minors, Jaha finally made his major league debut in 1992, slashing .226/.291/.308 in 47 games.

Jaha became the full-time first baseman in 1993 and fashioned a batting line of .264/.337/.416 across 515 at-bats, including 19 home runs and a career-high 13 stolen bases. A three-week demotion to the minors and a player strike limited Jaha to 84 games in 1994.

In 1995, Jaha had a great season that was derailed by two stints on the disabled list. He slashed .313/.389/.579 across 316 at-bats along with 20 round-trippers. Jaha finally put it all together in 1996 when he led the Brewers with 34 HRs and 118 RBIs and had a batting line of .300/.398/.543 across 543 at-bats.

Shoulder and foot injuries hijacked the next two seasons for Jaha, who played in only a combined 119 games. After the season Jaha was granted his free agency, and was scooped up by the Oakland Athletics in February 1999. So little was expected of Jaha, he was left out of the A’s media guide that spring.

But he surprised them all, slamming 35 home runs and knocking in 111 across 457 ABs while slashing .276/.414/.556. He made the All-Star team for the first and only time and was also named AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Jaha played in only 45 games combined the next two seasons and retired in June 2001, earning a standing ovation in the Oakland locker room.

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